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Starshine
First Jove/HBJ edition published November 1977. Collection of stories, Derm Fool (1940); The Haunt (1941); Artnan Process (1941); The World Well Lost (1953); The Pod and the Barrier (1957); How to Kill Aunty (1961). "The World Well Lost" is the first sympathetic portrait of homosexuality in modern SF literature.
174 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
About the author
Theodore Sturgeon
728 books735 followersTheodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) is considered one of the godfathers of contemporary science fiction and dark fantasy. The author of numerous acclaimed short stories and novels, among them the classics More Than Human, Venus Plus X, and To Marry Medusa, Sturgeon also wrote for television and holds among his credits two episodes of the original 1960s Star Trek series, for which he created the Vulcan mating ritual and the expression “Live long and prosper.” He is also credited as the inspiration for Kurt Vonnegut’s recurring fictional character Kilgore Trout.
Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 5, 2024
This is a varied collection of six stories; there are three novelettes and three short stories; three from the 1940s, two from the 1950s, and one from the 1960s; three from genre pulps, two from previous collections, and one from Mike Shayne's Mystery Magazine; three science fiction stories, two fantasies, and one mystery... It's a pretty representative mixture of Sturgeon's versatility, with both high humor and pathos. "Derm Fool" and The Haunt from Unknown magazine are favorites, and The World Well Lost has long been celebrated as a classic for its tolerant view of gay existence. How to Kill Aunty is a nice detective story. Some of the bits and pieces haven't aged well, but Sturgeon was important to the field and is a writer worth studying.
October 11, 2019
2.5/5 or 6/10
From Casual Debris.
At the time of publication, many prolific genre short story writers were having small paperback collections published regularly. Since producing these thin paperbacks at the time was an inexpensive exercise, allowing the books to be sold cheaply, publishers released as many titles as possible (or as seemed reasonable). Often stories were reprinted several times across different collections, so that some of these collections mirrored each other by more than half their content (Brian Aldiss immediately comes to mind). In the case of Sturgeon (and others of course), once the popular stories saw print, publishers pillaged the pulps for the less interesting pieces, in order to continue releasing collections under these popular names. Therefore, the latter books during this run tended to be generally weaker.
Sturgeon's Starshine was his fourteenth collection, and the sixth published in English in the 1960s. Half its content was published in the early 1940s, and only one was published in the 1960s (in 1961), which is a straighforward and fairly standard mystery. Slim in size and content, it contains only six stories, including three novelettes, which is unfortunate since weaker stories in a longer format are more painful to plod through than a bad short short. The collection is not terrible, merely average, and the only strong story, "The World Well Lost," had already been included in Sturgeon's respected second collection, from 1953, E Pluribus Unicorn.
Aside from "The World Well Lost," the other passable stories were "Derm Fool," "The Pod and the Barrier" (though only for its premise), and the mystery "How to Kill Aunty." "The Haunt" and "Artnan Process" are familiar and not very good.
Individual reviews of the shorts are at Casual Debris.
From Casual Debris.
At the time of publication, many prolific genre short story writers were having small paperback collections published regularly. Since producing these thin paperbacks at the time was an inexpensive exercise, allowing the books to be sold cheaply, publishers released as many titles as possible (or as seemed reasonable). Often stories were reprinted several times across different collections, so that some of these collections mirrored each other by more than half their content (Brian Aldiss immediately comes to mind). In the case of Sturgeon (and others of course), once the popular stories saw print, publishers pillaged the pulps for the less interesting pieces, in order to continue releasing collections under these popular names. Therefore, the latter books during this run tended to be generally weaker.
Sturgeon's Starshine was his fourteenth collection, and the sixth published in English in the 1960s. Half its content was published in the early 1940s, and only one was published in the 1960s (in 1961), which is a straighforward and fairly standard mystery. Slim in size and content, it contains only six stories, including three novelettes, which is unfortunate since weaker stories in a longer format are more painful to plod through than a bad short short. The collection is not terrible, merely average, and the only strong story, "The World Well Lost," had already been included in Sturgeon's respected second collection, from 1953, E Pluribus Unicorn.
