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Scientifictionist, v. 1, issue 2, whole no. 2, 1945
Page 11
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AMONG THE CLASSICS Norman Stanley A Voice Across the Years: Novel by I.M. Stephens and Fletcher Pratt. AMAZING STORIES QUARTERLY, Vol. 5 No. 1 (Winter 1932) Those who appreciate satirical fiction au Coblentz or otherwise, will find meat worthy of their digestion in this seldom mentioned, but nonetheless classic tale of interstellar travel. It is one of your reviewer's favorites. I consider it to be in many ways superior to the Coblentz satires, especially in that the authors achieve the satirical effect without resorting to the ridiculously extreme comparisons that are Coblentz' stock in trade. And in addition they have put a wealth of sound science and philosophy into the story. The following brief outline gives an idea of some of the thought (and mirth) provoking situations which occur therein; an explorer from a human technologically advanced race on a distant world (Murashema) lands on Earth in a space-ship crack-up. He is rescued from his wrecked ship by two earthmen who take him to the isolated cabin where they are vacationing. There he learns English telepathically from a copy of "The Merchant of Venice", and for some time thereafter he speaks only in blank verse and with a decidedly limited Shakesperean vocabulary (his ship must perforce be a "leaden casket"). It appears that he is one of the many explorers sent out by the Murashemans in search of "gabo", the element from whose atomic disintegration their civilization derives its power supply. The continued existence of their civilization depends on the replenishment of its nearly exhausted store of "gabo". When our explorer discovers that "gabo" is the element mercury, which is plentiful on earth, he is delighted and immediately sets about to construct a ship with which to carry a supply of the metal back to his native world. In this project he is aided by his two Tellurian friends. Funds for the purchase of the mercury and materials for the space-ship are provided when, after an all-too-successful venture at making synthetic diamonds, the explorer uses his knowledge of atomic transmutation to manufacture gold, which his two friends sell for him. But while the work on the ship proceeds well enough, things otherwise go from bad to worse as his friends strive to pass him off as an earthman and his exceedingly rigid and complex Murasheman code of ethics continually bumps up against the equally complex, but oh so different Tellurian standards. The story then takes him back to Murashema with one of the earthmen as a companion. There much the same difficulties arise when the latter tackles the Murasheman brand of civilization. There is areally wonderful description of the Murasheman social organization, which is totally unlike anything to be found in Tellurian soiety. It is a concealed dig at Utopias in general. Murasheman society has no unemployment, no wars, no crime, no youth problem (they solve this one in a most surprising manner), in fact, none of the ills of earthly society. But the Murashemans have their troubles, nevertheless. As a satire, the "Voice..." is superb and as a story it is not without its moments of suspense and action. If you like Stf at all, you'll like this novel. page 11
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AMONG THE CLASSICS Norman Stanley A Voice Across the Years: Novel by I.M. Stephens and Fletcher Pratt. AMAZING STORIES QUARTERLY, Vol. 5 No. 1 (Winter 1932) Those who appreciate satirical fiction au Coblentz or otherwise, will find meat worthy of their digestion in this seldom mentioned, but nonetheless classic tale of interstellar travel. It is one of your reviewer's favorites. I consider it to be in many ways superior to the Coblentz satires, especially in that the authors achieve the satirical effect without resorting to the ridiculously extreme comparisons that are Coblentz' stock in trade. And in addition they have put a wealth of sound science and philosophy into the story. The following brief outline gives an idea of some of the thought (and mirth) provoking situations which occur therein; an explorer from a human technologically advanced race on a distant world (Murashema) lands on Earth in a space-ship crack-up. He is rescued from his wrecked ship by two earthmen who take him to the isolated cabin where they are vacationing. There he learns English telepathically from a copy of "The Merchant of Venice", and for some time thereafter he speaks only in blank verse and with a decidedly limited Shakesperean vocabulary (his ship must perforce be a "leaden casket"). It appears that he is one of the many explorers sent out by the Murashemans in search of "gabo", the element from whose atomic disintegration their civilization derives its power supply. The continued existence of their civilization depends on the replenishment of its nearly exhausted store of "gabo". When our explorer discovers that "gabo" is the element mercury, which is plentiful on earth, he is delighted and immediately sets about to construct a ship with which to carry a supply of the metal back to his native world. In this project he is aided by his two Tellurian friends. Funds for the purchase of the mercury and materials for the space-ship are provided when, after an all-too-successful venture at making synthetic diamonds, the explorer uses his knowledge of atomic transmutation to manufacture gold, which his two friends sell for him. But while the work on the ship proceeds well enough, things otherwise go from bad to worse as his friends strive to pass him off as an earthman and his exceedingly rigid and complex Murasheman code of ethics continually bumps up against the equally complex, but oh so different Tellurian standards. The story then takes him back to Murashema with one of the earthmen as a companion. There much the same difficulties arise when the latter tackles the Murasheman brand of civilization. There is areally wonderful description of the Murasheman social organization, which is totally unlike anything to be found in Tellurian soiety. It is a concealed dig at Utopias in general. Murasheman society has no unemployment, no wars, no crime, no youth problem (they solve this one in a most surprising manner), in fact, none of the ills of earthly society. But the Murashemans have their troubles, nevertheless. As a satire, the "Voice..." is superb and as a story it is not without its moments of suspense and action. If you like Stf at all, you'll like this novel. page 11
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