{"id":7066,"date":"2025-09-22T20:40:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T14:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=7066"},"modified":"2025-11-18T03:01:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T21:01:27","slug":"william-morrison-half-way-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=7066","title":{"rendered":"WILLIAM MORRISON…HALF-WAY THERE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Picture<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0So, this is going to be a quick follow-up blahg to my previous blahg,\u00a0THE SLY BUNGERHOP ET AL<\/a> where I talked about the science fiction author, William Morrison.\u00a0 I detailed how Morrison was an unsung science fiction author who is all but forgotten today.\u00a0 He wrote 79 short science fiction stories and 3 longer, novel length science fiction stories.\u00a0 I had set myself a goal to start reading everything in the science fiction category penned by Morrison.\u00a0 I decided to start off by reading the short stories and I’m happy to say I’ve passed the half-way mark.\u00a0 This blahg will highlight my efforts and my impressions of some of these stories.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0I originally had started by reading “The Sly Bungerhop” again.\u00a0 I once set out to read all of the short science fiction stories of Clifford Simak and had purchased a number of anthologies that carried different stories by Simak.\u00a0 One of those anthologies, \u201cMind Partner,\u201d\u00a0 carried the short story “The Civilization Game” by Simak.\u00a0 I had owned my copy for a number of years and the only story from that anthology that I had read was a story called \u201cThe Sly Bungerhop\u201d by William Morrison.\u00a0 That’s where my Morrison interest began.\u00a0 So, I started compiling the list of stories by Morrison and that list can be found in my previous blahg.\u00a0 From that list, I began to read by alphabetical title and then switched to reading by publication date.\u00a0 Here are the stories I have read so far with the year of publication and the pulp magazine in which they were published:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

1941:
\nBad Medicine – Thrilling Wonder Stories, February 1941
\nPlastic Pigskin Daze – Thrilling Wonder Stories – March 1941
\nCrossroads of the Universe – Startling Stories July 1941
\nMasters of Chance – Thrilling Wonder Stories August 1941
\nThe Barbarians – Future Fiction August 1941
\nUndersea Snatch – Captain Future – Fall 1941
\nChristmas on Mars – Thrilling Wonder Stories December 1941<\/h4>\n

1942:
\nThe Lion-Hearted – Captain Future – Summer 1942
\nThe Man in the Moon – Startling Stories July 1942
\nTwo Worlds To Save – Startling Stories Sept 1942<\/h4>\n

1943:
\nForgotten Past – Startling Stories January 1943
\nGarments of Doom – Super Science Stories February 1943
\nThe Great Invasion Startling Stories – March 1943
\nThe Invincible Wrestler – Thrilling Wonder Stories – April 1943
\nThe Wheezers – Captain Future – Summer 1943
\nLight in Darkness – Thrilling Wonder Stories, Fall 1943
\nThe Monkey and the Typewriter – Startling Stories Fall 1943
\nThe Treasure – Captain Future – Winter 1943<\/h4>\n

1944:<\/h4>\n

\nGet Your Extra Here! – Startling Stories Summer 1944<\/h4>\n

1949:
\nFree Land – Thrilling Wonder Stories August 1949
\nSkin Dupe – Thrilling Wonder Stories December 1949<\/h4>\n

1950:
\nStars Over Santa Claus \u2013 Startling Stories, January 1950
\nHop O’ My Thumb – Super Science Stories May 1950
\nDisappointment – Startling Stories, July 1950
\nThe Ancient – Fantastic Story Quarterly – Fall 1950
\nThe Sack – Astounding Science Fiction, September 1950
\nThe Strangest Bedfellows – Thrilling Wonder Stories – June 1950<\/h4>\n

1951:
\nStar Slave – with Harry Nix Super Science Stories – June 1951
\nMonster – Planet Stories July 1951
\nVermin – Fantastic Story Magazine, Fall 1951
\nThe Cupids of Venus – Startling Stories, November 1951
\nThe Dark Dimension – Marvel Science Fiction – November 1951
\nThe Joker – Fantastic Adventures – December 1951<\/h4>\n