Aside from "The World Well Lost," the other passable stories were "Derm Fool," "The Pod and the Barrier" (though only for its premise), and the mystery "How to Kill Aunty." "The Haunt" and "Artnan Process" are familiar and not very good.
Individual reviews of the shorts are at Casual Debris.
June 26, 2018
Intelligent, creative... but still, dated and sexist and just not that interesting anymore. And, imo, distasteful in many ways.
April 24, 2020
This aptly named collection of six stories shines brightly and showcases the distinct and diverse talents of one of speculative fiction's most celebrated voices.
"Derm Fool" - While courting a beautiful woman, a man with a disturbing skin disease discovers that she suffers from the same affliction—they both molt like reptiles. After isolating the cause as well as a cure, they decide to put both to a profitable use.
"The Haunt" - Two young men rig an abandoned house with special effects in order to scare an unflappable woman, but the results are far more harrowing than expected.
"Artnan Process" - An alien race known as the Artnans possess the technology to transmute Uranium 238 into Uranium 235, but refuse to reveal the process. Earth and Mars each send a crew to the Artnan homeworld in an effort to uncover the secret. Perhaps they'll succeed, if they don't kill each other first.
"The World Well Lost" - A captain and first mate are charged with the task of transporting a pair of alien refugees back to their homeworld. During the journey, the first mate learns that the alien lovers are not only telepaths but of the same gender and for this, they will be executed upon arrival.
"The Pod and the Barrier" - A motley crew of scientists and engineers embark on an expedition to find a way to break through an energy barrier surrounding a planet of benevolent aliens. Each believes that his plan will succeed, but perhaps the power of doubt will be what wins the day.
"How to Kill Aunty" - A willful but crippled elderly woman believes her maladroit nephew is bent on murdering her. Amused by his doltish efforts, she mocks his intelligence by actively aiding his efforts, but the final results are not what she anticipated.
"Derm Fool" - While courting a beautiful woman, a man with a disturbing skin disease discovers that she suffers from the same affliction—they both molt like reptiles. After isolating the cause as well as a cure, they decide to put both to a profitable use.
"The Haunt" - Two young men rig an abandoned house with special effects in order to scare an unflappable woman, but the results are far more harrowing than expected.
"Artnan Process" - An alien race known as the Artnans possess the technology to transmute Uranium 238 into Uranium 235, but refuse to reveal the process. Earth and Mars each send a crew to the Artnan homeworld in an effort to uncover the secret. Perhaps they'll succeed, if they don't kill each other first.
"The World Well Lost" - A captain and first mate are charged with the task of transporting a pair of alien refugees back to their homeworld. During the journey, the first mate learns that the alien lovers are not only telepaths but of the same gender and for this, they will be executed upon arrival.
"The Pod and the Barrier" - A motley crew of scientists and engineers embark on an expedition to find a way to break through an energy barrier surrounding a planet of benevolent aliens. Each believes that his plan will succeed, but perhaps the power of doubt will be what wins the day.
"How to Kill Aunty" - A willful but crippled elderly woman believes her maladroit nephew is bent on murdering her. Amused by his doltish efforts, she mocks his intelligence by actively aiding his efforts, but the final results are not what she anticipated.
March 26, 2022
This collection was a collection of some dumbass shit. One story was some dude who was too dumb or some shit to the fuckin multiple G's of gravity affect his brain so he stayed awake dreaming about his captain with no shirt on or some shit and there was some shit about Martians stealing our gravel for some fukin reason to sell it for some other gravel. Theodore sturgeon lived up to his name of being some kind of prehistoric fish man pretending to be an author. Man belongs in fukin innsmouth with his fish brained fucking plots.
October 18, 2021
A few books ago I read an anthology of queer sci-fi and fantasy from the 80s. In the intro, it's stated that Sturgeon's The World Well Lost (1953) was an unusually positive depiction of homosexuality in sci-fi for the time and was a huge turning point for sexuality within the genre. I bought this collection mostly to read that, but also because I was generally interested in him.
