The fourth installment of James Gunn's
Road To Science Fiction anthology
series features stories and book excerpts written from 1950 to 1981. As in the
previous volumes (
Vol. 1: From Gilgamesh to Wells, Vol. 2: From Wells to Heinlein, Vol. 3: From
Heinlein to Here), he presents a lengthy "Introduction" which in this case describes the rise
of "New Wave" science fiction and how it may be approached by readers of more
traditional sf. This is followed by 31 short stories/book extracts, each with
introductory texts explaining either a development in the literature, changes in
the publishing world, social/political circumstances in the real world, or all
of the above. He also takes this opportunity to present a very brief
bio/literary critique of the author of the story as well (up to 1982 at least).
The stories included are as follows:
- “Born of Man and Woman”, Richard Matheson (F&SF Sum 1950)
- “My Boy Friend's Name Is Jello”, Avram Davidson (F&SF Jul 1954)
- “The First Canticle”, Walter M. Miller, Jr. (F&SF Apr 1955)
- “Nobody Bothers Gus”, Algis Budrys (Astounding Nov 1955)
- “Flowers for Algernon”, Daniel Keyes (F&SF Apr 1959)
- “The Moon Moth”, Jack Vance (Galaxy Aug 1961)
- “The Library of Babel”, Jorge Luis Borges (Ficciones, 1962)
- From DUNE, by Frank Herbert (1965)
- “Light of Other Days”, Bob Shaw (Analog Aug 1966)
-
“The First Sally(A), or Trurl's Electronic Bard”, Stanislaw Lem (The Cyberiad, 1974)
- “The Heat Death of the Universe”, Pamela Zoline (New Worlds Jul 1967)
- “The Planners”, Kate Wilhelm (Orbit 3, 1968)
-
“The Dance of the Changer and the Three”, Terry Carr (The Farthest Reaches,
1968)
- “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain”, James Tiptree, Jr. (Galaxy Mar 1969)
- “Where No Sun Shines”, Gardner Dozois (Orbit 6, 1970)
-
“The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories”, Gene Wolfe (Orbit 7, 1970)
- “Angouleme”, Thomas M. Disch (New Worlds Quarterly, 1971)
- “Gather Blue Roses”, Pamela Sargent (F&SF Feb 1972)
-
“With a Finger in My I”, David Gerrold (Again, Dangerous Visions, 1972)
- “The Ghost Writer”, George Alec Effinger (Universe 3, 1973)
- “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand”, Vonda N. McIntyre (Analog Oct 1973)
- “Air Raid”, John Varley (IASFM Spr 1977)
- “Uncoupling”, Barry N. Malzberg (Dystopian Visions, 1975)
- “Rogue Tomato”, Michael Bishop (New Dimensions 5, 1975)
- “This Tower of Ashes”, George R. R. Martin (Analog Annual, 1976)
- “Particle Theory”, Edward Bryant (Analog Feb 1977)
- “View from a Height”, Joan D. Vinge (Analog Jun 1978)
- “The Word Sweep”, George Zebrowski (F&SF Aug 1979)
-
“The World Science Fiction Convention of 2080”, Ian Watson (F&SF Oct
1980)
- “Abominable”, Carol Emshwiller (Orbit 21, 1980)
- “Exposures”, Gregory Benford (IASFM Jul 6 1981)
INTRODUCTION
Gunn makes several points in his "Introduction" to the book. In the 70s, sf
continued to rise in popularity, propelled by movies like Star Wars.
Meanwhile, on a literary level, sf literature increased in its diversity. This
volume of Road departs from an historical overview and instead
emphasizes the "literary aspects" of modern works. Literary aspects have
always existed in sf, but more recent trends have resulted in a "New Wave" of
sf. SF in the 70s made more use of literary allusions to present points of
view, approaching a more mainstream approach. Although elements of allusion
did exist in the past, more recent examples have more subtlety, and ask more
of the reader. Although in the beginning the New Wave was driven by a
rebellious sentiment in defiance of previous norms, eventually the more
extreme tendencies would fall by the wayside.
STORIES
Below are synopses of each of the 31 stories included in this volume. Cover
images of the original magazines and earliest editions of these stories
are also included.
