Science Fiction Weinbaum, Stanley G: A Martian Odyssey and Others. v1. 7 Feb 2008

[Stanart]

A Martian Odyssey and Others is a collection of stories by Stanley G. Weinbaum published in 1949. From Wikipedia:

“A Martian Odyssey is a science fiction short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum originally published in the July 1934 issue of Wonder Stories. It was Weinbaum's first published story, and remains his best known. It was followed four months later by a sequel, "Valley of Dreams". These are the only stories by Weinbaum set on Mars.

It would be impossible to overstate the influence of "A Martian Odyssey" on science fiction. The story immediately established Weinbaum as a leading figure in the field. Isaac Asimov states that Weinbaum's "easy style and his realistic description of extraterrestrial scenes and life-forms were better than anything yet seen, and the science fiction reading public went mad over him." The story "had the effect on the field of an exploding grenade. With this single story, Weinbaum was instantly recognized as the world's best living science fiction writer, and at once almost every writer in the field tried to imitate him."

Before, aliens had been nothing more than plot devices to help or hinder the hero. Weinbaum's creations, like the pyramid-builder and the cart creatures, have their own reasons for existing. Also, their logic is not human logic, and humans can't always puzzle out their motivations. Tweel itself was one of the first characters (arguably the first) who satisfied John W. Campbell's famous challenge: "Write me a creature who thinks as well as a man, or better than a man, but not like a man."

In 1970, when the Science Fiction Writers of America voted on the best science fiction short stories of all time, "A Martian Odyssey" came in second to Asimov's "Nightfall", but was the earliest story to make the list. The chosen stories were published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964.”

The stories included in the 1949 A Martian Odyssey and Others included:
· A Martian Odyssey first published in Wonder Stories Jul ’34
· Valley of Dreams first published in Wonder Stories Nov ’34
· The Adaptive Ultimate first published in Astounding Nov ’35
· The Mad Moon first published in Astounding Dec ’35
· The Worlds of If first published in Wonder Stories Aug ’35
· The Ideal first published in Wonder Stories Sep ’35
· The Point of View first published in Wonder Stories Jan/Feb ’36
· Pygmalion’s Spectacles first published in Wonder Stories Jun ’35
· Parasite Planet first published in Astounding Feb ’35
· The Lotus Eaters first published in Astounding Apr ’35
· The Planet of Doubt first published in Astounding Oct ’35
· The Circle of Zero first published in Thrilling Wonder Stories Aug ’36

The collection posted here includes all the stories except for The Planet of Doubt for which I could not find an electronic copy.

10 Feb 2008: v2 posted. Thanks to Mickey, I have now included The Planet of Doubt. The previous version had 4 downloads.

This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

To report a copyright violation you can contact us here.

[Stanart]

Many thanks to Mickey, who was able to forward to me a rtf file of The Planet of Doubt. So the book is now complete. Planet of Doubt - you complete me.

[Roberts324]

Originally Posted by Stanart

Many thanks to Mickey, who was able to forward to me a rtf file of The Planet of Doubt. So the book is now complete. Planet of Doubt - you complete me.

The list is incomplete; Weinbaum has written more tales than this. I know it because I translated all of them to French.

I could send you an electronic file with all those stories; please tell me an email address for this.