It's infinitely exhausting to say "this was a mixed bag" when it comes to anthologies. They're damn near all mixed bags accept for occasional best-ofs and career retrospectives. For the first three stories (of six) I was really underwhelmed. With the amazing Don Punchatz cover art, I was expecting something sort of serious and dark. What I got was a lot of tongue-in-cheek.
The first story, Derm Fool, is a silly one about a couple with a strange condition: they shed their skin daily. How they utilize it for profit, and the cop that investigates them, is very cartoonish. Then there was The Haunt, a Goosebumps-like predictable ghost story, and Artnan Process, a boring story about fuel converting aliens, bland Martians, and annoying humans.
The World Well Lost was a big shift and was fantastic. In a short span it says a lot about humanities inability to let people be with and be who they want. The two loving aliens are so painfully endearing, and I felt real sympathy for the primary human character. Though dated, it's still relevant in the cruel way people are treated for no good reason, and for it's triumph in love's victory. I highly recommend Googling it and reading it, as it's easily available.
After that was The Pod And The Barrier, another story with some very endearing aliens and some not so likable humans. There were some fascinating ideas here but the story was too long, there was too much technical stuff, and the characters were hard to care about. The last story, How To Kill Aunty, was neither science fiction or at all fantastical, but was a really fun if predictable dark comedy.
Though not the best, there was enough here to make me read more Sturgeon.
It's infinitely exhausting to say "this was a mixed bag" when it comes to anthologies. They're damn near all mixed bags accept for occasional best-ofs and career retrospectives. For the first three stories (of six) I was really underwhelmed. With the amazing Don Punchatz cover art, I was expecting something sort of serious and dark. What I got was a lot of tongue-in-cheek.
The first story, Derm Fool, is a silly one about a couple with a strange condition: they shed their skin daily. How they utilize it for profit, and the cop that investigates them, is very cartoonish. Then there was The Haunt, a Goosebumps-like predictable ghost story, and Artnan Process, a boring story about fuel converting aliens, bland Martians, and annoying humans.
The World Well Lost was a big shift and was fantastic. In a short span it says a lot about humanities inability to let people be with and be who they want. The two loving aliens are so painfully endearing, and I felt real sympathy for the primary human character. Though dated, it's still relevant in the cruel way people are treated for no good reason, and for it's triumph in love's victory. I highly recommend Googling it and reading it, as it's easily available.
After that was The Pod And The Barrier, another story with some very endearing aliens and some not so likable humans. There were some fascinating ideas here but the story was too long, there was too much technical stuff, and the characters were hard to care about. The last story, How To Kill Aunty, was neither science fiction or at all fantastical, but was a really fun if predictable dark comedy.
Though not the best, there was enough here to make me read more Sturgeon.
June 17, 2018
Since I'm just a few pages from finishing, and will be done by tonight, I might as well give Starshine my review. Sturgeon is responsible for two of my favorite short stories, "The Professor's Teddy Bear" and "It." Neither are in Starshine, though it's been fairly enjoyable.
"Derm Fool" is bizarrely hilarious and kinda gross...but in a really clean way. "The Haunt" isn't particularly inspired (to modern eyes), but it's short and amusing. "Artnan Process" comes off as standard 40s-era pop sci-fi. "The World Well Lost" is said to be the first sympathetic portrayal of homosexuals in modern sci-fi. Part of me wonders if "The Pod and the Barrier," and particularly its climax, helped to inspire Douglas Adams into sculpting the Hitchhiker's universe. As for "How to Kill Aunty," I'm half a dozen pages from finishing it and having a blast. So far it's a milder version of Psycho, told from Mother's...er, Aunty's point of view.
Overall, Starshine has been a fun and quick read, though I thought all three sci-fi stories dragged in places. Some might be offended by the sexist (and occasionally racist) attitudes on display here, yet I feel this book shows a progressive outlook on the whole. Recommended!
