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Away from the Here and Now: Stories in Pseudo-Science
Contents:
� A Runaway World (1926)
� The Fate of the Poseidonia (1927)
� A Certain Soldier (1927)
� The Diabolical Drug (1929)
� The Miracle of the Lily (1928)
� A Baby on Neptune (1929)
� The Artificial Man (1929)
� The Menace From Mars 1928)
� The Evolutionary Monstrosity (1929)
� The Fifth Dimension (1928)
� The Ape Cycle (1930)
� A Runaway World (1926)
� The Fate of the Poseidonia (1927)
� A Certain Soldier (1927)
� The Diabolical Drug (1929)
� The Miracle of the Lily (1928)
� A Baby on Neptune (1929)
� The Artificial Man (1929)
� The Menace From Mars 1928)
� The Evolutionary Monstrosity (1929)
� The Fifth Dimension (1928)
� The Ape Cycle (1930)
- GenresScience Fiction
365 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1947
2 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Clare Winger Harris
30Ìýbooks12ÌýfollowersClare Winger Harris (January 18, 1891-October 16, 1968) was an early science fiction writer whose short stories were published during the 1920s. She is credited as the first woman to publish stories under her own name in science fiction magazines. Her stories often dealt with characters on the "borders of humanity" such as cyborgs.
Harris began publishing in 1926, and soon became well liked by readers. She sold a total of eleven stories, which were collected in 1947 as Away From the Here and Now. Her gender was a surprise to Gernsback, the editor who first bought her work, as she was the first woman to publish science fiction stories under her own name. Her stories, which often feature strong female characters, have been occasionally reprinted and have received some positive critical response, including a recognition of her pioneering role as a woman writer in a male-dominated field.
Harris began publishing in 1926, and soon became well liked by readers. She sold a total of eleven stories, which were collected in 1947 as Away From the Here and Now. Her gender was a surprise to Gernsback, the editor who first bought her work, as she was the first woman to publish science fiction stories under her own name. Her stories, which often feature strong female characters, have been occasionally reprinted and have received some positive critical response, including a recognition of her pioneering role as a woman writer in a male-dominated field.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 16, 2020
Clare Winger Harris is credited as the first woman to publish science fiction in magazines under her own name. As such, her presence alone is a political stance, and we shouldn’t require her to also hammer feminist messages. When her novel “Persephone of Eleusis� was published, she had only been able to legally vote for the past three years. This collection is significant, and I’m glad I hunted it down.
“The Diabolical Drug� is a cute story about a star-crossed couple who are separated in age, so they devise a serum to speed up or slow down activity, leading to a form of time travel fraught with missed opportunities. This concept of differential time is most effectively handled with “A Baby on Neptune� which includes an excellent number of vignettes and some solid tension. I also really appreciated the discussions about audio technology and the cultural blending of all the earthly races. This story also does a very effective job of exhibiting the Gernsback principle of teaching within a story, but not in a didactic fashion.
Probably my favorite is “The Evolutionary Monstrosity� which is a fun early entry in the mad scientist genre, and good fun. The world needs more floating heads propelled by tentacles. And this one managed to fuel my imagination enough to make an appearance in my dreams later that evening. It is followed by “The Miracle of the Lily� which I read in the anthology The Future is Female! I was surprised to see an environmental “bugs attack� story considering this was before the atomic age. Now I am curious as to the other influences in that narrative.
“The Menace of Mars� definitely had that hallmark of teaching science within the story, but for an invasion story, I found it a bit overly slow and wanted the menace to present itself sooner than the last two pages. “A Runaway World� had less plausible science lessons, while maintaining the focus of the macro versus the micro. While I really wanted to love “A Certain Soldier� and its weird exploration of a historical footnote, I don’t think I ever quite grokked the solution to the riddle, so I didn't find the conclusion satisfying. The domestic interactions in “The Fifth Dimension� are charming, but the story itself is a bit too slight to hold up the fourth and fifth dimension discussions.
“The Diabolical Drug� is a cute story about a star-crossed couple who are separated in age, so they devise a serum to speed up or slow down activity, leading to a form of time travel fraught with missed opportunities. This concept of differential time is most effectively handled with “A Baby on Neptune� which includes an excellent number of vignettes and some solid tension. I also really appreciated the discussions about audio technology and the cultural blending of all the earthly races. This story also does a very effective job of exhibiting the Gernsback principle of teaching within a story, but not in a didactic fashion.
Probably my favorite is “The Evolutionary Monstrosity� which is a fun early entry in the mad scientist genre, and good fun. The world needs more floating heads propelled by tentacles. And this one managed to fuel my imagination enough to make an appearance in my dreams later that evening. It is followed by “The Miracle of the Lily� which I read in the anthology The Future is Female! I was surprised to see an environmental “bugs attack� story considering this was before the atomic age. Now I am curious as to the other influences in that narrative.
“The Menace of Mars� definitely had that hallmark of teaching science within the story, but for an invasion story, I found it a bit overly slow and wanted the menace to present itself sooner than the last two pages. “A Runaway World� had less plausible science lessons, while maintaining the focus of the macro versus the micro. While I really wanted to love “A Certain Soldier� and its weird exploration of a historical footnote, I don’t think I ever quite grokked the solution to the riddle, so I didn't find the conclusion satisfying. The domestic interactions in “The Fifth Dimension� are charming, but the story itself is a bit too slight to hold up the fourth and fifth dimension discussions.
December 27, 2023
Apanhado de contos da autora Clare Winger Harris.
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