Book 162: Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell
Book 162: Who Goes There?.
Author: John W. Campbell, 1948.
Genre: Science Fiction. Horror. Short Stories.
Other Details: Paperback. 256 pages.
When a group of scientific researchers, isolated in Antarctica, stumble across an alien spaceship buried in the ice it seems like an incredible opportunity. The alien pilot can just be seen - a shadowy figure frozen just a short depth into the ice. It looks as though he survived the crash only to be flash-frozen on the Antarctic plateau. The team fight the frozen conditions to free the ship from the ice - with disastrous consequences - and rescue the alien. As they transport the corpse, one of their greatest finds, out on the ice back to their camp, several scientists begin to experience extraordinary, vivid and unsettling dreams. They're dismissed as the product of stress and the harsh conditions . . . but the nightmare is only beginning. - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
I borrowed this from the library specifically to read the novella 'Who Goes There?' because I realised that I'd never read it despite it being a classic work of horror/SF and it is one that is hard to find.
Who Goes There? was a genuinely creepy story and I realised that John Carpenter's 1982 film The Thing was much more faithful to the source text than Howard Hawks 1951 'The Thing from Outer Space'.
The six short stories that were also included in the collection were fine but not that amazing or memorable. Some of the science was also a bit dodgy and I had to remind myself that these stories were written long ago and thus made allowances. One story, 'Frictional Losses', was more impressive and could have been a template for the TV series 'Falling Skies' with its alien invasion reducing the human race to a small resistance force and the skitter-like aliens.
Still am glad I read this for Who Goes There?.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.