"Derm Fool" is bizarrely hilarious and kinda gross...but in a really clean way. "The Haunt" isn't particularly inspired (to modern eyes), but it's short and amusing. "Artnan Process" comes off as standard 40s-era pop sci-fi. "The World Well Lost" is said to be the first sympathetic portrayal of homosexuals in modern sci-fi. Part of me wonders if "The Pod and the Barrier," and particularly its climax, helped to inspire Douglas Adams into sculpting the Hitchhiker's universe. As for "How to Kill Aunty," I'm half a dozen pages from finishing it and having a blast. So far it's a milder version of Psycho, told from Mother's...er, Aunty's point of view.
Overall, Starshine has been a fun and quick read, though I thought all three sci-fi stories dragged in places. Some might be offended by the sexist (and occasionally racist) attitudes on display here, yet I feel this book shows a progressive outlook on the whole. Recommended!
November 26, 2022
3 / 5 for "Starshine" by Theodore Sturgeon
This is my first read by Sturgeon and it was quite good. 6 short stories covering various subjects and a couple of different themes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of them leaned toward horror.
Highlights for me were "Derm Fool" and "The Pod And The Barrier", whilst the low point for me was "Lovebirds". Sturgeon writes in an enjoyably laid-back manner, somewhat reminiscent of Harry Harrison, but with a little bit more actual science in there.
Other than the snoozefest that was "Lovebirds", my only negative was that stories all carried a distinctly sexist attitude; I know in sci-fi books of the 60s and 70s this is kind of expected due t attitudes of the time, but Sturgeon's stories, at least in this book, seemed to include above average amounts of sexism and sometimes misogyny.
Overall, a good set of stories, covering quite a range of subjects and themes, generally told in a humorous, yet scientific manner, yet marred by outdated some attitudes. I do look forward to reading more of Sturgeon though.
3 / 5
This is my first read by Sturgeon and it was quite good. 6 short stories covering various subjects and a couple of different themes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of them leaned toward horror.
Highlights for me were "Derm Fool" and "The Pod And The Barrier", whilst the low point for me was "Lovebirds". Sturgeon writes in an enjoyably laid-back manner, somewhat reminiscent of Harry Harrison, but with a little bit more actual science in there.
Other than the snoozefest that was "Lovebirds", my only negative was that stories all carried a distinctly sexist attitude; I know in sci-fi books of the 60s and 70s this is kind of expected due t attitudes of the time, but Sturgeon's stories, at least in this book, seemed to include above average amounts of sexism and sometimes misogyny.
Overall, a good set of stories, covering quite a range of subjects and themes, generally told in a humorous, yet scientific manner, yet marred by outdated some attitudes. I do look forward to reading more of Sturgeon though.
3 / 5
July 20, 2020
A random selection of Sturgeon's earlier works, mostly culled from '40s and '50s publications, and not really representative of his later work, or even the work contemporaneous with this collection.
Enjoyable, simple tales such as body horror comedy "Derm Fool" and haunted house romance The Haunt make up for the rambling and over-detailed backgrounds of Artnan Process and The World Well Lost, though the latter balances out with a sensitive portrayal (especially of its time) of same-sex relationships.
The Pod and the Barrier is another story which takes a very long time to get to its point, even if said point is a neat bit of Douglas Adams-style existentialism, but the black comedy of How To Kill Aunty, which benefits from a low-key, yet more emotionally satisfying ending, is my highlight of the collection.
Enjoyable, simple tales such as body horror comedy "Derm Fool" and haunted house romance The Haunt make up for the rambling and over-detailed backgrounds of Artnan Process and The World Well Lost, though the latter balances out with a sensitive portrayal (especially of its time) of same-sex relationships.
The Pod and the Barrier is another story which takes a very long time to get to its point, even if said point is a neat bit of Douglas Adams-style existentialism, but the black comedy of How To Kill Aunty, which benefits from a low-key, yet more emotionally satisfying ending, is my highlight of the collection.
October 8, 2023
Derm Fool • 2/5
This one was just weird. Kind of funny though. But not very good.
The Haunt • 3/5
This story's originally from 1941 and I imagine the tropes in it weren't as overdone back then... Reading it in 2023 was a little boring. But the writing style is good and the ending was cute.
