This second volume of Judith Merril’s SF anthology – for 1957 – displays, like volume one, a cover by Richard M. Powers. Emblematic of his work are a distant city-scape comprised of elongated, tapered towers silhouetted against a distant, misty horizon, a “floating”, ovoid metallic shape at upper left (obscured by the “SF” in the title!), and, a random set of diminutive shapes at lower right – organic? machines? both? – dancing in a nondescript foreground. I think this cover so significantly epitomizes Powers’ work that I’ve featured it in the post “A Suspension of Belief: Alexander Calder’s Mobiles and the Art of Richard M. Powers“.
So, what’s in the book?
Though I certainly read each and every story in the volume, at this point in time – some years later – the only tale that really strikes a chord of memory is Zenna Henderson’s “Anything Box”, a wonderful tale from her “The People” saga. Like the majority (all?) of her stories and reflective of her vocation as a public school teacher, the tale centers around the interaction between a female schoolteacher and a certain highly unusual and shy child, who possesses a most unusual toy. That is not, really, a toy at all.
“The Man Who Liked Lions”, by John Bernard Daley,
from Infinity Science Fiction, October, 1956
“The Cosmic Charge Account”, by C.M. Kornbluth,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January, 1956
“The Far Look”, by Theodore L. Thomas,
from Astounding Science Fiction, August, 1956
“When Grandfather Flew to the Moon”, by E.L. Malpass [Eric Lawson Malpass],
(variant of “Return of the Moon Man”,
originally from A.D. 2500: The Observer Prize Stories 1954)
specifically for this volume
“The Doorstop”, by Reginald Bretnor,
from Astounding Science Fiction, November, 1956
“Silent Brother”, by Algis Budrys,
from Astounding Science Fiction, February, 1956
“Stranger Station”, by Damon Knight,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December, 1956
“Each an Explorer”, by Isaac Asimov,
from Future Science Fiction, #30 (August, 1956)
““All About “The Thing”“ [Parodies Tossed series], by Randall Garrett,
(variant of “John W. Campbell, Jr.’s ““Who Goes There?”“),
originally from Science Fiction Stories, May, 1956)
specifically for this volume
“Put Them All Together”, They Spell Monster, by Ray Russell,
from Playboy, October, 1956
“Digging the Weans”, by Robert Nathan,
from Harper’s Magazine, November, 1956
“Take a Deep Breath”, by Roger Thorne,
specifically for this volume
“Grandma’s Lie Soap”, by George Abernathy,
from Fantastic Universe, February, 1956
“Compounded Interest”, by Mack Reynolds,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August, 1956
“Prima Belladonna” [Vermilion Sands series], by J.G. Ballard,
from Science Fantasy, December, 1956
“The Other Man”, by Theodore Sturgeon,
from Galaxy Science Fiction, September, 1956
“The Damnedest Thing”, by Garson Kanin,
from Esquire, February, 1956
“Anything Box” (variant of “The Anything Box”), by Zenna Henderson,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October, 1956
The Year’s S-F, Summation and Honorable Mentions
(SF:’57: The Year’s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy) – (1957), Essay by Judith Merril
A reference of two, for you, for you!
Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Published Variants of This Book (Only three that I see!)