Customer Reviews

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

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3 star:		(1)
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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.

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.

"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.

When I was a lot younger (like, 40 years ago) Fredric Brown was one of my favorite authors. I read all five of his SF novels, quite a few of his mysteries, and most of his SF shorts. The latter are what make up this book. And while I have enjoyed reading (actually, for the most part, re-reading) these little gems, I have to say that they're more enjoyable taken two or three at a time than read in one continuous batch. Certain themes (time travel, mind control, narrowly-averted alien conquests, awesome powers gone awry) crop up again and again. An extraordinary number of his protagonists are alcoholics, or at least drunk. And his depiction of man/woman relationships is often leering. Still, most of these stories are fun, thought-provoking, or in some instances (e.g. Hat Trick) downright scary. I hesitate to give this book five stars; it's really more of a high four-star entry. But I'll give it the full five just because Brown's writing gave me so much pleasure, long ago!

I first discovered Fredric Brown's short stories in a French translation in my high school library, at the same time I discovered Borges whom he resembles in some ways.

For a long time, Brown's short stories were only available in print in their French translation, and NESFA did us all a great service in collecting and reprinting these gems.

Fredric Brown's short stories always pack a surprising twist (sometimes viciously so). I you liked the original "Twilight Zone" series, you won't be disappointed by this book.

Fredric Brown's stories are like little puzzle boxes. They are, or tend to be, based on ideas, rather than characters or plot. Brown starts with an idea and then prods it, pokes it, twists it and turns it, until it either unwinds or explodes.

Many of these stories are slight-- 1,000 words or less-- bathroom reading! But they all have a sense of fun and wonder that is contagious.

Brown's longer science fiction novels weren't that great... novels like Martians Go Home weren't capable of sustaining their ideas over the length of the story. But his short fiction really shines!

There are several absolutely wonderful writers of classic SF that are nearly forgotten today. Unfortunately, Fredric Brown is one of them. Whether it's his short fiction, as in this book, or his wonderful novels, including "What Mad Universe", all of his stuff is wonderful and well worth reading. Brown, Henry Kuttner, CM Cornbluth, Richard Matheson, so many others. All of them created the SF today, and most of their stuff is superior to the SF written today. Please, if you love SF at all, read Fredric Brown. You will thank me if you do. He is wonderful.

In this book you can find the precursors of Blade Runner's Replicants, the Body-Snatcher Gizmo, The Planet Who Crashes Unto Himself, The Ultimate Cosmic Advertising, the Last Dinosaur Ever (until Spielberg,that is) and others marvels that this sometimes wildly funny, sometimes deeply sad, eerily melancholic Author has given to his deligthed readers. Fredric Brown was an early explorer of the uncanny, a precursor of Philip K.Dick, in some ways. But his best stories are the satyrical and comic ones, when his love for the absurd places him near Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, but told whit a humour that's uniquely Fredric Brown's.

If you like classic Science Fiction this volume should be in your collection. If you think you don't like SF, but enjoy well written fiction full of ideas, surprises, and humor you should try this.
Fredric Brown was deservedly famous, his short story "Arena" was voted into the SFWA Hall of Fame. His name may not be mentioned frequently anymore, but those that had the fortune of reading some of his stories never forgot him.
This is an excellent collection that brings back to print his unique and thoughtful stories. Many of the stories collected here are classics, many are less than one page long, but in that short space they pack their concept (and a punch) so effectively, and are so well crafted, that more words would only dilute the effect. Some of the stories may be a little outdated in the science part of the fiction, but even those stand the test of time as speculative fiction.

This volume is a lifesaver, because it means I no longer have to rummage through every sci-fi short story compendium searching out ones with a classic Fred Brown short in it.

Almost every Fredric Brown short story is a classic of some kind; no one can match his humour or his precision.