by Gideon Marcus

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a time of renewal and new beginnings.  This year, it falls on September 18, and it can't be coincidence that the Fall TV season starts around then.  After all, this year is going to see a bumper crop of science fiction television, including the debuts of the anthology show The Outer Limits, My Favorite Martian, and the Japanese import Astro Boy.

In fact, the first episode of the last show premiered just the day before yesterday and, to all accounts, it'll be a big hit.  That was certainly the reaction I observed at the preview showing during this year's Worldcon.  Look out for an article on Astro Boy next month!

In the meantime, you've got plenty of good stuff to occupy your attention.  For instance, Margaret St. Clair has an exciting new book out called Sign of the Labrys — expect a review soon.  There is also the October 1963 issue of Galaxy, an extra-thick pile of fiction that'll give you good company for a day or two.  I've just finished the mag, so let's take a look, shall we?

The Men in the Walls, by William Tenn

Imagine an alien conquest so terrible and comprehensive that humanity is reduced to living in the walls of the extraterrestrials' homes like rats.  Civilization shattered back to the Stone Age, forced to survive on the leavings of the aliens.  The world before has disappeared into legend, and artifacts from the before-time are like magic, their original purpose unknown.

This is the setting veteran author, William Tenn, gives us in the short novel, The Men in the Walls.  Our protagonist is "Eric the Only," a youth on the edge of manhood, who embarks on his first Theft in alien territory.  Originally intending to play it safe and just steal food, he is persuaded by his ambitious uncle to try for the hardest of targets: alien technology.

The components may sound familiar: Tenn's creation shares a great deal of feel with Galouye's Dark Universe (burrow-dwelling humans turned savage) as well as Aldiss' Hot House (humans are tiny in comparative scale, and they commonly give birth to "litters" rather than individuals.) Nevertheless, Tenn delivers his story in a fresh, page-turning manner, and it's a worthy read.

That said, The Men in the Walls is only half a story, ending just as it gets really interesting.  One has to wonder if a sequel or an expanded novel is planned.  Moreover, the writing gets a little repetitive in points; the story could probably have been ten pages shorter.

Three and a half stars. 

For Your Information: King of the Rats

Willy Ley brings us a discussion of the Rat King, a near-mythical phenomenon in which a dozen or more rats are found with their tails spontaneously fused.  It's a weird topic and an oddly short piece.  I wonder if Willy's getting tired of doing these.  Three stars. 

On the Gem Planet, by Cordwainer Smith

On a world composed solely of precious stones, a lone horse wanders masterless through a crystal valley.  The Dictator of the planet and his beautiful heir entreat a young visitor, a crusading exile whose sole goal is to regain the throne of his home planet, for an explanation of how the horse came to his current condition.

Nothing more need be said of this piece save that it is another tale of the Instrumentality by the inimitable Smith, and it does not injure the reputation of the series or its writer.  Four stars.

A Day on Death Highway, by Chandler Elliott

On the other hand, Elliott's would-be whimsical tale of bad drivers in the future is a clunker.  Rendering a piece in artificial slang is always a dicey prospect, and there isn't enough of interest in this story to make it worth the slog.  One star.

Sweet Tooth, by Robert F. Young

Two giant aliens, all head and no body (or all body and no head) terrorize a rural part of the country with their insatiable taste for chrome-plated automobiles.  Are they the vanguard of an invasion…or just a couple of kids in the candy shop?

Robert F. Young has produced some of the most sublime pieces of fiction as well as some of the worst pieces of hackneyed crud I've ever read.  This tale is neither.  Three stars.

Med Ship Man, by Murray Leinster

Calhoun, intrepid healer to the stars, encounters an ominously empty colony.  Why did the entire population flee their homes in a mad rush, often mid-meal?  And is there a connection with the coincident arrival of Allison, a ruthless businessman from the cattle planet of Texia?

I was trepidatious about this story because the previous Med Ship story had been a disappointment.  Thankfully, Leinster is back to form.  Sure, he still writes in that slightly plodding, repetitive fashion that shouldn't work, but it does as the voice of Calhoun, a man I perceive to be fastidious, peevish, and utterly competent.  Four stars. 

In short, this month's Galaxy gives you plenty to look forward to.  Take in the Tenn, the Leinster, and especially, the Smith.  And then pick up the St. Clair.  That should hold you through to the new year!