Review: “The Dark Side of the Earth” by Alfred Bester

Thumbs up for The Dark Side of the Earth by Alfred Bester. Science fiction.

Soooo. Alfred Bester. Let’s talk about him. Do you like science fiction? Have you never read him? You need to fix that. If you live in the US, you’ll have to find his books used, because (ABSOLUTE TRAVESTY) they’re out of print here. But however you have to get them, just do it. First, read The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination, two of the greatest science fiction novels ever written; and then sink (as I did) into the pure creative happiness of his short stories. As a general rule I don’t like short stories, but I read this anthology in a single evening – my favorites were “The Men Who Murdered Mohammed,” “The Pi Man,” and what is now possible one of my favorite short stories ever, “The Flowered Thundermug.” From which:

“The year is 1950. Mr. Jukes, a typical ‘loner’ – i.e., ‘bachelor’ – lives on a small ranch outside New York. He rises at dawn, dresses in spurred boots, Daks slacks, rawhide shirt, grey flannel waistcoat and black knit tie. He arms himself with a Police Positive revolver or a Frontier Six Shooter and goes out to the Bar-B-Q to prepare his breakfast of curried plankton or converted algae. He may or may not surprise juvenile delinquents or red Indians on his ranch in the act of lynching a victim or rustling his automobiles, of which he has a herd of perhaps one hundred and fifty.”