Customer Reviews

Atoms and Evil

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Robert Bloch's _Atoms and Evil_ (1962) is a collection of thirteen fantasy tales by the author of _Psycho_. The stories were published over a fairly long span of time-- between 1948 and 1962. Two are from _Fantastic Universe_, and two are from _Galaxy_. There is one story apiece from _Fantasy and Science Fiction_, _Imagination_, _If_, _Argosy_, _Amazing_, the _Arkham House Sampler_, _Escapade_, and _Universe_. One story, "Wheel and Deal," is an original book publication. I think that we can safely say that these stories are "representative" Bloch. But perhaps we had better pause for a moment and ask ourselves just what this means.

Bloch's Hugo-winning story, "That Hell-Bound Train" isn't included. Nor is "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper". Nor is "The Man Who Collected Poe". "Enoch," "The Crime Machine," "The Cloak," "The Bald-Headed Mirage," "The Strange Flight of Richard Clayton," and "The Funnel of God" are not here, either. If many of Bloch's best fantasies are excluded, what is left?

"Talent," probably the most oft-reprinted story in the collection, is the one about the orphan who follows the footsteps of Rich Little and Frank Gorshin a bit all too well. It is the best story in the book. Almost as good, though clearly on the gruesome side, are "Comfort Me, My Robot," "Block That Metaphor," and "Ediface Complex". The First is about a future society in which counselors help their clients to plan murders. The second is about the dangers of using figurative language with a literal-minded alien. And the third is about a rather nasty alien life-form-- much like Bloch's "The Bald-Headed Mirage".

"You Got to Have Brains" and "Change of Heart" are two more horror tales-- passably crafted but thoroughly predictable. "Egghead" is a little less predictable, but it's still pretty minor fare.

"You Could Be Wrong" and "Constant Reader" are two off-the-wall forays into the nature of reality-- the sort of thing that you used to see in the late, lamented _Unknown_. Both are good.

"Try This for Psis," "The Professor Plays it Square," "Wheel and Deal," and "Dead-End Doctor," are minor farces intended to provide a bit of relief from the darker entries. The first tale is a comic romance between a skeptic's daughter and an esper student of the skeptic's academic rival. The second is a Damon Runyanesque piece about the egghead who makes monkeys out of a couple of gamblers. The third is about the used female dealer-- complete with more bad bawdy jokes than an episode of Benny Hill. The fourth is a variation on an old Fredric Brown classic. It begins: "The last psychiatrist on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door" (115).

Nothing classic here. But the stories are well-crafted and are laced with just the right touch of humor. For more substantial fantasy tales by Bloch, I recommend _Fear Today, Gone Tomorrow_ (1971) and _The Best of Robert Bloch_ (1976).