ELSEWHERE AND ELSEWHEN

Groff Conklin was one of the best anthologizers of science fiction, fantasy and horror short stories in the twentieth-century. If an anthology had Cronklin's name on it, the reader could be sure they were about to read some really good stuff. But no anthology, no matter how well curated, is going to score 100% every time. Like the proverbial box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get, which stories are going to be to your individual liking and which aren't.

Such is the case with ELSEWHERE AND ELSEWHEN (1968), a solid sampler of mid-century American science fiction selected from the pages of various science fiction magazines of the time. Of the nine stories contained within, there was only one that I didn't care for. One story was my favorite, while another ran a close second and the rest were all enjoyable. That's a pretty decent batting average in any one's book and your mileage (and tastes) may vary.

The only story I didn't care for was the lead off entry, SHORTSTACK by Walt and Leigh Richmond. It was originally published in ANALOG SCIENCE FICTION/SCIENCE FACT, December 1964. It's not terrible, it's just totally devoid of any dramatic tension.

The best story, in my estimation, was THINK BLUE, COUNT TWO from GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION, February, 1963) by the late, great Cordwainer Smith. This was my first exposure to Smith's writing and I found it to be wonderfully stylish and narratively compelling. My second favorite story was EARTHMAN'S BURDEN (GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION, October 1962) by the legendary Donald Westlake. Westlake, whether writing under his own name or as Richard Stark, is one of my favorite writers. I was unaware that he had ever written any science fiction and finding this little jewel of a tale was an unexpected delight. Sly humor in the Westlake style abounds in this one.

The remainder of the stories were all decent. None of the stories stand out as being either terrific or terrible but I enjoyed reading them. They are: HOW ALLIED (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, December 1957) by Mark Clifton, THE WRONG WORLD (GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION, December 1960) by J.T, McIntosh, WORLD IN A BOTTLE (GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION, October 1960 by Allen Kim Lang, TURNING POINT (IF SCIENCE FICTION, May 1963) by Poul Anderson, THE BOOK (GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION, November, 1953) by Michael Shaara, and TROUBLE TIDE (ANALOG SCIENCE FICTION/SCIENCE FACT, May, 1965) by James H. Schmitz.

As you can see, the majority of stories originally appeared in GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION, which is a sign of the high quality of the science fiction published by that magazine.

ELSEWHERE AND ELSEWHEN is definitely worth a read by any science fiction aficionado.

Thumbs up.