Good Old Fashioned Science Fiction

Untouched by Human Hands. Robert Sheckley. 1954.

I don’t usually care for this era of sci-fi, the one right before the new age that gave us the greats like Ballard, Ellison, Dick, Le Guin, Tiptree, etc. This is the era that taught them to love sci-fi, that gave them something to learn from and react against, so I’m grateful for it for that reason, but I do like the reactions better on the whole. I like Sheckley, though - this was my first sustained exposure to his work, but it’s good. He’s not as deep and heavy as even some of the greats of his time (think Asimov or Bradbury), but he’s solid and dependable. This is science fiction comfort reading.

The stories mostly go where you think they will, and they mostly make you feel what you expect. I don’t think any of them provoked anything in me stronger than a good chuckle, but that’s okay. I’m now at the halfway point for the year, and looking back I’m noticing quite a bit of heavy darkness. I didn’t plan it, but it has worked out that way. It made this collection a nice breather, something I could read in a couple afternoons and enjoy and that wouldn’t give me any nightmares. I needed that.

Several of these pieces are extremely funny. “The Demons,” in particular, really works, as does “The Impacted Man.” “Beside Still Waters” was unexpected in its lowkey sweetness and poignancy, especially compared to the rest of the collection, but it was still funny. Sheckley had a gentle sense of humor, I think, that at its best reminds me of people like Preston Sturgiss - it’s a manner of poking fun at people and their foibles that can only come from a romantic optimism. It’s nice to read.