review of
John Brunner's Entry to Elsewhen
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - September 16, 2013

This is one of those bks that I mostly read for fun & that I have very little to say about. Brunner being my new favorite SF author I'm still in the process of 'discovering' him. These 3 novellas or short stories or whatever are the earliest writings I've read by Brunner yet. Brunner was born in 1934, "Host Age" "first appeared in New Worlds SF, copyright 1955"; "No Other Gods But Me" "first appeared in shorter and substantially different form (under the title A Time to Rend) in Science Fantasy, copyright 1956"; & "Lungfish" "first appeared in Britain in Science Fantasy, copyright 1957". "All three stories have been completely revised by the author for the present book" ("FIRST PRINTING, OCTOBER 1972") - back of title page In other words, Brunner wd've been no older than 21 when he wrote "Host Age", no older than 22 for "No Other Gods but Me", & no older than 23 for "Lungfish". I think that qualifies as precocious.

"Host Age" is about a plague & time travel, future intergalactic war n'at. I'd like to read the story in its original form & cf it w/ this rewritten one. Entertained.

"Lungfish" is an exaggerated Generation Gap story in wch children born on a spaceship, the Tripborn, are hugely from their astronaut parents, the Earthborn. This was probably my favorite of the 3 stories. I took very few notes about any of these stories - in this case calling my own attn to the use of the word "eatable" as opposed to "edible". Is that another British vs 'American" thing?

As for the Tripborn vs the Earthborn: the Tripborn are the generation expected to leave the ship upon arrival at the habitable destination.. HOWEVER, the parents's expectations are to be thwarted:

"As it has been explained to me, there is an analogy between leaving the ship and the process of birth. A child must relinquish the warmth and security of the womb. Those who have grown up in the starship must likewise be compelled to move to another stage of existence." - p 68

"But an excuse could certainly be contrived. Doubtless, to the Tripborn, the behavior of the Eartborn must be as peculiar as theirs was to their seniors.

"Their parents?

"An ancient cliché occurred to him: generation gap!" - p 70

Again, I'd like to see the wording of the original story. I imagine that the term "generation gap" didn't exist in it. I vaguely remember the term becoming in vogue around the time of the rewriting of this story - maybe in the late 1960s or early 1970s. I don't know whether the term even existed in the 1950s when the story was originally written. Thus, it's humorous that Brunner has his future star-travelers refer to it as an "ancient cliché".

"No Other Gods but Me" has 2 of the recurring Brunner tropes that I've now noted too many times for me to want to enumerate them anymore: steam cars & hypnotism: "Colin found he had been deceived into obedience; found, too, that that disc was no flate plate of featureless luminance, as he had formerly assumed. There was motion on its surface, spiral motion, as though from its edges a river of light were pouring into a whirlpool at its center. Fascinated against his will, he tried to follow the streaming pattern, tracing time after time from edge to center, edge to center, edge to center . . ." (p 95)

"He felt in a pouch on the girdle that held his robe together and produced a mirror of polished metal no larger than his palm. Deftly he held it up to Colin's face so that the flame of the nearest candle was reflected in it, then set to twisting it in a repeated spiral. The bright light flickered to the center, vanished, reappeared at the edge, spun inward again. Colin felt a spasm of alarm at recognizing the same rhythm as was kept by the hypnotic white discs in the temples of the Real truth; then he relaxed, realizing he had nothing to fear from Ishimu." - p 149

"No Other Gods but Me" is also one of the few stories I've read so far by Brunner where I cd imagine it as someone else's story: in this case, one by R. A. Lafferty.

Entranced, Colin has visions of the class warfare in the alternate world to his own:

"Scenes of misery gave place to a vision of luxury. In a sandy, hot country that he thought might correspond to the Egypt of his own world, fine white houses belonging to adepts basked under a steel-blue sky, just out of earshot of the cries from the fruit groves, the bucket pumps, the threshing floors where slaves were being whipped to work, which the mind of one of their masters could have disposed of in a minute. Again, on an island where luxuriant palms adn gorgeous flowers abounded, there was a palace with hundreds upon hundreds of rooms, lavishly decorated, tiled with marble, jasper, and mother-of-pearl . . . and all empty, awaiting the whim that might bring Telthis here to escape the northern winter, while slaves were packed head to foot on beds like racks in a foul-smelling barracks beyond the hill."

[..]

"And everywhere there spied and probed the viceroys of Telthis. However jealous they might be of his supreme power, it was in their interest as well as his to stamp out any hint of originality, for originality might lead to rebellion." - p 150

"[O]riginality might lead to rebellion!" Indeed. How often do people think of originality in this way? &, yet, considering how utterly against it this society seems to be, how hell-bent this society seems to be on stamping out that Rara Avis, the fear of originality seems to be rooted in a fear of CHANGE, ie: rebellion against the Status Quo. &, why not? For Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely:

""Known? Known what?"

""That Telthis was wrong!" Kolok exploded. "You do have the power—you must have it, though you've never learned to use it! And Telthis believed it would only appear in your children. There is still hope, do you understand? There is still hope of defeating him if I can instruct you in time—"

"Colin put up his hands as though to ward off the flow of words. "No!" he said harshly. "No, after what I've seen in your world, I don't want the power! It's too much for anyone to be trusted with!"" - pp 156-157

Another sign of the updating of the story from the 1950s to the early 1970s:

""Does it matter?" Colin countered. "The thing is to get him down!" And, hastily improvising, he added, "He's a war victim, you know, Vietnamese. A Good kid, but after what he went through, sort of—uh—crazy sometimes . . ."" - p 169

Having just turned 60 less than 2 wks ago & noting that Brunner died just shy of turning 61, I'm once again reminded of my own mortality & wondering if my own prolific work as a film & video maker, as a writer, as a (d) composer, as a Low Classical (M)Usician, as a performer, as an IMP ACTIVIST, will ever be acknowledged & rewarded before I, too, kick the bucket. Thank the holy ceiling light that Brunner, at least, seems to've gotten recognition in his lifetime. Otherwise, I might never have the vast body of his work to keep me going in this, my time of dark need. ( )

A collection of three speculative novellas originally written in the 1950s and updated in the 1970s for this edition. It’s a 2/3 hit rate as the first two (“Host Age” and “Lungfish”) are strong engaging stories with interesting ideas and imaginative twists. Unfortunately the third (“No Other Gods But Me”) is rambling and boring.

I need to give a note to “Host Age” which tells the story of a Doctor having to deal with a strange new fast evolving plague spreading across the globe. Some of the passages, although written almost 70 years ago, read like recent news reports. While some of the protocols mentioned include ideas such as lockdowns, travel restrictions etc. - it’s a uncomfortably prescient story - if only we had an fantastic twist explanation ending for what we are living through just like this story had. ( )

Very good stories. What's best about them is that they represent Classic Science Fiction that Respects Women" (as some of you have seen me refer to elsewhere). In all three stories there are women who are fully realized and at least as smart and brave as the men.

The copyright/ acknowledgement page is interesting. All three stories had been published in magazines in the 1950s. "'No Other Gods But Me' first appeared in shorter and substantially different form (under the title 'A Time to Rend')..." and "All three stories have been completely revised by the author for the present book." I'm motivated to find 'A Time to Rend' and to compare the two...." ( )