I feel trite saying it, because i say it after every Wyndham book i read, but there is nothing this man writes that i don’t love. I’m sure i’m not capable of fully explaining why, either. There is just something in a combination of his writing style and the subject matter that are just perfect to me.Wyndham creates these worlds so easily. He doesn’t necessarily provide a lot of information–he provides just enough. He doesn’t describe the entire world, he describes aspects pertinent to the story at hand, to the characters at hand, and leaves you to fill in (or not) the rest as you wish. I think because of this, because he stops short of giving too many details to these worlds, it makes it easier to imagine them being this world. The world we’re living in now in the not too distant future, in the far flung future, or even just tomorrow. And that gives a sense of connection and recognition to every story–even the ones set in space.These stories and concepts just interest and intrigue me immensely. They’re fun, but they’re suspenseful. They’re obviously fictitious, but they’re easily relatable. They’re just bloody good.A longer review can be read at my book blog: Marvel At Words.
There's something about the drier, more formal tone of old sci-fi I really like. Possibly the anti-sensationalist air it gives, the air of sober assessment, all beards and pipe-smoke. The five stories in this collection all have that air, and make for delightful reading. Although definitely a product of when they were written, that's not the same as to day they've dated. The Last Lunarians may provoke a chuckle from a post-Apollo audience, but mostly these are just good stories, with some neat underlying ideas.