1. “Born of Man and Woman”, Richard Matheson (F&SF Sum 1950)
Matheson is known more generally as a horror writer, although this story has
elements which suggest mutation. One of its novelties is its skewed point of
view narrative, although POV elements can be found in stories as old as
Frankenstein as well.
Synopsis: A roughly-phrased diary of a creature chained up in a cellar
describes its fearful relationship with its human parents. One day, when the
parents have a party, the creature tries to emerge but is beaten back to the
cellar. In another incident, the creature is discovered by the family cat and
kills it. Further beaten, it vows vengeance on its parents someday.
2. “My Boy Friend's Name Is Jello”, Avram Davidson (F&SF Jul 1954)
Davidson's fiction usually has more sociological or literary references
embedded in his stories, requiring the reader to have some familiarity with
ancient cultures and world politics to fully appreciate all of his intentions.
Synopsis: A narrator with a very skeptical, dry wit describes his
ailments and how his "doctor" (Miss Thurl) works to cure him. Miss Thurl's
boyfriend (a fellow boarder in his building named "Ajello") commiserates with
him. The narrator suspects that the girls playing outside in the street have
put a spell on Ajello. The narrator's speech frequently references characters,
languages and artifacts from Earth literature of the far past.
3. “The First Canticle”, Walter M. Miller, Jr. (F&SF Apr 1955)
Miller's short story was eventually expanded into the book A Canticle For
Leibowitz. This story examines a post-apocalyptic premise in which the clergy
work to preserve manuals and blueprints, much like the Church preserved
knowledge during the Middle Ages.
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic future, Brother Francis uncovers a
metal box containing a blueprint signed by the revered, near-mythical founder
of his order, Leibowitz. As the years go by, he transcribes the blueprint onto
an illuminated lambskin. Eventually, he brings the embroidered copy to the New
Vatican, where his dedication and faith are renewed.
4. “Nobody Bothers Gus”, Algis Budrys (Astounding Nov 1955)
In this story, Budrys explores the possibility of a "superman" having inherent
special qualities which tend towards self-preservation.
Synopsis: A man named Gus lives a life in near-obscurity, although in
reality he is an advanced evolutionary form of man. Although he has superior
physical and mental powers, his physiology also emits a psychic dampening
field which prevents normal humans from registering his superhuman qualities.
A clerk comes to Gus' house to deliver a notice threatening Gus' real estate,
but Gus knows that in the end his home will be unnoticed and untouched.
5. “Flowers for Algernon”, Daniel Keyes (F&SF Apr 1959)
This story deals with the concept of increased intelligence, but unlike
traditional sf, it concentrates on the feelings and experiences of one man
more than the implications of such an invention for the entire human race.
Synopsis: A mentally-retarded man named Charlie undergoes a surgical
procedure which allows his IQ to triple. His progress is partially gauged by
racing a mouse named Algernon, as both try to complete mazes in as short a
time as possible. Charlie becomes a genius over the following weeks, and
realizes that he has been ridiculed his whole life as a moron. Although
Algernon has also gained in intelligence through a similar operation, he
eventually deteriorates and dies. Charlie places flowers on Algernon’s grave,
and soon also begins to lose his newly-gained intellect. In the end Charlie
breaks off his journal and wishes to experience his final days away from
observation, but asks that the scientists continue to place flowers on
Algernon’s grave.
6. “The Moon Moth”, Jack Vance (Galaxy Aug 1961)
Vance uses sf conventions to explore an alien social structure and how it
impacts the investigations of an off-world investigator. He goes to great
lengths to imbue his alien society with a high degree of detail.
Synopsis: On the planet Sirene, the inhabitants wear elaborate masks
indicating their societal status, and interpersonal communication is effected
through a highly-ritualized combination of poetic speech and small handheld
instruments. An outworlder named Thissell arrives on Sirene and through trial
and error gradually learns how to navigate the Sirene society (and ending up
with a "Moon Moth" mask), although he makes many mistakes and frequently ends
up offending the natives with his ignorance of their customs. One day,
Thissell is ordered by his superiors to arrest an assassin named Haxo who has
just arrived on Sirene. Unfortunately, Haxo is very familiar with the customs
of Sirene, and soon manages to assassinate another outworlder and assume his
mask as a disguise. During his attempts to investigate and apprehend Haxo,
Thissell makes many enemies amongst the Sirenes for his negligent treatment of
their customs. Eventually, Thissell manages to deduce which of the disguised
outworlders is Haxo (by interviewing the suspect's slaves for his owner's past
mask habits), but Haxo manages to overcome Thissell during the arrest and
takes Thissell's Moon Moth mask, intending to impersonate Thissell himself.
