From These Ashes: The Complete Short SF (Science Fiction) of Fredric Brown [Hardcover]

Fredric Brown (Author), Ben Yalow (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2001

A collection of all 118 short science fiction and fantasy stories of one of the masters of the vignette, all his short works except two which were rewritten into parts of a novel. Introduction by Barry N. Malzberg. Dustjacket art by Bob Eggleton.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

From a tongue-in-cheek tale of a young boy's valiant effort to save the world ("Armageddon") to a dark tale of music and horror ("Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"), the stories of the late Brown represent a distinctive and unique voice in the sf community. This collection of more than 100 tales, many only a page in length, highlight the career of one of the genre's most incisive satirists and outstanding innovators. Most libraries should add this to their sf or short story collections. Last-Minute Mystery
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

One of the most durable writers of sf's golden age, Brown (1906-72) was a stalwart of the pulps, the cheap-paper magazines that published most genre fiction from the late '20s to the '60s. He contributed uniquely by virtue of also being a crackerjack mystery writer, for he brought the noirish atmosphere and seedy details of the era's crime fiction to sf. He also brought the sardonic humor of the newsrooms in which he learned the writing trade, and that was his finest gift. A Brown story typically takes an odd situation, develops it risibly, eerily, or suspensefully enough, and concludes with a surprise calculated to rouse chuckles, chills, or both. Famous characters from his stories include Mitkey, an ordinary mouse who becomes an interstellar explorer, and the last man on Earth, who hears a knock on his door. To read very many of his stories is to be convinced, rightly or wrongly, that Brown's manner and modus inspired such early TV shows as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 693 pages
• Publisher: Nesfa Pr; 1 edition (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886778183
• ISBN-13: 978-1886778184
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ingenious, Irreverent, Ironic -- The O. Henry of SciFi, December 20, 2001

By 

George R Dekle "Bob Dekle" (Lake City, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: From These Ashes: The Complete Short SF (Science Fiction) of Fredric Brown (Hardcover)

This volume collects all Fredric Brown's short science fiction, and an entertaining collection it is. Surprise endings abound as Brown spins short sagas of science and the supernatural. A few of my favorites:

"Armageddon" begins with the end of the world.

"Arena" served as the inspiration for the Star Trek episode of the same name, but the savior of humanity confronts a much more formidable task than Captain Kirk did.

"Etaion Shrdlu," a sentient linotype printing press, eagerly absorbs knowledge from its jobs until....

"Knock" sports the shortest title in all science fiction literature and the creepiest beginning: "The last man on Earth sat in a room. He heard a knock on the door."

The stories run the gamut from knee-slappingly funny to disturbingly somber. If you like short science fiction, you'll love Fredric Brown.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last! Fredric Brown, back in print!, May 22, 2002

By 

SpiderX (Harrisonburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From These Ashes: The Complete Short SF (Science Fiction) of Fredric Brown (Hardcover)

Like his contemporaries, Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury, Fredric Brown gained fame both as a science fiction writer (the novels What Mad Universe, The Lights in the Sky are Stars) AND as a murder mystery writer (the novels The Fabulous Clipjoint, The Screaming Mimi).
This book collects all his SF short stories, (as well as some non-SF material like "Nightmare in Blue" and Yellow") into one hefty volume. More than 100 of his works are in here, some hilarious, some horrifying; some optimistic, some dark. Many stories are already familiar to Fredric Brown fans ("Pi in the Sky," "Puppet Show") while others have been out of print so long that they'll seem new even to fans. (I was happily surprised to see that Mitkey, the rodent hero of "Star Mouse," got a second outing in "Mitkey Rides Again.")
The book is especially remarkable for presenting his work in CHRONOLOGICAL order, so fans can trace his development over the quarter century Fredric Brown was active. Fans can also follow real-world developments through his tales, from the World War II-era patriotism of "The New One" to the warnings of nuclear disaster in "The Weapon" and "Letter to a Phoenix."
Those unfamiliar with his work are welcome to jump around. I recommend the nine titles mentioned above, plus "Nothing Sirius," "Honeymoon in Hell," "Something Green" and "Knock." Also, make sure you read the three "Eustace Weaver" stories back to back, to fully appreciate the lunacy.
Also of special note are "Daymare," which is simultaneously a science fiction story AND a murder mystery, as is "Crisis, 1999." Meanwhile, "Arena" inspired the classic Star Trek episode of the same name.
Brown also pioneered the "short short," and some of the stories are less than a page in length. "The Answer," Voodoo," Pattern," "Solipsist" and "Blood" are classic examples.
As often happens with old science fiction, some of the technology is dated. (Vacuum tubes? Linotype machines?) However, although vacuum tubes may have gone out of style, great writing does not. This book would make a great gift for any science fiction fan, especially an old-school fan.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Master Of The Vignette, March 6, 2006

By 

Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: From These Ashes: The Complete Short SF (Science Fiction) of Fredric Brown (Hardcover)

"From These Ashes" is a collection of speculative fiction written by Fredric Brown and published between 1941 and 1965. Fredric Brown (1906 - 1972) achieved acclaim in mystery and speculative fiction writing. Over the course of his career he became a master of the vignette, which he was able to write in several genres including fantasy, horror, and science fiction. This collection was published in February of 2001.

The weakness of this collection is in the editing. The stories are supposedly grouped by year of their first publication, but there are several cases where they are incorrect, for example "The Joke" is put in the 1961 section, but it was actually first published in October of 1948 under the title "If Looks Could Kill". They also do not include any information regarding the publishing history of the stories. Many of the stories have had multiple titles over the course of their publishing history, but alternate titles are not listed. Despite the subtitle "The Complete Short SF of Fredric Brown", the Editor's Notes at the back indicate that at least two stories were omitted because they were later rewritten in the form of a novel. There is a good Introduction by Barry N. Malzberg, which would be the highlight of the added material.

The most important measure of a collection is the stories themselves, and in that regard there is no complaint. While few of Fredric Brown's stories have received any attention in terms of awards or even in fan polls, there are many excellent stories here which have been long overlooked. The best known story is the novelette "'Arena'", which was the basis for the Star Trek (Original Series) episode of the same name. It was tied for 35th on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll in 1971 for short fiction, and tied for 34th on the 1999 Locus All-Time Poll for novelettes. The short story "The Waveries" was nominated for the Retro Hugo for the year 1945 in 1996, as was the Novelette "Pi in the Sky".

Eight of the stories are collaborations with Mack Reynolds, and there is also the wonderful "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" which he collaborated with Carl Onspaugh. Then there are the more than 50 vignettes, which are often overlooked when it comes to awards. All in all there are well over 100 pieces included, and on many of them the reader gets the feel of his mysteries as well as speculative fiction.