First published in 1956 by editor Judith Merril, this Genre Anthology contains eighteen Science Fiction stories, ranging in length from Short Story to Novelette.
Works in this anthology:
- "Introduction", by Orson Welles
- "Preface", by Judith Merril
- "The Stutterer", by RR Merliss (1955)
- "The Golem", by Avram Davidson (1955)
- "Junior", by Robert Abernathy (1956)
- "The Cave Of Night", by James E. Gunn (1955)
- "The Hoofer", by Walter M Miller Jr (1955)
- "Bulkhead", by Theodore Sturgeon (1955)
- "Sense From Thought Divide", by Mark Clifton (1955)
- "Pottage", by Zenna Henderson (1955)
- "Nobody Bothers Gus", by Algis Budrys (1955)
- "The Last Day Of Summer", by EC Tubb (1955)
- "One Ordinary Day With Peanuts", by Shirley Jackson (1955)
- "The Ethicators", by Willard Marsh (1955)
- "Birds Cant Count", by Mildred Clingerman (1955)
- "Of Missing Persons", by Jack Finney (1955)
- "Dreaming is a Private Thing", by Isaac Asimov (1955)
- "The Country Of The Kind", by Damon Knight (1956)
- "The Public Hating", by Steve Allen (1955)
- "Home Theres No Returning", by C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner (1955)
Tropes appearing in this work:
- "Best Of" Anthology: Published in 1956, the eighteen best Science Fiction stories of 1955 are anthologized by editor Judith Merril.
- Book Ends: When "The Golem" begins, Mrs Gumbiner is writing to a friend, and Mr Gumbiner asks what she'll write. During the story, an android appears, announces the death of its creator, threatens them, and gets deactivated by Mr Gumbiner's attack. Then they fix it up and get it to do chores for them. Mrs Gumbiner goes back to her letter, and Mr Gumbiner asks what she'll write.
- Brain Uploading: In "The Stutterer", by RR Merliss, the robots were created by copying a human mind onto a magnetized permallium strip of metal.
- Epigraph: "Sense From Thought Divide", by Mark Clifton, both takes it name from and begins with a quotation from Alexander Pope.
- Faking the Dead: In "The Cave Of Night", by James E. Gunn, the astronaut Reverdy McMillen was trapped in a ship that had run out of fuel in orbit around the Earth. He spent thirty days in orbit, dying just an hour before the rescue mission was able to dock with him. Or maybe he hadn't, and the thirty days of emergency were faked, because the Narrator believes he saw Rev in New York City.
- Framing Device: "The Cave Of Night", by James E. Gunn, is presented as if by a newspaper reporter, about a rescue attempt of an American astronaut early in the space race. By the reporter's reckoning, these events are why there are currently manned missions planned for Mars.
- Fugitive Arc: In "The Stutterer", by RR Merliss, the robots were made as war machines, and now that the war is over they're to be decommissioned. Disliking the idea, the robots try escaping. The titular robot tries to hide on Earth, and hundreds of agents are dispatched to various planets to try tracking it down.
- Hologram: "The Stutterer", by RR Merliss, has inflight movies taking place on teledepth screens, and uses them to broadcast news, and place phone calls as well.
- In Case You Forgot Who Wrote It: Only four of eighteen authors are included on the cover. In addition to editor Judith Merril and introduction by Orson Welles, the cover lists Theodore Sturgeon, Steve Allen, Isaac Asimov, and Shirley Jackson as contributing to the Anthology.
- Irony: In "The Golem", the old couple has just prevented a Turned Against Their Masters war, but don't seem to think it's worth writing about to their friends.
- Literary Allusion Title: In "The Golem", the title refers both to the old legend about Rabbi Loeb (which is summarized in the story) and the stranger that has come to their porch.
- Meaningful Name: In "Junior", by Robert Abernathy, each of the named characters has a name referencing their role in the story. Pater is an archaic English word for father, Mater is a similarly archaic word for mother, and Junior is the name of their son.
- One-Word Title:
- "Bulkhead", by Theodore Sturgeon
- "Junior", by Robert Abernathy
- "Pottage", by Zenna Henderson
- Orwellian Retcon: In this Anthology, there is a note on the first page of "Sense From Thought Divide", by Mark Clifton, admitting to revisions from the original publication.
- Second-Person Narration: In "Bulkhead", by Theodore Sturgeon, you are a specially-trained pilot, trying to fly through the Long Haul. If you can manage to get through the trip, you'll be ready to graduate as a starship captain. Your only company is a shipmate chosen for you. Some people end up going crazy and killing each other, can you avoid that fate?
- Shout-Out:
- In the introduction, Orson Welles mentions two creators by name:
- Puppet Masters, by Robert A. Heinlein, is described as being a good Science Fiction novel; incredibly rare.
- The Brothers Grimm are used as an example of the older fairy tales and fables that Mrs Welles is more comfortable with, and that genre is compared directly to modern science fiction, claiming that both suit the Short Story format better than Novel-length and both are tales of fantastical adventures.
- In the preface, Judith Merril continues from the trend by Mr Welles, and compares the stories of today's Science Fantasy to Aesop.
- In "The Golem":
- The android mentions having read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
- The android mentions having read R.U.R. by Karel Čapek.
- The android mentions having read Isaac Asimov in general.
- The old couple summarize the Jewish legend of the Golem.
- In the introduction, Orson Welles mentions two creators by name:
- Space Madness: In "Bulkhead", by Theodore Sturgeon, the space agency is testing out a new way to prevent the loneliness of space travel from driving people insane, and you're separated from your shipmate to preserve your life.
- Space People: In "The Hoofer", by Walter M Miller Jr, the title refers to people who stay planetbound, because they "hoof it", or "walk", everywhere. These people are contrasted by "tumblers" who tumble through space to get around. These are early days of space exploration, though, so fathers are not hired or rehired when their contracts expire. The protagonist has recently become a father and, like it or not, another Hoofer.
- Telepathy: In "The Stutterer", by RR Merliss, the robots have, inside their heads, tiny tools to send and receive electromagnetic signals, including brainwave patterns. Once the titular robot gets the powerful electric current it needs, each of the twenty robots take turns sending their stories to the minds of thirteen billion people on Earth, about a quarter of the population.
- Title Drop: In "The Cave Of Night", by James E. Gunn, the title is used early, to describe the darkness of space, even in Earth's orbit.
- Video Phone: In "The Stutterer", by RR Merliss, when the agent chasing down the titular robot arrives on Earth, he reports in via teledepth screen.
- World War III: In "The Stutterer", by RR Merliss, the Third World War was long ago, and had seen atomic fission plants demolished.