However, when Haxo emerges into public wearing Thissell's Moon Moth mask, he
is killed by Sirenes seeking vengeance against Thissell for his recent social
transgressions.
7. “The Library of Babel”, Jorge Luis Borges (Ficciones, 1962)
Borges' stylistic approach is more akin to fantasy or myth. However, his
stories frequently appear as essays, where he develops an idea in a concise
amount of space. In this story, a vast library becomes a metaphor for an
infinite universe.
Synopsis: The narrator, in his old age, describes an infinite library
containing every book ever written using only 25 characters and symbols, with many words making no sense at all. He believes there may be a God-like figure
somewhere in the library who holds a book which may be key to all of the other books in the
library.
8. From DUNE, by Frank Herbert (1965)
In
DUNE, Herbert examines a new world from sociological, ecological, political and
mythic angles, and conjectures that harsh environments may create unique
individuals and hardy communities.
Synopsis: During an Atreides dinner party, Leto, Jessica and Paul get a
sense of the varying loyalties split amongst their guests: a Guild banker, Dr.
Kynes, a smuggler named Tuek, and a "water-shipper" magnate named Bewt. Leto
is informed that a Harkonnen agent has been discovered to be responsible for
the missing carryall during the worm attack. He also learns that Harkonnens
have been shipping in lasguns to the region.
9. “Light of Other Days”, Bob Shaw (Analog Aug 1966)
Shaw's story is based on the invention of "slow glass", a form of glass which
slows down light as it passes through, thus "delaying" the appearance of the
image from coming through the other side. This allows for dynamic "scenedows"
which can store and then project environments and be installed anywhere.
Synopsis: A quarreling couple stop by a roadside slow glass farm and
meet its elderly proprietor. During the transaction, the couple realize that
the bucolic scene seen inside the farmer's house is actually a slow glass
projection of his wife and daughter, long-deceased after an auto accident.
10. “The First Sally(A), or Trurl's Electronic Bard”, Stanislaw Lem (The Cyberiad, 1974)
The Cyberiad collects several stories featuring two near-omnipotent
robots who experience humorous episodes in a technologically-advanced
civilization possessing a social structure modeled after the Middle Ages.
Synopsis: In order to impress his rival, Klapaucius, Trurl creates a
computer which can write poetry. In order to program such a computer he feeds
it the sum of knowledge of the universe. After the computer goes online, its
output begins driving audiences to distraction. Trurl is forced to abandon it
on an asteroid, after which an alien civilization salvages it and uses it's
verse to create supernova transmissions traveling throughout the
universe.
11. “The Heat Death of the Universe”, Pamela Zoline (New Worlds, Jul
1967)
The concept of entropy became a popular subject to explore in sf in the 1960s.
Many writers such as Brian Aldiss, M. John Harrison and Michael Moorcock wrote
stories involving entropy in the British magazine New Worlds. In this
story, Zoline draws a parallel between the encroaching chaos of the universe
with the unraveling of a suburban housewife's life (and mind).
Synopsis: A fractured narrative describes (in present tense) the
experiences of housewife named Sarah Boyle as she prepares and manages a
birthday party for one of her unnamed children. During this experience, she
reflects on many trivial elements of life and how they reflect on the general
decay of the universe. As the narrative develops, she tries to organize and
categorize the elements of her life, but her ability to describe reality in a
conventional way deteriorates. In the end, she trashes her own
kitchen, contributing to the chaos herself.
12. “The Planners”, Kate Wilhelm (Orbit 3, 1968)
Wilhelm's stories describe societies in decline and the acceptance of
the individuals living in them. In this story about experiments with a chemical technique used
to enhance intelligence, the sanity of the project director is depicted to be
in a state of flux.