Artnan Process • 1/5
Boring and confusing.
The World Well Lost • 5/5
I love this one. It's been living in my head rent-free since I first read it. One of my Sturgeon favourites for sure.
The Pod and the Barrier • 4/5
Whacky sci-fi about the power of love! Interesting world-building in the background. I wish it was longer.
How to Kill Aunty • 4/5
Roald Dahl vibes. Dark, and funny until it isn't.
This one was just weird. Kind of funny though. But not very good.
The Haunt • 3/5
This story's originally from 1941 and I imagine the tropes in it weren't as overdone back then... Reading it in 2023 was a little boring. But the writing style is good and the ending was cute.
Artnan Process • 1/5
Boring and confusing.
The World Well Lost • 5/5
I love this one. It's been living in my head rent-free since I first read it. One of my Sturgeon favourites for sure.
The Pod and the Barrier • 4/5
Whacky sci-fi about the power of love! Interesting world-building in the background. I wish it was longer.
How to Kill Aunty • 4/5
Roald Dahl vibes. Dark, and funny until it isn't.
May 12, 2024
I enjoyed this anthology when I read it as a youngster, but it doesn't hold up over the years. Most of the plots have a surface cleverness, but every single story is marred b y an appalling sexism (which surprised me, given Sturgeon's liberal reputation). "The World Well Lost" is the most well-known, or notorious, story here, and clearly written as a statement of sympathy towards homosexuality ... marred for the contemporary reader by the assumption that future-Earth will still be homophobic as it is now, if not more so. The opening story "Derm Fool" has some wit to it, and I'd welcome it in an anthology of humorous body-horror tales (if one can have such a thing), but overall can't recommend.
March 24, 2019
A neat collection of sci-fi, horror and mystery stories. These are some descriptions from the inside cover:
David's fingers kept falling off -and so did his nose, his feet...et cetera. It made for a messy apartment!
The Lovebirds enchanted all of Earth--until their terrible secret pursued them across light-years of space.
Bellew's water pistol changed the balance of power in the Galaxy!
Virginia didn't believe in anything--and she was so right!
David's fingers kept falling off -and so did his nose, his feet...et cetera. It made for a messy apartment!
The Lovebirds enchanted all of Earth--until their terrible secret pursued them across light-years of space.
Bellew's water pistol changed the balance of power in the Galaxy!
Virginia didn't believe in anything--and she was so right!
July 8, 2019
The quality is inconsistent, but that’s par for the course for short story anthologies. The first and last stories are darkly comic and out of place, but they’re the best two of the bunch. The closing one isn’t even SF, or even just plain fantasy, it’s just flat-out black comedy. The rest are middling and full of varying degrees of dated sexism (and oddly, homophobia). It’s worth it for the bookend stories, though.
June 7, 2024
One of the biggest disappointments of my reading year.
There are only six stories in this collection. Only half are worth looking at, and maybe two are worth reading completely.
DERM FOOL - Skin-Shedding for fun and profit! Meh
THE HAUNT - Mess with the woman you claim to love! Stupid.
ARTNAN PROCESS - Dudes. Prospecting? on Mars! Silly.
THE WORLD WELL LOST - A ham-fisted, but occasionally sensitive take on homosexuality. Not bad.
THE POD AND THE BARRIER - Great idea/premise. Cool backstory. Ended up "meh". The story I enjoyed reading the most of these, even if the landing wasn't smooth.
KILLING AUNTY - Sturgeon has a great talent for writing assholes. The aunt it an asshole. Mean-spirited. Reminded me of something Roald Dahl would write. Skippable
There are only six stories in this collection. Only half are worth looking at, and maybe two are worth reading completely.
DERM FOOL - Skin-Shedding for fun and profit! Meh
THE HAUNT - Mess with the woman you claim to love! Stupid.
ARTNAN PROCESS - Dudes. Prospecting? on Mars! Silly.
THE WORLD WELL LOST - A ham-fisted, but occasionally sensitive take on homosexuality. Not bad.