1953:
\nDivinity – Space Science Fiction March 1953
\nDate of Publication, 2083 A.D. – Fantastic Universe Oct\/Nov 1953
\nCountry Doctor – Star Science Fiction Stories, 1953, edited by Frederic Pohl<\/h4>\n

1954:
\nBattleground – Amazing Stories, November 1954
\nBedside Manner – Galaxy May 1954
\nNo Star’s Land – Fantastic Universe July 1954<\/h4>\n

1955:
\nDead Man’s Planet – Galaxy v09n05 February 1955
\nDark Destiny – Startling Stories Spring 1955<\/h4>\n

1957:
\nThe Sly Bungerhop – Galaxy Science Fiction, September 1957<\/h4>\n

1958:
\nA Feast of Demons – Galaxy, March 1958<\/h4>\n

The switch to reading by publication date has made for more interesting reading as I noticed changes in the way Morrison wrote.\u00a0 I won’t talk about all the stories I’ve read but I’ll highlight some I enjoyed and possibly others that didn’t work for me.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0“Bad Medicine” from 1941 is, I believe, Morrison’s first published science fiction story.\u00a0 Here’s the art that was published with the story when it appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, February 1941:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Bad<\/a><\/p>\n

This was a very fun story.\u00a0 It’s about two hucksters who, like the old medicine shows of old, sell phony elixirs to the locals.\u00a0 This time the locals are slow-witted aliens on another planet and the potion guarantees an intelligence boost.\u00a0 What happens when it really works and the aliens become suddenly smarter than the hucksters?\u00a0 A fun idea that works well and is an enjoyable read.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0I’ll breeze through the other 1941 stories.\u00a0 “Plastic Pigskin Daze” was about football and technology.\u00a0 I didn’t find it all that interesting.\u00a0 The next chronological story, “Crossroads of the Universe” also wasn’t as good.\u00a0 It was more a hard-fisted crime story of Mercurian criminals and human smuggling.\u00a0 It didn’t benefit from the exotic locale or the use of aliens and spaceships.\u00a0 “Masters of Chance,” published in Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1941 was a better story.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Masters<\/a>\"Masters<\/a><\/p>\n

A robot learns to gamble, but he’s needed elsewhere to keep a factory going.\u00a0 Human insight is the only thing that can defeat the robot’s winning streak.\u00a0 This story was another of those “fun to read” entries.\u00a0 “The Barbarians” is about war between two factions on a remote colony in space.\u00a0 How they wage war and why it’s considered barbaric makes it worth reading.\u00a0 The other two 1941 entries, “Undersea Snatch” and “Christmas On Mars” were just so-so.\u00a0 Both stories were better suited to be on land or on Earth.\u00a0 The science fiction adds no real value to the stories.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0William Morrison’s output in 1942 was less than the previous year with only three stories published.\u00a0 “Two Worlds To Save” was extremely long.\u00a0 I’m not sure of the word count but of the 132 pages of Startling Stories, September 1942, “Two Worlds To Save” takes up 70 pages.\u00a0 It’s clearly a novella and, for me, it ran on for too long.\u00a0 In the July 1942 edition of “Starling Stories,” Morrison had his short story, “The Man In The Moon” published.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"Man<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a first-contact story that has a twist at the end.\u00a0 The science fiction really complements the story but humanity gets in the way.\u00a0 “The Lion-Hearted” is about a movie producer who is turned into a human-lion hybrid.\u00a0 It was just okay.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a01943 was a more prolific year for science fiction stories by Morrison.\u00a0 The two best stories were “Garments of Doom” and “The Great Invasion.”\u00a0 The “Garments of Doom” is about an invasion that goes horribly wrong because of diapers.\u00a0 If that doesn’t intrigue you then nothing will.\u00a0 “The Great Invasion” is told from the viewpoint of children. I don’t even think adults could have handled it better.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The other stories from 1943 were of the so-so variety.\u00a0 None much better than the rest, although I still enjoyed reading them.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a01944 only saw the publication of\u00a0 “The Companions of Sirius” and “Get Your Extra Here!”\u00a0 Somehow, I missed reading “The Companions of Sirius” so I’ll have to circle back to it.\u00a0 In “Get Your Extra Here!” a hen-pecked\u00a0 earth man starts receiving a newspaper from the future and then ends up travelling there.\u00a0 Yes, the only entry for 1944 but very enjoyable.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0William Morrison did not publish for the next 5 years.\u00a0 In 1949 he published “Free Land” and “Skin Dupe.”\u00a0 \u00a0Both were published in Thrilling Wonder Stories with “Free Land” in the August edition and “Skin Dupe” coming out in September.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a><\/p>\n