Synopsis: A scientist named Darin manages experiments in which genetic
material is used to increase the intelligence of monkeys. He also uses a
similar technique to transplant the genetic material of a mentally-challenged
patient to "normal" patients (convicts). In both cases, the experiments seem to
show a transfer of intelligence level (up for the monkeys and down in the case
of the convicts). Over the course of a few days (in which Darin deals with
civilian visitors and his unhappy marriage), he indulges in several
self-serving fantasies.
13. “The Dance of the Changer and the Three”, Terry Carr (The Farthest Reaches, 1968)
This story examines the concept of alien contact in a new way, attempting to
describe how difficult communication might be between races living vastly
different existences.The Loarra are essentially sentient energy beings, whose
legends and motivations only serve to confuse their human visitors.
Synopsis: The narrator tells a folk story handed down amongst
energy-beings living on a gaseous planet. In the story, the Loarra visit a
vortex where they learn an essential truth about their existence (which is not
described). The narrator then relates how the Loarra had recently destroyed
his mining expedition for no apparent reason, stressing the fact that humanity
can never hope to understand the reasons behind the actions of the Loarra.
14. “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain”, James Tiptree, Jr. (Galaxy Mar 1969)
"Ain" is an ecological disaster story delivered as a literary mystery, whose
metaphoric meaning is only revealed at the end of the story.
Synopsis: A doctor named Ain travels to Moscow to deliver a
presentation. It soon appears that he has been spreading a home-made virus,
with the aim of destroying humanity. During his trip he speaks to an imaginary
woman (a metaphor for Earth itself - Ain's objective is to save the Earth by
eradicating the planet of humans).
15. “Where No Sun Shines”, Gardner Dozois (Orbit 6, 1970)
Dozois' story describes in minute and colorful detail an episode which occurs
during a "race-war", where martial law has been declared.
Synopsis: While nervously driving out of the city, the narrator is
stopped at a checkpoint. He witnesses another car being interrogated, which
soon reveals itself to be harboring a fugitive Black man. The officers open
fire, killing everyone in the car. The narrator moves along, at gunpoint.
16. “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories”, Gene Wolfe (Orbit 7,
1970)
This is Wolfe's tribute to the escapist pulp literature of his youth, but
contained within a larger narrative from the point of view of a young boy who
is trapped in a disconsolate life. As the story proceeds, characters from the
pulp text come to life and enter the boy's real life.
Synopsis: A young boy named Tackie reads a pulp novel telling a story
somewhat similar to Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau. The hero of the
story, Captain Ransom, rescues a strange woman from the evil Doctor Death, who
has been mutating men and animals. In Tackie's real world, his mother and her
unscrupulous beaus present a masquerade party. Just as Ransom saves the girl
Talas from Doctor Death's ministrations, Tackie reports the harmful drugs
being administered to his mother at the party by her conniving doctor.
17. “Angouleme”, Thomas M. Disch (New Worlds Quarterly, 1971)This
story takes place in a future New York and is an example of Disch's desire to
distance the reader from traditional adventure characterization. The clues to
its future setting are subtly embedded in the narrative, which is delivered
from the viewpoint of an unusually literate pre-teen boy.
Synopsis: A gang of pre-teens roam Battery Park and fantasize about
murdering one of the regulars of the park on a lark. When the day of the
planned murder comes, the narrator finds himself abandoned by the rest of his
gang. Nonetheless, he proceeds to threaten the old beggar, who ends up
merely laughing at him.
18. “Gather Blue Roses”, Pamela Sargent (F&SF Feb 1972)
Sargent is part of the "New Generation" writers of the 70s. In this "super-powers"
story she merges past (the childhood POV) and present (adult POV with the past
as a memory) narratives, with both strands coming to a head at the very end.
Synopsis: The young female narrator's mother (a survivor of Nazi
oppression) sometimes removes herself from company to "get herself together".
The young girl then relates that she feels the pain inflicted on others in a
physical manner. It turns out that the girl has developed an even more extreme
form of physical empathy than her mother.
19. “With a Finger in My I”, David Gerrold (Again, Dangerous Visions, 1972)
Gerrold's story contains elements of Borges, Kafka, Sturgeon and Carroll, as
it wends its way between nonsense and insanity.