THE POD AND THE BARRIER - Great idea/premise. Cool backstory. Ended up "meh". The story I enjoyed reading the most of these, even if the landing wasn't smooth.
KILLING AUNTY - Sturgeon has a great talent for writing assholes. The aunt it an asshole. Mean-spirited. Reminded me of something Roald Dahl would write. Skippable
November 10, 2023
A mix of short stories from different genres: horror, sci-fi, etc. nothing really great. Interesting to see the different perspective from the 50s and 60s. Very electronics dominated in terms of technology. Not very PC in terms of gender, etc. today. Not really recommendable.
December 3, 2018
Excellent.
April 23, 2019
Not bad there is one story that is written by him but in a different book that I've already read
June 9, 2019
Let's be real: I bought it for the cover. Pretty good though.
September 16, 2019
Nej, just den här var inte för mig. "The World Well Lost", undantaget.
December 24, 2021
-Gregory Kerkman
February 19, 2024
Great stories that were sadly hilariously dated: sexist, homophobic, at times racist…. Very bizarre
April 22, 2019
Among the greatest short story writers. Sturgeon always kills.
August 12, 2024
This was the cover of the very beat-up -- er, I mean, well loved -- copy I had. The book finally fell apart before I finished it. But damn it, I did manage to place the pages in order and marched on to the finish.
I've read three or four Theodore Sturgeon anthologies and this was the weakest of the lot, mainly because two of the longest stories, "The World Well Lost" and "The Pod and the Barrier" can also be found in other Theodore Sturgeon anthologies (as well as other various sundry sci fi anthologies.) If you want to get a good feel for Theodore Sturgeon, skip this anthology. I recommend A Touch of Strange and E Pluribis Unicorn.
This contained horror stories as well as sci fi stories. These horror stories were much weaker than other Sturgeon stories. They are quite dated and shows you how much American pop culture has changed since the 1940s and the 1960s, respectively. In some ways for me, they were like reading alien cultures since I found it difficult to relate to or even picture in my head what was going on.
I think I'll forever remember reading "Derm Fool" while waiting in a very long line to vote in the 2016 Presidential election. Seemed an appropriate story since it was about people shedding their skins like snakes.
Stories:
* "Derm Fool"
* The Haunt
* Artnan Process
* The World Well Lost
* The Pod and the Barrier
I've read three or four Theodore Sturgeon anthologies and this was the weakest of the lot, mainly because two of the longest stories, "The World Well Lost" and "The Pod and the Barrier" can also be found in other Theodore Sturgeon anthologies (as well as other various sundry sci fi anthologies.) If you want to get a good feel for Theodore Sturgeon, skip this anthology. I recommend A Touch of Strange and E Pluribis Unicorn.
This contained horror stories as well as sci fi stories. These horror stories were much weaker than other Sturgeon stories. They are quite dated and shows you how much American pop culture has changed since the 1940s and the 1960s, respectively. In some ways for me, they were like reading alien cultures since I found it difficult to relate to or even picture in my head what was going on.
I think I'll forever remember reading "Derm Fool" while waiting in a very long line to vote in the 2016 Presidential election. Seemed an appropriate story since it was about people shedding their skins like snakes.
Stories:
* "Derm Fool"
* The Haunt
* Artnan Process
* The World Well Lost
* The Pod and the Barrier
March 25, 2010
While not the strongest collection of Sturgeon's I've read, there are a couple of great stories in here and the writing is generally of a high standard throughout.
No central theme unites the stories in this collection and they are quite varied. "Derm Fool" is a comedy about a couple who discover a Snake that, after biting them, has infected them with a condition that causes them to shed their skins on a daily basis. Far from being distraught by this condition, they capitalise on it by using their byproduct to boost their taxidermist career. That is until it starts to draw the attention of the police...
The Haunt is a classic haunted house story. Artnan Process is about mankind's attempt to free itself from the yolk of Martian tyranny and resource exploitation. The World Well Lost is a strange tale about first contact and homosexuality. The Pod and the Barrier, for me the highlight of the collection, a quintesential Sturgeon tale of a space expedition to try and penetrate an impenetrable sphere. And lastly, How to Kill Aunty is what I can only describe as a psycological drama between an old woman and her nephew whom she torments and manipulates.
