Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore. Home There’s No Returning. (No Boundaries, 1955.)
‘Mr. & Mrs. Henry Kuttner’ ponder whether flesh & blood, despite their inherent weaknesses, are superior to computers.
Steve Allen. The Public Hating. (The Blue Book Magazine, January 1955)
Imagine, a sports stadium full of hateful people, encouraged to be hateful, by the government. Sheer fantasy of course.
Damon Knight. The Country of the Kind. (The Magazine of Fantasy of Science Fiction, February 1956.)
A rather dark, disturbing story from Knight, somewhat at odds with the rest of the volume (and possibly the majority of SF in the mid-50s).
Isaac Asimov. Dreaming Is A Private Thing. (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1955)
Asimov posits a new technology, ‘dreamies’, a form of immersive VR, but instead of being digitally coded, the dreamies are created by capturing and editing the dreams of the small percentage of the population who dream vivid dreams.
Jack Finney. Of Missing Persons. (Good Housekeeping, March 1955)
A travel agent can get you a one-way ticket to somewhere very different and very special. It’s one-way and a one-off chance.
Mildred Clingerman. Birds Can’t Count. (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1955).
A touch of sauciness for the 1950s!
Willard Marsh. The Ethicators. (Worlds of If Magazine, August 1955)
Humorous story in which missionaries from the Antarean region arrive on Earth and are horrified by what they see – flesh-eating monsters and barbaric humans.
Shirley Jackson. One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts. (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1955.)
Nice little story featuring the awfully nice Mr. Johnson, who spends his day in New York being rather helpful to people who cross his path.
E.C. Tubb. The Last Day of Summer. (Science Fantasy #12 1955)
After three rejuves, old age comes apace, and John Melhuey wishes to avoid decrepitude.
Algis Budrys. Nobody Bothers Gus. (Astounding November 1955)
One of a trio of stories about Gussie Kusevic, one of a breed of humans that have developed beyond homo sapien.
Zenna Henderson. Pottage. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1955)
One of a series of stories in Henderson’s ‘The People’ series, featuring an alien race, indistinguishable from humans and living amongst us, typically in small remote communities, hiding their special abilities and remaining incognito.
Mark Clifton. Sense From Thought Divide. (Astounding Science Fiction, March 1955)
A mildly amusing tale of psi, swamis, scientific framework and anti-gravity. Rather longer than it really needed to be….
Theodore Sturgeon. Bulkhead. (Galaxy, March 1955)
A solo ‘Long Haul’ trip to pass muster for the role of starship captain. Except, there is someone else to keep you company.
Walter M. Miller Jr. The Hoofer. (Fantastic Universe, September 1955)
A great read with some wonderful writing.
James E. Gunn. The Cave of Night. (Galaxy February 1955)
Gunn’s tale foreshadows the drama of Apollo 13 and the ‘fake Moon landing’ conspiracy theorists.
Robert Abernathy. Junior. (Galaxy Magazine January 1956)
A troublesome teen decides that he wants more from life than putting roots down with a nice girl. (Oh, and he’s an alien).
Avram Davidson. The Golem. (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1955)
A sweet little story in which an elderly, retired Jewish couple sitting on their porch are paid a visit by a Golem hell-bent on world domination.
Michael F. Flynn. Nexus. (Analog, March/April 2017.)
A thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining story.
Maureen McHugh. Sidewalks. (Omni Magazine, November 2017)
Sensitive story from McHugh.
H. Pueyo. What the South Wind Whispers. (Clarkesworld Magazine, #146 November 2018)
Two people on the spectrum, and a British AI, and treachery…
Rich Larson. Octo-Heist in Progress. (Clarkesworld Magazine #146 November 2018)
A short, fun story from Larson.