Synopsis: When the pupil of the narrator's eye disappears, he goes out
in search of medical assistance. After dealing with a variety of characters
who confront him with Lewis Carroll-like nonsense logic, he meets a doctor
who claims that all of reality is merely the figment of mass imagination, and
that when groups of people begin believing a certain thing, reality then
shifts to accommodate these new beliefs. In the end, the narrator wonders if
he has been affected by drugs.
20. “The Ghost Writer”, George Alec Effinger (Universe 3, 1973)
Effinger is sometimes labeled as a surrealist, but in this story he focuses on
the theme of artistic creativity. In a future world where contemporaneous
creativity is frowned upon, craftsmen are inspired to draw from the noble past
as literary archaeologists.
Synopsis: In the far future, writers mentally journey to a "death
stream" where they apparently commune with deceased authors and retrieve their
written works from the past for public recital. After an amateur writer becomes mentally
disturbed after such a mental journey, the narrator admits to his colleagues
that he has been faking his journeys to the netherworld, and that he has
actually been writing and reciting original stories from his own imagination. He is immediately
arrested and taken away.
21. “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand”, Vonda N. McIntyre (Analog Oct 1973)McIntyre is a feminist writer who examines the lives of women during
times of crisis. In this story, a healer named Snake is faced with curing a
young patient with a tumor.
Synopsis: When a nomadic healer named Snake (and her companion snakes
Mist, Grass and Sand) works to save an ill young boy using homeopathic ingredients (essentially reconstituted venom from Mist after it bites the boy), the
villagers become nervous and Snake's "dream snake" Grass is slain.
Nonetheless, Snake saves the child, and eventually departs to seek punishment
from her teachers for losing her dream snake.
22. “Air Raid”, John Varley (IASFM Spr 1977)
John Varley writes about futures where mankind has been evicted from Earth,
but also has no material needs. In these stories, survival is less important
than the "art" of living. "Air Raid" however is more of a narrative mystery,
with full understanding of the premise coming near the end of the story.
Synopsis: Mutated and cosmetically-disguised humans from the future
travel to the past (1979) in order to extract doomed passengers from a jet
before it crashes into a mountain. After these surprised survivors are brought
to the future, they are then assigned to live on new planets so that they can continue the
human race, as mankind of the future has become genetically doomed.
23. “Uncoupling”, Barry N. Malzberg (Dystopian Visions, 1975)
Malzberg's stories present pessimistic views on the future of human
communication and love, which might be challenging for readers looking for
pure entertainment. "Uncoupling" deals with three themes: dystopia,
bureaucracy and sex.
Synopsis: A man visits a "sex dispensary" in order to obtain his
monthly rationing of sex. Due to having skipped sex the previous month, his
behavior is erratic (incorporating different points of view and different
foreign languages). After the rather clinical experience, he returns to his apartment. There he encounters his erstwhile sex
partner, who signals that she would like to have a "natural" relationship. She
is arrested and taken away.
24. “Rogue Tomato”, Michael Bishop (New Dimensions 5, 1975)Michael Bishop frequently writes about anthropological concerns with
aliens or alienation. In "Rogue Tomato", he takes a more humorous stab at this
subject, paying homage to Kafka's "Metamorphosis", Clarke's "2001", and other
famous stories.
Synopsis: A man named Philip K. wakes up to find himself transformed
into a planet-sized tomato orbiting a red giant. Alien ant-beings eventually
appear and begin devouring his body. However, when the red giant goes nova,
the aliens save Philip K. by sending the man through a wormhole back to Earth,
where he realizes that the ultimate fate of man is to be eaten.
25. “This Tower of Ashes”, George R. R. Martin (Analog Annual, 1976)
Martin is part of a new generation of writers who have moved beyond the New
Wave and the sf traditionalists, and created a synthesis of the two. The
stories are more conventional but told in a more literate manner.
Synopsis: On Jamison's World, a self-exiled explorer named Corbin is visited by his ex-wife Crystal and her
new lover, a man named Gerry (who also used to be Corbin's comrade). Intending to
try and impress Crystal, Corbin takes his visitors on a brief trip into
the exotic forest where predators such as dream spiders hunt. When Gerry falls
into a web, Corbin describes a sequence of events in which he sacrifices his
life to save Crystal in an act of heroism. However, later he is told that
he had been bitten by a spider and experienced a "hero-fantasy" instead, and
was rescued by his guests.
