This book contains ten major stories by the master of science fiction, fantasy, and horror written during the 1960s. The controversial “If All Men We re Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?” shows the author’s technique of “ask the next question” used in a way that shatters social conventions. “When You Care, When You Love” offers a prescient vision of the marriage of deep obsessive love and genetic manipulation, written long before actual cloning techniques existed. “Runesmith” constitutes a rare example of Sturgeon collaborating with a legendary colleague, Harlan Ellison. Included also are two other rarities: two detective stories and a Western that showcase Sturgeon’s knack for characterization and action outside his usual genre. “Take Care of Joey” has been read as an allusion to the complex personal relationship between Sturgeon and Ellison, while “It Was Nothing, Really!” hilariously skewers the mores of the military-industrial complex. As always, these stories demonstrate not only Sturgeon’s brilliant wordplay but also his timeliness, with “Brown-shoes” and “The Nail and the Oracle” standing out as powerful commentaries on the use and abuse of power that might have been written yesterday.
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***Locus Recommended Reading
“The late Ted Sturgeon was one of the greats. If you believe what Harlan Ellison says in his foreword to The Nail and the Oracle, Volume XI: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, he may even have been the greatest SF writer ever. Sure, he was quirky, but he could write like an angel and he well deserves the adulation directed toward his ghost since his death in 1985. The present volume collects a dozen of his works from 1957 to 1970, ‘his prime story-writing years.’ One of the stars of the collection is the famous ‘If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?’ Another is ‘Runesmith,’ cowritten with Harlan. For the rest, order a copy. Sturgeon, as long as he’s been gone, is not a writer one regrets reading.”
—Analog Science Fiction and Fact
“The late Ted Sturgeon was one of the greats. If you believe what Harlan Ellison says in his foreword to The Nail and the Oracle, Volume XI: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, he may even have been the greatest SF writer ever. Sure, he was quirky, but he could write like an angel and he well deserves the adulation directed toward his ghost since his death in 1985. The present volume collects a dozen of his works from 1957 to 1970, ‘his prime story-writing years.’ One of the stars of the collection is the famous ‘If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?’ Another is ‘Runesmith,’ cowritten with Harlan. For the rest, order a copy. Sturgeon, as long as he’s been gone, is not a writer one regrets reading.”
—Analog Science Fiction and Fact
About the Author
Theodore Sturgeon was one of science fiction’s most acclaimed and influential writers. In addition to hundreds of stories, he wrote novels, scripts for Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, and received many awards including the Hugo and the Nebula. He died in 1985 at age sixty-seven. A legendary author of mystery, horror, fantasy, and science-fiction stories, Harlan Ellison lives in Los Angeles, CA.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Continuation of SF Heaven,
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This review is from: The Nail and the Oracle: Volume XI: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon (v. 11) (Hardcover)
Theodore Sturgeon is the greatest writer of the "SF ghetto", and this collection gathers all his works, regardless of genre or even publication. I think there is 1 more volume to go. You should instantly put it on your Must Have list. Everyone who loves good literature should purchase the entire series -- I know I have, and I'm on limited income.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not the Best of Sturgeon,
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This review is from: The Nail and the Oracle: Volume XI: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon (v. 11) (Hardcover)
There are some great stories in here, but there are also, to be frank, some really pedestrian clunkers. This is the problem and glory with a "complete stories of": you get warts and all.
Four stars ain't peanuts and I would not want to be without this, or any volume of the Complete Sturgeon, but some of the earlier volumes would be my choice for a desert island.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
when you care, when you love...,
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This review is from: The Nail and the Oracle: Volume XI: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon (v. 11) (Hardcover)
This is the 11th volume of Ted Sturgeon's collected works and it contains, among other things, some of his lesser stories. The main entertainment here, at least at first, appears to be Harlan Ellison.
Yeah, that Harlan Ellison. Only now, apparently, Harlan is a Registered Trademark, because we get the little circled (r) every time his name is mentioned. Right. Well... yeah, he's Harlan Ellison and the introduction is worth the price of admission. It is, by turns, the "usual" Ellison bit of reportage, which is to say: by turns funny, poignant, informative, and provoking. He dishes from eight directions and it's good stuff. However... Sturgeon gets the best of Ellison (a hard trick to turn when you're dead), or at least his editor does, with a single letter so totally hilarious that it, alone, is worth the price of the volume. Oh, yes, there are also stories. And there are some quite fine ones in this volume. If you've been collecting these, you've no reason to stop before the XIth book. If this is your first foray, well, *do* stop and go back to volume I. This one will be here. It's not his best work nor his most indispensable work. But it's Sturgeon.
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Charli Bux, Bil Ferry, Henry Mellow, Younger Macleish, Little Sister, Archive Master, Miz Appleton, Guy Gibbon, Joe Brown, Ride Out, Miss Prince, Forget Baseball, Red Brown, Adam the Great, Detective Poteen, Jorry's Gap, Hart Calway, Mellow Memo, Clewie Richardson Browse Sample Pages:
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beery man Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Charli Bux, Bil Ferry, Henry Mellow, Younger Macleish, Little Sister, Archive Master, Miz Appleton, Guy Gibbon, Joe Brown, Ride Out, Miss Prince, Forget Baseball, Red Brown, Adam the Great, Detective Poteen, Jorry's Gap, Hart Calway, Mellow Memo, Clewie Richardson Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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