[Jan. 21, 1960] Siamese, if you please (February 1960 Galaxy)

[galacticjourney]

I made fun of Galaxy editor Horace Gold for the slightly panicked tone in this month's editorial. It's clear that he has concerns that the quality of his magazine might dip unless he can tap a reservoir of new talent.

That said, the February 1960 Galaxy finishes as it started (and as did its sister, the January 1960 IF)--on the good side of three stars, but not too far from the middle. Let us see how Part 2 turned out.

I am sad to report that Willy Ley's articles just aren't as engaging as once they were. They were what originally sold me on getting subscription, Galaxy being the first magazine I followed regularly. The lovable ex-German just seems unfocused and a little cranky these days.

Zenna Henderson's Something Bright, on the other hand, is that engaging mix of magic, grit, unease, and wonder that I have come to expect from her. This one is told from the point of view of a Depression-era teen who has a close encounter with a peculiar, and rather frightening, neighbor. It's nice to see work by two woman authors in Galaxy, a sign that the genre as a whole is becoming more balanced.


Dillon

Simak's Crying Jag takes place in a similar setting—he does enjoy those rustic tales, evocative of his home in rural Minnesota. In this one, the rather soused protagonist becomes the friend and keeper of an alien for whom sad stories are an intoxicant. Everybody wins in this one, as the storytellers thus find themselves free of their psychological pain. Not stellar, but enjoyable.


Wallace Wood

For some reason, I really enjoyed David Fisher's East in the Morning, about a intellectual prodigy who must wait until his very old age for his genius to bear fruit. It is told in this detached yet gripping manner that I found engaging. Perhaps there is a bit of identification, too—after all, I too blazed through my early life displaying signs of promise and even, perhaps, genius... but I'm still waiting to make my mark. Someday.


Dick Francis

Sadly, the magazine has stumbles to an unimpressive finish. Jim Wannamaker is a new face to the science fiction world, and his Death's Wisher, about a psychokinetic who threatens to blow up the world by setting off its hydrogen bombs, is not an impressive first outing. Truth to tell, I almost fell asleep.


Dick Francis

Space news is up next. All about a midget Mercury and its furry astronaut. Stay tuned!

(all Galaxy magazines can be found here)

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Comments

[laurose8]

To my tastes February is a valentine of an issue. Meeting of the Minds: Bravo Sheckley! Just shows how strong talent can produce a gripping story from the tiredest plot. One can see someone betting Sheckley he couldn't, and Sheckley saying ha ha, amidst the trumpets. Love the humanity meets alien action being cast on Earth, and how Sheckley has managed to get so astronautish a crew together; old style treasure seekers are indeed their equivalent. The Martian/human interaction was so well done, and so was the skipper sailing into the lagoon. The Quedak struck me as a little cybernetic at first, but those emotions could well have been most naturally evolved. I do protest that cassowaries are handsome birds.

I skimmed Dumbwaiter, finding the protagonist more repulsive than funny, and thought Death's Wisher's character too papery to read.

I admit I almost gave up on The Day The Iceworks Closed right at the beginning, the set up seemed so parochial. Though, it's probably my personal prejudices which make me prefer either universal employment in space colonies, or no need for it. The solution of the story's core mystery is dramatic but unsound, but there are some space opera touches that make it well worth the reading. And though I often say 'soppy boy stuff' about romance, it's not too bad here.

It's probably foolish of me to disagree with someone so much more knowledgeable than myself, but I do with Ley about languages. Not, perhaps, one language for the planet. But after all, there were a lot more languages before the Roman Empire, and where it was, except for unlettered immigrants like the English, the languages are all Latin dialects. Also, though we'd like to think the day of forced Anglicisation is over, such as with the Native American tribes, there's no reason to think it won't be, and isn't being, repeated. There were a lot of languages in Australia that are extinct. And we Anglos aren't the only guilty ones. The French, for instance, go to such drastic and violent lengths to fight the Breton language as a literary medium, and if Bretons can't use it in literature, they're less likely to use it for other things.

And of course for Something Bright, cheers. I should like it best, it's brilliant. But East in the Morning is so original and elegant and solid I think I like it even more. SPOILER. I confess I thought there would be a Nimue twist, and I think it's the better and the more original for not having it.

Crying Jag is also good, though not up to the level of those two.

[galacticjourney]

Thanks for reading! I agree--Dumbwaiter was hurt by the smarmy protagonist, and the set-up for Pohl's story was overly conventional for a far-future story. But, once you get past it, it's a pretty interesting mystery.

I'm glad you enjoyed East, too!

All in all, this month's issue feels like an issue of F&SF with a couple of Astounding stories thrown in for padding.

Something Bright

[victoria_silverwolf]

What with one thing and another, the only story I've read so far is "Something Bright." It's definitely a winner. Realistic and poetic at the same time, emotional without stepping over the line into sentimentality, just enough strangeness to make the reader want more.

Re: Something Bright

[galacticjourney]

Such is the hallmark of Ms. Henderson's writing!

[reynardo]

The thing I remember is that she had eggs - every day! Something Bright is one of my favourite Henderson stories, and I love most of hers - even the ones with grumpy narrators. I have a sneaking suspicion she is one of the reasons I went into teaching.

[galacticjourney]

I love Henderson, too.

By the way, we've moved to http://galacticjourney.org and you can see all of our Henderson-related articles here.

(I try to keep all my comments at the main site -- I maintain this echo as a courtesy to my die-hard DW fans, to whom I am eternally grateful for getting the Journey off the ground!)