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Infinity, August 1956





"INFINITY SCIENCE FICTION", AUGUST 1956

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Richard Wilson
"The Big Fix"

© Infinity Science Fiction, Aug 1956
Time Out For Tomorrow, 1962

Something quite forgettable about drug-addiction in the future. Transporting emerging social issues of the Fifties into SF pulp form does not take much imagination.
review: 24-Jul-06 (read in 2001)

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Isaac Asimov
"Someday"

© Infinity Science Fiction, Aug 1956
Earth Is Room Enough, 1957

Very straight-forward story about people in the future unable to write stories any more and using "the Bards" - story-telling computers. I find it a far-fetched idea, but fun to extrapolate, which Asimov does here with some wry humour.
review: 24-Jul-06 (read in 2001)

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Edward Wellen
"The World in the Jukebox"

© Infinity Science Fiction, Aug 1956

Pre-history, time-monitoring... Ed Emshwiller illustrated this story in a sweet fifties "lady in distress" style. Otherwise it's a forgettable novella.
review: 24-Jul-06 (read in 2001)



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Damon Knight
"The Beach Where Time Began"
(also as "Extempore")
© Infinity Stories, Aug 1956
Far Out, 1961
--/ cool time sf story
--/ style award

Stylish, engaging story with wide vistas of time and disparate threads of thought. Sticks out in a sea of mediocrity and points to a very promising writer. (and editor... and thinker...) Although the general effect is still blurry and vague.
review: 24-Jul-06 (read in 2001)

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Randall Garrett
"Stroke of Genius"

© Infinity Science Fiction, Aug 1956

Randal Garrett stories as a rule do not click with me. I am not even sure what the problem is. I guess they're just generally not exciting.
review: 24-Jul-06 (read in 2001)

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Harlan Ellison
"Trojan Hearse"
© Infinity Stories, Aug 1956

Typical Ellison's "slight space opera" tale from his early period. Somebody on the internet remembered what it's about, but I totally forgot. Apparently a comic book episode was also made from that story: "Portals ("orifices") can be opened to controllable locations on Earth; the aliens got the portal technology first; an Earth spy learned about coming invasion so that humans could put up a portal of their own in front of the enemy portal." Simple, baby.
review: 24-Jul-06 (read in 2001)

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Robert Silverberg
"The Final Challenge"
© Infinity Science Fiction, Aug 1956
The Shores Of Tomorrow, 1976

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Overall story level is disappointingly average. This is actually one of the weakest pulp issues EVER in the history of SF (alas, I can remember a bunch of other contenders). Gives you an idea how mediocre quality can be... Oh, well.

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"SF&F Reading Experience" is part of "Dark Roasted Blend / Thrilling Wonder" family of sites. We try to highlight the most entertaining and rewarding science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on memorable reader experience, not necessarily general acceptance by the critics. Have fun, and delve into our extensive ratings and reviews!

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