Probably not the best place to start with Sturgeon but well worth a read for anyone who is a fan.
No central theme unites the stories in this collection and they are quite varied. "Derm Fool" is a comedy about a couple who discover a Snake that, after biting them, has infected them with a condition that causes them to shed their skins on a daily basis. Far from being distraught by this condition, they capitalise on it by using their byproduct to boost their taxidermist career. That is until it starts to draw the attention of the police...
The Haunt is a classic haunted house story. Artnan Process is about mankind's attempt to free itself from the yolk of Martian tyranny and resource exploitation. The World Well Lost is a strange tale about first contact and homosexuality. The Pod and the Barrier, for me the highlight of the collection, a quintesential Sturgeon tale of a space expedition to try and penetrate an impenetrable sphere. And lastly, How to Kill Aunty is what I can only describe as a psycological drama between an old woman and her nephew whom she torments and manipulates.
Probably not the best place to start with Sturgeon but well worth a read for anyone who is a fan.
September 14, 2007
Another pick off Mount ToBeRead, Starshine is a collection of Theodore Sturgeon's short stories, published 1966.
IMHO, Sturgeon does better with "soft" SF than hard; I'd prefer he tell me about how the people are affected by the technology than too much about the technology itself. For example, "Derm Fool" for me, is a much more satisfying story than "The Artnan Process". Sometimes he needn't include any SF elements at all - "How to Kill Aunty" would fit in well as an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode.
I'm not sure I share Spider Robinson's adulation of Sturgeon, but I find most of his stories a satisfying read. Recommended to anyone looking for mid-60's, semi New Wave science fiction.
IMHO, Sturgeon does better with "soft" SF than hard; I'd prefer he tell me about how the people are affected by the technology than too much about the technology itself. For example, "Derm Fool" for me, is a much more satisfying story than "The Artnan Process". Sometimes he needn't include any SF elements at all - "How to Kill Aunty" would fit in well as an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode.
I'm not sure I share Spider Robinson's adulation of Sturgeon, but I find most of his stories a satisfying read. Recommended to anyone looking for mid-60's, semi New Wave science fiction.
April 12, 2010
This is a collection of six short stories by the master of post-Humanism, although none of these stories really touch on that subject. The stories include comedy (Derm Fool), ghost stories (The Haunt) and SF as well as a non-genre story (How to Kill Aunty) which is mostly whimsical, with a twist at the end. The best stories are probably the most touching - The World Well Lost about a spacer crew taking two lovers back to their homeworld to stand trial and The Pod and the Barrier about the cranks who try to break through a barrier in space that has foiled the best minds of Humanity. Both are touching and beautifully written, and the former is somewhat heartbreaking as well. An enjoyable collection.
December 30, 2009
50/ 174 pages Read two of the six stories and they were fine, I would have kept reading, but books I really wanted to read and finish fast came to the library. So it's not that I couldn't finish, but rather I chose not to. “Derm Fool” is about a guy whose body parts keep dropping off, they grow back, but he’s making a mint selling them taxidermied.
February 28, 2012
This collection includes "The World Well Lost," a classic exploration of prejudicial attitudes about homosexuality from a "Golden Age" science fiction writer. I love Sturgeon. Even his minor stories which initially leave you asking "so what was that about?" often result later in you asking, "what WAS that about?" "The Pod and the Barrier" is another good one here.
May 4, 2012
An interesting and diverse collection of 6 short stories, spanning ghost-story horror to far-galaxies sci-fi. I was particularly touched by 'The World Well Lost', a very progressive piece of sci-fi writing for the time (the 1950s). His writing both captures and challenges the time and culture he was writing within.
May 7, 2016
A melange of science-fiction, crime, and horror and whilst most of the six short stories read like first-draft concepts for future books there were a few gems hidden amongst the fray. What subtlely resides below the exterior of each story are imaginative explorations of human interaction concealed behind a flashy visual trope.
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