| Title | : | The Magazine of Fantasy Science Fiction, December 1951 (The Magazine of Fantasy Science Fiction, #11) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0716551128 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780716551126 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle , Hardcover , Paperback , Audiobook & More |
| Number of Pages | : | 132 |
| Publication | : | First published December 1, 1951 |
When the Last Gods Die - Fritz Leiber
The Haunted Ticker - Percival Wilde
O Ugly Bird! - Manly Wade Wellman
The Rats - Arthur Porges
Built Down Logically - Howard Schoenfeld
The Earlier Service - Margaret Irwin
The Universe Broke Down - Robert Arthur
Come On, Wagon! - Zenna Henderson
The House in Arbor Lane - James S. Hart
Ganymedeus Sapiens: a Pictorial History [Skiametric Morphology and Behaviorism of Ganymedeus Sapiens: a Summary of Neoteric Hypotheses] - Kenneth R. Deardorf
The Hyperspherical Basketball - H. Nearing Jr.
Cover art credited to George Salter (isfdb.org).
The Magazine of Fantasy Science Fiction, December 1951 (The Magazine of Fantasy Science Fiction, #11) Reviews
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3 • When the Last Gods Die • 5 pages by Fritz Leiber
OK. The last humans have seen it all and come back to Earth to die. A machine they created asks them to reconsider, to keep on living. Sort of like a grandchild wanting their grandparents to live on. Nice description of machines developing from lever to more complex to automated to calculating to AI to sentience.
8 • The Haunted Ticker • 26 pages by Percival Wilde
Good. Jonas was an old man always trying to get rich. At seventy and an ailing heart he finally figured out a system to make money on the stock market. He died without being able to pass on the system to his nephew, but one stock market ticker in that same brokerage office spit out his coded messages. Henry who was just going to be conservative used those messages to increase his fortune.
34 • O Ugly Bird! • 11 pages by Manly W. Wellman
Good/VG. A wanderer is passing through a back woods town and finds Mr. Ormley takes whatever he wants.
45 • The Rats • 8 pages by Arthur Porges
Good. Jeffrey Clark has his bomb shelter or settlement at an abandoned atomic testing site. The only problem are the rats that threaten his food supply. He tries to various methods of taking them out, but only manages to take out a fraction of them before they learn to avoid or nullify it.
53 • Built Down Logically • 3 pages by Howard Schoenfeld
OK. Mildly humorous punch line.
56 • The Earlier Service • 13 pages by Margaret Irwin
Good. Creepy. Jane has been getting scary visions about the church. Her father is the rector and it's coming up to the time of her confirmation. The sense of dread that Jane is feeling comes across very well.
69 • The Universe Broke Down • 10 pages by Robert Arthur
Good. Jeremiah Jupiter has dragged Lucius out to test another crazy invention. This time a wormhole type device.
79 • Come On, Wagon! • 8 pages by Zenna Henderson
Good+. A bachelor doesn't like kids. They don't know how the world works. He notices his nephew a couple of times talking to his wagon as if it would follow him like a dog.
89 • The House in Arbor Lane • 20 pages by James S. Hart
Very Good+. We hear the prosecution side of a murder case and then the defense. The fantasy, the blurb says occult, part of the story is slipped in very matter of factly.
113 • The Hyperspatial Basketball • 14 pages by H. Nearing jr.
Good/VG. Ransom wants basketball players to concentrate on their studies and challenges the coach to a game with the caveat that he is bringing the ball. The fourth dimension part of the story is passable, but the characters, gamesmanship, MacTate as the referee is great.
