e-Book Dimension X: Five Science Fiction Novellas download

A must for any sci fi fanatic

Damon Knight compiled collection of five golden/silver age sci-fi novellas. ROBERT HEINLEIN - THE MAN WHO SOLD THE MOON (1949). Done in classic exuberant hard-boiled Heinlein fashion, this 100 page tale is essentially a corporate board room drama in which a visionary company partner envisions a corporate takeover of the unexploited moon using zany yet logical Earth laws/logic. This may have been innocently enthusiastic fancy back in 1949 when it was first published but as I write this review today (2016) it is horrifying in its implications. C. M. KORNBLUTH - THE MARCHING MORONS (1951). A 20th century man is woken in the future where IQs have devolved to allow him opportunity to dominate and exploit the Earth. A fast paced fantastical yarn of unbelievable supposition with quick plot jumps, elements of humor and hard-boiled dialogue. Completely unbelievable, even with sci-fi's necessary suspension of belief. RICHARD McKENNA - FIDDLER'S GREEN (1967). Desperate survivors of a shipwreck will themselves into an alternate universe which slowly expands as a seemingly simple viable paradise but which houses a sinister secret as it grows. McKenna shows true depth of nuance in exploring the heaven/hell ideals of what a perfect world could evolve (or devolve) into (Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' comes to mind). BRIAN ALDISS - THE SALIVA TREE (1965). Isolated predatory aliens land in 19th century rustic England and enrich the surrounding farmland. The protagonist, blind-sided by love for the farmer's daughter and stymied by the hard-headed farmer and his workers discovers the horrifying truth: these are not amicable aliens. They are there for fattening the pig, so to speak, in order to feast. Written in a stuffy quaint English style reminiscent of John Wyndham but without Wyndham's mastery of the subtle and sublime. Aldiss does include an amusing shout-out to H. G. Wells as a peripheral character contacted by the protagonist. ISAAC ASIMOV - THE UGLY LITTLE BOY (1958). A nursemaid joins a technological start-up as a guardian for a Neanderthal child secreted to the modern era in a prison-like stasis chamber. She empathizes with the child as he grows and learns. Her growing affection puts her at odds with the institute's director, who sees the boy as simply a non-human artifact recovered in an experiment in time-travel technology. Classic exemplary Asimov, complete with scientific know-how, logic, brief dialogue and a deep understanding of the subtleties involved with scientific supposition and conflict. Overall this is an essential collection but also shows how science fiction, by its very nature as speculative, can sometimes be profoundly prescient and at the same time woefully antiquated. Recommended, especially for anyone interested in the historic development of golden to silver age science fiction.

If you're looking for pure storytelling, there are better books. However, this compilation of stories from the very beginning of the science fiction genre is a very cool way to see what was considered fantastic back then. There's a story about going to the moon, which was considered just as crazy as hyperdrives are to us.

I was excited to read the first story since it's by Robert Heinlein. Very disappointing. It was more of a con-man story than sci-fi. Lame. I read one more and then decided the other three probably weren't worth wasting my time on.