Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "Citizen In Space" (1955) by Robert Sheckley
Age Range: 14 to adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories
Here's another collection of gem-like short SF stories by Robert Sheckley. They're from his golden age, which means they're magnificent; clever, funny, and incisive. You'd be hard-put to find a more masterful craftsman of short science fiction!
["I can tell you right here and now," said Miss Greeb, "if this were the old days, I'd flunk him without another thought But there are so few of us left." Mr. Dee nodded sadly. Witchcraft had been steadily declining over the centuries. The old families died out, or were snatched by demoniac forces, or became scientists. And the fickle public showed no interest whatsoever in the charms and enchantments of ancient days.
Now, only a scattered handful possessed the Old Lore, guarding it, teaching it in places like Miss Greeb's private school for the children of wizards. It was a heritage, a sacred trust.
"It's this accounting nonsense," said Miss Greeb. "I don't know where he got the notion." She stared accusingly at Dee. "And I don't know why it wasn't nipped in the bud." Mr. Dee felt his cheeks grow hot.
"But I do know this. As long as Morton has that on his mind, he can't give his attention to Thaumaturgy."
Mr. Dee looked away from the witch's red eyes. It was his fault. He should never have brought home that toy adding machine. And when he first saw Morton playing at double-entry bookkeeping, he should have burned the ledger. But how could he know it would grow into an obsession? Mrs. Dee smoothed out her apron, and said, "Miss Greeb, you know you have our complete confidence. What would you suggest?"
"All I can do I have done," said Miss Greeb. "The only remaining thing is to call up Boarbas, the Demon of Children. And that, naturally, is up to you."]
And that story was written 43 YEARS before the first Harry Potter book!
Another story begins with plans for the Last Battle:
[Supreme General Fetterer barked “At ease!” as he hurried into the command room. Obediently, his three generals stood at ease.
“We haven’t much time,” Fetterer said, glancing at his watch. “We’ll go over the plan of battle again.”
He walked to the wall and unrolled a gigantic map of the Sahara Desert.
“According to our best theological information, Satan is going to present his forces at these co-ordinates.” He indicated the place with a blunt forefinger.
“In the front rank there will be the devils, demons, succubi, incubi, and the rest of the ratings. Bael will command the right flank, Buer the left. His Satanic Majesty will hold the centre.”
“Rather medieval,” General Dell murmured.
General Fetterer’s aide came in, his face shining and happy with the thought of the Coming.
“Sir,” he said, “the priest is outside again.”
“Stand to attention, soldier,” Fetterer said sternly. “There’s still a battle to be fought and won.”
“Yes sir,” the aide said, and stood rigidly, some of the joy fading from his face.
“The priest, eh?” Supreme General Fetterer rubbed his fingers together thoughtfully. Ever since the Coming, since the knowledge of the imminent Last Battle, the religious workers of the world had made a complete nuisance of themselves. They had stopped their bickering, which was commendable. But now they were trying to run military business.
“Send him away,” Fetterer said. “He knows we’re planning Armageddon.”]
"Citzen In Space" is probably out of print these days. A lot of the good ones are. But it's available in ebook form from the usual providers. And you can also borrow it for free from the Internet Archive.
https://archive.org/details/citizeninspace0000shecHappy reading! 🤓📖
Here's a complete spreadsheet of all the books I've recommended on Mastodon to date (along with links to each post):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSzubtaPojvprNwZCeR6N4xzCpZzMeb4xrrEHPtk6Bvx3RGj1Bxdg2KWY0CcjHjxUfMTGTF1eYpyoFn/pubhtml#Books #Bookstodon #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #ShortStories #BookRecs #BookRecommendations #DailyBookRecs #QuasitBookRecs
