Tumithak of the Corridors [Paperback]

Charles R. Tanner (Author), John Koblas (Editor), A.M. Decker (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2005

"Human Characters and an Exciting Plot!" -Isaac Asimov. Tumithak of the Corridors is a keystone science fiction classic from the pages of the 1931 Amazing Stories. It made a big impression on the youthful Isaac Asimov, who later described it as "far and away the best and most exciting story I had ever read up to that time. I found the characters human and the hero all the more admirable because he could feel fear. I found the plot exciting and a deep humanity in the sentence 'Tumithak had to learn that in no matter what nation or age one finds oneself, he will find gentleness, if he looks, as well as savagery.'" Asimov also credited Tumithak of the Corridors' for inspiring his own description of the underground city of the future in Caves of Steel. Although the science fiction has become far more sophisticated since the era in which Tanner and others were first consciously exploring its limitless possibilities, it still remains a masterpiece of pace, culture-building, and, dare we say it, sense of wonder.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc. (August 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878392203
• ISBN-13: 978-0878392209
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,294,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite stories from the 30s, April 24, 2011

By 

Morticroo - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tumithak of the Corridors (Paperback)

Like many people, I first heard of the Tumithak stories from Isaac Asimov's anthology "Before the Golden Age," which contained the first two stories in the series. They were definitely two of the strongest stories in the book, and I was disappointed that Asimov didn't include the third one.

I was extremely delighted to discover that there was a book that contained not only the third Tumithak story, but a previously unpublished fourth one as well! The second two stories are both very well done, and do a good job of expanding the world and continuing the story.

The basic premise, of the human race being driven underground by aliens and forgetting the surface world exists, is a very strong concept that has been done many times since. I wonder if someone at Gainax was a fan of this series, since the premise of "Gurren Lagann" has many similarities to the Tumithak stories. The story is executed very well, Tanner's writing compares quite well to Edgar Rice Burrough, Robert E. Howard, and the other great adventure writers of the time period. I'd recommend it to anyone who's into this sort of thing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, inventive series of linked stories from "Before the Golden Age" of science fiction, September 10, 2009

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Muzzlehatch (the walls of Gormenghast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Tumithak of the Corridors (Paperback)

No question that allowances have to be made for this work; the first two parts of it were first published in pulp science fiction magazines of the early 1930s, the third part in the early 40s; the last part was unpublished at the author's death. Here are the titles and original publication dates for those interested in such minutiae:

"Tumithak of the Corridors", January 1932 AMAZING STORIES
"Tumithak in Shawm", June 1933 AMAZING STORIES
"Tumithak of the Towers of Fire", November 1941 SUPER SCIENCE STORIES
"Tumithak and the Ancient Word", unpublished at the author's death (1974) and presented for the first time in this collection (2005)

The science is fairly ridiculous, the writing is certainly "pulpy", and yet this holds up far better than most of the stories from AMAZING, WONDER, ASTOUNDING, or WEIRD TALES from that era; it's a fast-paced and exciting story of man (in particular one special superman-type, Tumithak) regaining his dominance of the world from a race of Venusian spiders that conquered it thousands of years ago, and its depictions of the endless corridors the scared and emasculated men of this far future must furtively hide in carries a strange power. I first read most of this in Asimov's superb anthology "Before the Golden Age" almost 30 years ago; despite their occasional amateurishness, the Tanner stories have stuck with me and it's great to see them available again, to those few who will appreciate them. If you've read any of the earlier works of more famous writers like Jack Williamson, E.E. "Doc" Smith, or Edmond Hamilton, you might have an idea of the flavor of imagination and prose on display here.

The North Star (Minnesota) paperback suffers from some atrocious artwork in my opinion, but the layout is decent and the typos reasonably few for such an obvious labor of love produced with little hope of profit. Most highly recommended to aficionados of the early pulp era in American science fiction.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read, February 23, 2006

By 

J. Carr (Rock Tavern, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tumithak of the Corridors (Paperback)

I originally ran across these stories in a magazine called "Black Gate" and I liked them so much that I purchased the book. The book has one story that was previously unpublished. A very fun read.