“Free Land” is the better of the pair.\u00a0 Earthlings are offered free land on Mars.\u00a0 \u201cSimply complete in twenty-five words or less, the following sentence \u2014I\u2019d like to live on Jupiter because\u2014 That\u2019s all! Send your completed sentence along with ten units entrance fee, to the following address\u2014”.\u00a0 The problem is that the soil won’t grow anything.\u00a0 The lead character is an ‘aeroponic engineer’ and he figures things out for the better.\u00a0 “Skin Dupe” was less interesting.\u00a0 It was cosmetics in the future.\u00a0 Yep, that’s as exciting as it gets.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0There were six stories from Morrison published in 1950 in five different science fiction magazines.\u00a0 “Disappointment” was the best one of the year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“You just can’t stop Horton Perry, the salted nut king, from complaining about that ultra-scientific son-in-law of his!”\u00a0 Despite all the scientific breakthroughs discovered by his son-in-law, Horton Perry cannot forgive him for not solving the problem of salt ratio in the packages of Perry’s salted nuts.\u00a0 The other stories were good but “Disappointment” has the humour that puts this story over the top.\u00a0 \u00a0“Stars Over Santa Claus,” Startling Stories, January 1950 was another one I missed the first time around.\u00a0 Having finally read it, I will say it was a minor delight.\u00a0 Stuck on another planet with invading armies, what you really need is a materializer that works.\u00a0 You could materialize guns or supplies or even a decent turkey dinner.\u00a0 Of course, if your materializer doesn’t work then it’s looking to be a dismal Christmas unless someone can fix it.\u00a0 Fun.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a01951 saw six stories from Morrison in six different magazines.\u00a0 “Monster,” “Vermin,” and “The Joker” are the highlights.\u00a0 “Monster” is about dangerous critters on an earth colony and how importing a dog from Earth to deal with things has its advantages and disadvantages.\u00a0 Great ending on this one.\u00a0 “Vermin” is like a Land Of The Giants world where the humans are considered as “vermin.”\u00a0 How can they improve their lot in life and deal with their giant problem?\u00a0 If you’re a Star Trek Next Generation fan you’ll know about “Q.”\u00a0 He’s an omnipotent being who plays with the lives of what he sees as lesser beings.\u00a0 That’s like “The Joker” in Morrison’s story.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Incidentally, “The Joker” is the most recent story I have read as I progress through these stories chronologically.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0I haven’t read any of his output from 1952 but have read some from 1953.\u00a0 In 1953 he published “Divinity” in Space Science Fiction, March 1953, and “Date of Publication, 2083 A.D” in Fantastic Universe Oct\/Nov 1953.\u00a0 There were eleven stories in total published by Morrison in 1953 but I have only read these two plus “Country Doctor” which was first published in the anthology “Star Science Fiction Stories” released in February of 1953.\u00a0 Clearly, “Date of Publication, 2083 A.D.” and “Country Doctor” are the better stories.\u00a0 “Divinity” is about an escaped criminal who sets himself up as a god on an alien world.\u00a0 His change into a respectable and respected person is the not result he expected.\u00a0 “Date of Publication, 2083 A.D.” is about a book from the future that lands in 1950s suburbia and changes everything to humorous consequences.\u00a0 Morrison’s science fiction stories with this type of humour are always a pleasurable read. “Country Doctor” is just as enjoyable as a homespun country doctor, like the story title suggests, has to diagnose a giant space cow by going on the inside of the beast.\u00a0 “Country Doctor” is the only Morrison science fiction story not to be published in a pulp magazine.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0I’m not sure what was the best story by Morrison of those published in 1954 that I have read.\u00a0 This was Morrison’s most prolific year with thirteen science fiction stories published.\u00a0 The three that I have read are “Battleground,” “Bedside Manner,” and “No Star’s Land.”\u00a0 Both “Battleground” and “Bedside Manner” had medical themes.\u00a0 Neither was better than the other.\u00a0 Here’s he tag for “Battleground”:\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Snatching an appendix neatly and efficiently was Doctor <\/em>Verner’s dish, so the operation appeared to be entirely <\/em>routine. But this particular patient was constructed <\/em>along strange lines, he needed his appendix very badly!\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

