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Dream Quest, v. 1, issue 1, July 1947

Page 25

DREAM QUEST     25

fought token wars in the pay of various Keeps. Their headquarters were bases on the shores of the oceans. However, FURY takes place several hundred years later. The free companies have died, and all mankind's remnant is rotting in the Keeps. It is a hedonistic culture -- there is no constructive task, and release -- usually through degeneracy -- is all that occupies the attention of the population.

APPArently Kuttner read "Methuselah's children," for there are longlived "families" here too -- not immortal, merely possessed of lengths of life much greater than those of the normal inhabitants. A member of one of these families takes a freewife (there is no ceremony of marriage) and has a son. The wife dies during the son's birth; the man blames the son entirely; disowns him, has his hair removed, disfigures him, makes sure that his identity is lost. From there on the tale proceeds to tell the adventures of Sam Reed (really Sam Harker) and of a first abortive attempt to re-establish the land colony. We hope the story gets more interesting as Part Two arrives.

For "Fury" isn't the story it could have been, with Kuttner's great storytelling ability and Moore's sheer beauty of writing. Far too much time is spent in introduction -- the only stories of recent times having more introduction -- there were two -- were TITANS' BATTLE, which was all one bit introduction with no story, and HOME OF THE GODS,  van Vogt saga in which the introduction exceeded the story in length. Perhaps the authors hadn't intended these tales to be introductions -- perhaps it is only an unconscious style-manifestation. Be that as it may, however, the style of writing in "Fury" should be avoided -- it certainly does not add to the readability or quality of the story. However, Part I isn't everything -- there's still two more parts for H. K. C. L. M. O'D. to reveal him/her/themself/selves. ((!))

The next, and a highly readable, contribution to this issue is by Theodore Sturgeon, and is called "Tiny and the Monster." It tells of what happens when a creature from space, marooned on Earth due to broken space ship parts, uses a great Dane called Tiny to help him escape. The old guard stfists, those of the War of the Worlds school, would be thrown into rages by this story -- the invading monster from space is not evil at all, but harbors only kind intentions. Horrors! No opportunity for Barrelchestpeabrain and his lovely sweetheart and her scientist father to save the earth! Seriously, though, "Tiny and the Monster," while no means anywhere near the best thing that Sturgeon has turned out, still makes highly engrossing reading; we hope to see many more stories which pass the time as interestingly as did this one. We have two authors down as "men who can do no wrong" -- Sturgeon and Ray Bradbury. They both continue steadily to deserve the title -- as far as we know, neither has ever written a bad story.

As you progress through the pages of the issue, the next yarn you will read is a little saga by Kuttner Padgett, called "Jesting Pilot."
***
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DREAM QUEST 25 fought token wars in the pay of various Keeps. Their headquarters were bases on the shores of the oceans. However, FURY takes place several hundred years later. The free companies have died, and all mankind's remnant is rotting in the Keeps. It is a hedonistic culture -- there is no constructive task, and release -- usually through degeneracy -- is all that occupies the attention of the population. APPArently Kuttner read "Methuselah's children," for there are longlived "families" here too -- not immortal, merely possessed of lengths of life much greater than those of the normal inhabitants. A member of one of these families takes a freewife (there is no ceremony of marriage) and has a son. The wife dies during the son's birth; the man blames the son entirely; disowns him, has his hair removed, disfigures him, makes sure that his identity is lost. From there on the tale proceeds to tell the adventures of Sam Reed (really Sam Harker) and of a first abortive attempt to re-establish the land colony. We hope the story gets more interesting as Part Two arrives. For "Fury" isn't the story it could have been, with Kuttner's great storytelling ability and Moore's sheer beauty of writing. Far too much time is spent in introduction -- the only stories of recent times having more introduction -- there were two -- were TITANS' BATTLE, which was all one bit introduction with no story, and HOME OF THE GODS, van Vogt saga in which the introduction exceeded the story in length. Perhaps the authors hadn't intended these tales to be introductions -- perhaps it is only an unconscious style-manifestation. Be that as it may, however, the style of writing in "Fury" should be avoided -- it certainly does not add to the readability or quality of the story. However, Part I isn't everything -- there's still two more parts for H. K. C. L. M. O'D. to reveal him/her/themself/selves. ((!)) The next, and a highly readable, contribution to this issue is by Theodore Sturgeon, and is called "Tiny and the Monster." It tells of what happens when a creature from space, marooned on Earth due to broken space ship parts, uses a great Dane called Tiny to help him escape. The old guard stfists, those of the War of the Worlds school, would be thrown into rages by this story -- the invading monster from space is not evil at all, but harbors only kind intentions. Horrors! No opportunity for Barrelchestpeabrain and his lovely sweetheart and her scientist father to save the earth! Seriously, though, "Tiny and the Monster," while no means anywhere near the best thing that Sturgeon has turned out, still makes highly engrossing reading; we hope to see many more stories which pass the time as interestingly as did this one. We have two authors down as "men who can do no wrong" -- Sturgeon and Ray Bradbury. They both continue steadily to deserve the title -- as far as we know, neither has ever written a bad story. As you progress through the pages of the issue, the next yarn you will read is a little saga by Kuttner Padgett, called "Jesting Pilot." *** SUPPORT THE PHILCON!