And I am a shrub. [...] We've all been shrubs, ever since the Carboniferous Age.
I am in love with this short story!
I was reading through Sheckley's The People Trap and starting to get a little depressed because of the content of the short stories I'd read so far (ruined world, this guy gets killed, another ruined world). I was starting to think that Sheckley's humorous period at this point in his books was over, then suddenly, I read one that was amazingly light-hearted, and the one that followed was so funny and so enjoyable that it was nearly unbelievable.
It's called "The Odor of Thought", and I suppose the main theme is a little...60's-ish. Not that I have any problems with that, but I'm sure that's a turn-off for some.
Picture this: An alien planet populated by animals with no eyes or ears. How do they hunt and avoid danger? They sense your thoughts. An unfortunate Earth man discovers this, and has to try to stay alive on this world for three days.
Unfortunately, when an eyeless, earless panther is stalking you, it's very hard not to think the word "panther"...and if you do that, the panther will sense you. So our protagonist has to come up with new ways to trick the planet's wildlife -- his first one is mentally asserting to the panther that he is a pantheress ("...and what did this panther mean by frightening her like this?").
It's yet another one of those "boy, I wish I'd thought of that" stories. And of course, there's one of those delicious plot twists at the end. I live for surprises like that. Hopefully the rest of the stories in this book will be equally worthwhile.
And did I mention that it's really funny?
"No more fuel," [Cheevy] said. "Catalytic actions, I think. I told you we needed new fuel tanks. I'm putting down on the first oxygen planet I find."
[...]
"I'll try 3-M-22"! he shouted over the mounting static.
"Take good care of the mail," the postmaster howled back. I'm sending a ship right out."
Cheevy told him what he could do with the mail, all 20 pounds of it. But the postmaster had signed off by then.
He looked around and saw that a small animal was passing near him. It was about the size of a squirrel, but with dull green fur.
As it came close, he saw that it had no ears or eyes.
This didn't surprise him. On the contrary, it seemed quite fitting. Why in hell should a squirrel have ears and eyes? Squirrels were better off not seeing the pain and torture of the world, not hearing the anguished screams of...
I love this little wonder so much that I want to do...something with it, but I suspect it would be best if I just let it be. It's one of those stories that only works in a texual format*, where all the action takes place in your head.
If only this bliddy book weren't out of print...
*sort of like the Thursday Next series, where the characters communicate through footnotes. That doesn't translate to an audiobook very well.
I was reading through Sheckley's The People Trap and starting to get a little depressed because of the content of the short stories I'd read so far (ruined world, this guy gets killed, another ruined world). I was starting to think that Sheckley's humorous period at this point in his books was over, then suddenly, I read one that was amazingly light-hearted, and the one that followed was so funny and so enjoyable that it was nearly unbelievable.
It's called "The Odor of Thought", and I suppose the main theme is a little...60's-ish. Not that I have any problems with that, but I'm sure that's a turn-off for some.
Picture this: An alien planet populated by animals with no eyes or ears. How do they hunt and avoid danger? They sense your thoughts. An unfortunate Earth man discovers this, and has to try to stay alive on this world for three days.
Unfortunately, when an eyeless, earless panther is stalking you, it's very hard not to think the word "panther"...and if you do that, the panther will sense you. So our protagonist has to come up with new ways to trick the planet's wildlife -- his first one is mentally asserting to the panther that he is a pantheress ("...and what did this panther mean by frightening her like this?").
It's yet another one of those "boy, I wish I'd thought of that" stories. And of course, there's one of those delicious plot twists at the end. I live for surprises like that. Hopefully the rest of the stories in this book will be equally worthwhile.
And did I mention that it's really funny?
"No more fuel," [Cheevy] said. "Catalytic actions, I think. I told you we needed new fuel tanks. I'm putting down on the first oxygen planet I find."
[...]
"I'll try 3-M-22"! he shouted over the mounting static.
"Take good care of the mail," the postmaster howled back. I'm sending a ship right out."
Cheevy told him what he could do with the mail, all 20 pounds of it. But the postmaster had signed off by then.
He looked around and saw that a small animal was passing near him. It was about the size of a squirrel, but with dull green fur.
As it came close, he saw that it had no ears or eyes.
This didn't surprise him. On the contrary, it seemed quite fitting. Why in hell should a squirrel have ears and eyes? Squirrels were better off not seeing the pain and torture of the world, not hearing the anguished screams of...
I love this little wonder so much that I want to do...something with it, but I suspect it would be best if I just let it be. It's one of those stories that only works in a texual format*, where all the action takes place in your head.
If only this bliddy book weren't out of print...
*sort of like the Thursday Next series, where the characters communicate through footnotes. That doesn't translate to an audiobook very well.