And here’s the tag for “Bedside Manner”:\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Broken, helpless, she had to trust an alien doctor to give her back her body and mind\u2014a doctor who had never seen a human before!\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“No Star’s Land” was about a couple who are trapped in a “no man’s land” or “no star’s land” in this case between two warring planets.\u00a0 Not any better or any worse than the other two stories published in 1954<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Morrison’s output was definitely slowing down moving into the mid 1950s.\u00a0 He would only publish eleven more stories between 1955 and 1958.\u00a0 From 1955 I have read “Dead Man’s Planet” and “Dark Destiny” The latter story is about castaways having to survive on an inhospitable planet.\u00a0 Not as good as you’d think.\u00a0 “Dead Man’s Planet” was definitely more interesting.\u00a0 A Father and Son who are grieving discover a dog on a planet where nothing else lives.\u00a0 Why is the dog there and what is the dog grieving?\u00a0 This is a good solid story.<\/span><\/strong>\"Dead<\/a>\"Dead<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0In 1956 and 1957, Morrison published two stories in each of those years.\u00a0 The only one I have read is from 1957 and was the inspiration for my previous blahg and this one.\u00a0 “The Sly Bungerhop” was published in Galaxy Science Fiction in their September 1957 issue.\u00a0 It even rated a mention on the cover:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Galaxy<\/a><\/p>\n

What do I say about this story?\u00a0 It’s got that Morrison humour that works so well in some of his stories.\u00a0 It’s about a science-fiction author who pays a visit to a publishing-house editor who has just rejected the author’s latest story about the thirty-first century.\u00a0 There’s an altercation and the author breaks his glasses and he can hardly see a thing.\u00a0 He stumbles away and inadvertently summons and boards an elevator that takes him to the distant future…but he can hardly see or understand a thing.\u00a0 Check out the humorous artwork for the story (click on it for a larger version):<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>\"The<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/span><\/strong>Late in his career and Morrison was still knocking out great stories.\u00a0 If you only check out one of Morrison’s stories then I suggest this one.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Finally, 1958, and Morrison publishes his last science fiction story, “A Feast Of Demons” published in Galaxy Science Fiction in March 1958.\u00a0 This one, I have also read.\u00a0 It’s full of that Morrison wit and is well written.\u00a0 The story also received a mention on the cover:\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Galaxy<\/a><\/p>\n

A scientist discovers the secret to eternal life but what does this mean for Earth if no one ever dies?\u00a0 A couple of old college buddies hatch the scheme at a reunion.\u00a0 One’s the scientist and the other is a schemer who should have kept his mother shut!\u00a0 Not a bad way to end off a science fiction career.\u00a0 I only wish there had been more.\u00a0 Well, at least there are for me.\u00a0 There’s nothing after 1958 but I have the other half of the stories I’ve yet to read in chronological order.\u00a0 Can’t wait!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0So, this is going to be a quick follow-up blahg to my previous blahg,\u00a0THE SLY BUNGERHOP ET AL where I talked about the science fiction author, William Morrison.\u00a0 I detailed how Morrison was an unsung science fiction author who is all but forgotten today.\u00a0 He wrote 79 short science fiction stories and 3 longer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4,312,3,329],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7066"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7066"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7109,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7066\/revisions\/7109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}