Martians and Madness: The Complete SF Novels of Fredric Brown (Nesfa's Choice Series)
One of the best pulp writers, Brown (1906-72) wrote much sf and more mysteries (he was better at mysteries: see his Ed and Am capers, collected inHunter and Hunted, 2002). His good sf--all faulty as prophecy--includes two fine, quirky novels; since he wrote just five sf novels, that gives him Ted Williams' batting average. The five as well as two stories he combined to make up one of the novels are in this companion toFrom These Ashes: The Complete Short SF of Fredric Brown(2001). The classics areWhat Mad Universe(1949), an alternate-reality romp featuring some great scary scenes and lots of laughs, andMartians, Go Home(1955), in which the little green men are all lethal wisecrackers. Less impressive but worthwhile areRogue in Space(1957), in which the disillusioned tough-guy hero gets his own world, andThe Mind Thing(1961), a deliciously low-key variation on the alien-invasion theme.The Lights in the Sky Are Stars(1953) is a snooze because, whereas Brown always tacked on a happy ending, it's all happy ending.Ray OlsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved