The Classic Science Fiction/Fantasy Review
Okay. I didn’t follow through on that last post very well. Between the daytime gig of being a teacher and living through Nashville’s 500 year flood, I’ve been kinda busy. Oh, and let’s not forget my own innate laziness. I know that last time I said I was going to review “The Belgariad” by David Eddings, but I’ve decided to put that on hold and go a little further back. BTW, David Edding’s work is listed in “The Dangerous Book for Boys” as one of the 50 books every boy should read. I couldn’t agree more.
Now, let’s set the scene. It’s the summer of 1977 and I’m on summer vacation from my sophomore year in high school. Unfortuantely, I’m also in the hospital having undergone knee surgery. This is also about five years before they came out with arthroscopic techniques, so things didn’t go real well. But, enough of that.
During those times when I wasn’t high as a kite on morphine, I was reading a book our church’s music minister loaned me. It’s called “The Astounding Science Fiction Anthology” and it was old even then. So many of the stories reached out and grabbed me. One in particular remains a favorite even today. It’s called “Late Night Final” by Eric Frank Russell. This particular gem is also included in a book available on Amazon (used – it’s out of print) called “The Best of Eric Frank Russell.”
The upshot of the story is that earth is invaded by aliens who can’t figure out how to deal with an enemy that insists on treating them like honored guests instead of invaders. The story begins thusly – “Commander Cruin went down the extending metal ladder, paused a rung from the bottom, placed one important foot on the new territory, and then the other. That made him the first of his kind on an unknown world.”
Commander Cruin begins as a one-dimensional military man bent on conquest and little else. The genius of Russell lies in the fact that by the time events are done with him, he is delightfully complex and human. His metamorphosis is delightful to read about. However, if you read the story and focus exclusively on Cruin you will, I think, miss Russell’s point. He paints a picture of earth not as it is, but as he wishes it to be. The story, written a mere three years after the end of WWII, carries its influence. Witness these lines from one of the earthlings in the final scene.
“”They came at the wrong time,” Meredith went on. “Ten thousand years too late.” He glanced sideways at his listener. “Our history covers a long, long day. It was so lurid that it came out in a new edition every minute. But this one’s the late night final.”
“You philosophize, eh?”
Meredith smiled. “I often sit here to enjoy my silences. I sit here and think. Invariably I end up with the same conclusion.”
“What may that be?”
“That if I, personally, were in complete possession of all the visible stars and their multitude of planets I would still be subject to one fundamental limitation”–bending he tapped his pipe on his heel–”in this respect–that no man can eat more than his belly can hold.”
The wonderful thing about short stories is their density. Sometimes, if you’re a runner, you don’t feel like going out for a jog. You’re more in the mood for a few wind sprints. The author must choose his words with more care since he does not have hundreds of pages to accomplish his goal.
A final note: IF you’re looking for “hard” science fiction, then this is not the guy for you. You should pick up one of Hogan’s books (we’ll review him someday – I promise). Russell’s genius is that he writes about the human condition and uses science fiction as his backdrop. Other favorites in the book include “Study in Still Life”, “Dear Devil”, and the excellent “I Am Nothing.”
Until next time.
- Patrick Carr
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