26. “Particle Theory”, Edward Bryant (Analog Feb 1977)
Bryant is part of a newer generation of writers who are able to incorporate
hard science into a modern more literate writing which can approach the
effectiveness of mainstream writing's ability to portray metaphor as life.
Synopsis: A science writer learns that he has prostate cancer and
eventually submits to an experimental treatment involving a particle beam
collider. At the same time, several nearby stars go nova or supernova. During
his treatment the writer has a vision of the Sun going nova. At the end the
writer believes that Earth's sun will explode, just as the cancer cells in his
prostate were destroyed by his treatment. The story ends with this actually
happening.
27. “View from a Height”, Joan D. Vinge (Analog Jun 1978)
Vinge writes "anthropological" sf, examining issues related to communication
between humans and other beings (both human and alien). The heroine of her
story has become alienated from mankind due to a lack of an immunity system,
forcing to her to have lived a life in a sanitized bubble.
Synopsis: Born without an immune system, Emmylou volunteers to be the
sole occupant of an interstellar probe, knowing that she will never return to
Earth. 20 years out, she learns that a cure for condition has been found. She
subsequently becomes depressed and resentful, but eventually finds solace by
looking forward to the beauty of the stars.
28. “The Word Sweep”, George Zebrowski (F&SF Aug 1979)
Some of Zebrowski's novels concern large expanses of history from a
philosophical viewpoint (just as Olaf Stapledon's did). This story is however
a bit more concise, and deals with language, intelligence, reality/unreality
and the dreams of humanity.
Synopsis: For some unexplained reason, all spoken words have begun to
materialize in physical form, causing an economic crisis. Words are carefully
rationed out, for fear of causing a disastrous flood of letters. When Felix
and his friend Bruno try to discover the cause of this situation, they
discover a mysterious alien crystal. Bruno theorizes that words are a
mechanism by which mankind's dreams are gated. In an attempt to stop the flood
of physically-manifesting words, Felix smashes the crystal, but this merely
causes all spoken language to now produce gibberish.
29. “The World Science Fiction Convention of 2080”, Ian Watson (F&SF
Oct 1980)Watson writes Social Science sf, at the crossroads of linguistics,
philosophy, anthropology, epistemology...
Synopsis: In the far future, technology has returned to medieval times.
However, sf conventions still thrive, and writers revel in the fact that the
realities of actual physics are no longer able to render their flights of
fantasy inaccurate.
30. “Abominable”, Carol Emshwiller (Orbit 21, 1980)Emshwiller is
able to portray "domestic" experiences as exotic objects (whereas many sf
writers examine an exotic situation/world with the approach of a conservative
narrative)..
Synopsis: In the arctic, a group of men go in search of the mythical
female of the species, the little-seen creature known as a "woman". They
believe themselves to be far superior to their prey, and thus are confused at
their prey's reluctance to show themselves to mankind.
31. “Exposures”, Gregory Benford (IASFM Jul 6 1981)
Benford is an astrophysicist who can also write in a post-New Wave literary
style. In this story he accurately delivers the POV of a scientist facing the
fantastic, while at the same time incorporating episodes from the man's "real
life".
Synopsis: While taking measurements of a galactic jet, the narrator
stumbles across mysterious photo plates which suggest a destructive, exploding stellar
phenomenon at the center of the Milky Way. Strangely, these plates are
apparently taken from impossible angles. The narrator surmises that these
images must be from aliens, delivered to him to act as a warning for mankind.
He compares the belief system required to accept this data as comparable to
that of the one he uses at his church.
17. Roger Carries On: After escaping the destruction of his planetoid by the Nevians, Roger and his generals find a new planetoid on which to develop a new home base. During this time he uncovers the existence of the Arisians, and realizes that the Eddorians have been under their "spell" of forgetfulness for millennia. Later, the Boise soon appears in the area and after a heated battle Roger's forces are completely wiped out. Although Roger's physical form is destroyed, Gharlane mentally journeys back to Eddore to warn the Eddorian High Council of the Arisian opposition.
