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7. Out of Bounds by Judith Merril - When I wrote this article I was influenced by Cordwainer Smith being amazing and Judith Merril's Best Science Fiction Collection from 1960 which had more women writers than I expected. Some of them were considered mainstream now and most were forgotten and they were all better than what I expected out of Golden Age. So I had to buy a Judith Merril book.
And damn, did I ever beat the shit out of this book. I shouldn't have read it in the rain. Coincidentally Samuel Delaney started talking about her on his Facebook page. She was his friend in the village and he was even at a dinner where she sold a book almost by accident. I think that's how it goes.
Anyhow, this is a book of short stories and there aren't many so I'm just going to take it story by story
1. That Only a Mother - This one might be the earliest one in the collection. It's definitely one of those ones about fear of nuclear power. It also seems to have been written before the Twilight Zone since it's based around a twist ending. Basically it's about a woman who gives birth to a mutant but doesn't realize it. Her husband realizes that the baby is all snake like.
2. Peeping Tom - Tom is in the Korean War and decides to learn telepathy from the local wise man. This is one of those classic science fiction where it doesn't matter HOW one gets magic power, it's what the newly powerful one does with it. And Tom is horny so he figures out when to make a move on the women he's with. There's a moment when they decide to fuck him and if he doesn't capitalize on it they change their minds. Never let critics tell you that Philip Jose Farmer made science fiction horny.
Anyhow this story is also based on a twist ending. Tom marries the nurse and finds out that she's also telepathic.
3. The Lady was a Tramp - This one confused me. I think that the only woman on the spaceship is the whore. The POV character is repulsed by her, but he's also going to fuck her. It's a weird story. I really didn't figure it out.
4. Whoever You Are - This one was also confusing. But I think it was supposed to be about the confusion of trying to communicate with aliens. The story ends with an analogy of a woman throwing a note over a wall that says "I love you" but what does it mean? What does it mean to make contact with the aliens.
5. Connection Completed - Judith Merril was a romantic at heart, but the thing is I found this story to be the kind of story that I write. It's a story about two people who make a connection but it's about that connection, leaving it ambiguous. In this case, a man sees a woman that he dreams about in a restaurant. She sits down and they talk but it's awkward. It's only when she takes control and lets on that she has been dreaming about him that it comes together. So it's weird but sweet.
6. Dead Center - This is the most SCIENCE fiction because it's actually about science or engineering to be exact. Written years before the first moon landing, this is a story that shifts perspective between an astronaut, his wife and their son. It's a slow moving tragedy that masterfully balances out the narrative. It's also got an ending that makes no sense as the son ends up too close to the launch pad and dies. That's the bit that works on an emotional thematic level but not on a logical one since security would stop it.
7. Death Cannot Wither - This one is more a fantasy ghost story. It's interesting for the gender politics. A woman marries a man in order to make him a project. Once he's dead she goes into her own business but when she returns to the estate she finds his ghost. He wants to be let go but he's the main reason why she has value so she holds onto it. Finally she gets pregnant with his ghost baby. It's the ghost baby that lets her say goodbye even as she goes to the water where he's buried and gives up the ghost baby to the ghost husband.
So these are horny fascinating stories that are great for what they say about relationships in both the 1960s and now.
And damn, did I ever beat the shit out of this book. I shouldn't have read it in the rain. Coincidentally Samuel Delaney started talking about her on his Facebook page. She was his friend in the village and he was even at a dinner where she sold a book almost by accident. I think that's how it goes.
Anyhow, this is a book of short stories and there aren't many so I'm just going to take it story by story
1. That Only a Mother - This one might be the earliest one in the collection. It's definitely one of those ones about fear of nuclear power. It also seems to have been written before the Twilight Zone since it's based around a twist ending. Basically it's about a woman who gives birth to a mutant but doesn't realize it. Her husband realizes that the baby is all snake like.
2. Peeping Tom - Tom is in the Korean War and decides to learn telepathy from the local wise man. This is one of those classic science fiction where it doesn't matter HOW one gets magic power, it's what the newly powerful one does with it. And Tom is horny so he figures out when to make a move on the women he's with. There's a moment when they decide to fuck him and if he doesn't capitalize on it they change their minds. Never let critics tell you that Philip Jose Farmer made science fiction horny.
Anyhow this story is also based on a twist ending. Tom marries the nurse and finds out that she's also telepathic.
3. The Lady was a Tramp - This one confused me. I think that the only woman on the spaceship is the whore. The POV character is repulsed by her, but he's also going to fuck her. It's a weird story. I really didn't figure it out.
4. Whoever You Are - This one was also confusing. But I think it was supposed to be about the confusion of trying to communicate with aliens. The story ends with an analogy of a woman throwing a note over a wall that says "I love you" but what does it mean? What does it mean to make contact with the aliens.
5. Connection Completed - Judith Merril was a romantic at heart, but the thing is I found this story to be the kind of story that I write. It's a story about two people who make a connection but it's about that connection, leaving it ambiguous. In this case, a man sees a woman that he dreams about in a restaurant. She sits down and they talk but it's awkward. It's only when she takes control and lets on that she has been dreaming about him that it comes together. So it's weird but sweet.
6. Dead Center - This is the most SCIENCE fiction because it's actually about science or engineering to be exact. Written years before the first moon landing, this is a story that shifts perspective between an astronaut, his wife and their son. It's a slow moving tragedy that masterfully balances out the narrative. It's also got an ending that makes no sense as the son ends up too close to the launch pad and dies. That's the bit that works on an emotional thematic level but not on a logical one since security would stop it.
7. Death Cannot Wither - This one is more a fantasy ghost story. It's interesting for the gender politics. A woman marries a man in order to make him a project. Once he's dead she goes into her own business but when she returns to the estate she finds his ghost. He wants to be let go but he's the main reason why she has value so she holds onto it. Finally she gets pregnant with his ghost baby. It's the ghost baby that lets her say goodbye even as she goes to the water where he's buried and gives up the ghost baby to the ghost husband.
So these are horny fascinating stories that are great for what they say about relationships in both the 1960s and now.
