Reception
Publishers Weekly characterizes Bloch as "about the most productively nasty-minded writer going, relishing his grue with an infectious delight," and the collection as "mostly fantasy, with some grim science fiction," noting that "[o]pening the book will be for most readers like opening a bag of potato chips—they'll be unlikely to close it until finished." "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," "The Man Who Collected Poe," "That Hell-Bound Train," and "The Movie People" are singled out for comment. [2]
James McGlothlin on blackgate.com writes that "[t]hough Bloch is primarily remembered as a horror author today, The Best of Robert Bloch shows a wide range of talent that was clearly honed in the grist of the pulp days. Like several of these Del Rey 'Best ofs,' Bloch’s work represents a bygone era, but there is much to savor and experience from the pen of this great pulpster." While expecting, "given [Bloch's] association with Lovecraft, and his fame in connection with Psycho," the book "would tend to focus more on horror, or horror-related themes," McGlothlin notes that "Bloch wrote widely and in various genres," and a number of stories included "probably fit better with sci-fi, fantasy, or even fairy- or folktale," with some "actually sort of moral tales or [with] moral lessons or warning." These "tend [to] have a reassuring ring of the balances being righted," though others "are a bit more ambiguous and despairing." That said, "Bloch also has a witty humor that often comes out in his stories." In support of his analysis McGlothlin discusses six of the pieces, "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper," "Catnip," "The Hungry House," "That Hell-Bound Train," "The Funnel of God," and "All on a Golden Afternoon" at some length. He concludes "I recommend The Best of Robert Bloch." [4]
The book was also reviewed by Richard E. Geis in Science Fiction Review, February 1978, Philip Stephensen-Payne in Paperback Parlour, April 1978, and Uwe Anton in SF Perry Rhodan Magazin, 12/80. [1]
Robert Albert Bloch was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small amount of science fiction. His writing career lasted 60 years, including more than 30 years in television and film. He began his professional writing career immediately after graduation from high school, aged 17. Best known as the writer of Psycho (1959), the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock, Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. He was a protégé of H. P. Lovecraft, who was the first to seriously encourage his talent. However, while he started emulating Lovecraft and his brand of cosmic horror, he later specialized in crime and horror stories working with a more psychological approach.
"That Hell-Bound Train" is a fantasy short story by American writer Robert Bloch. It was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in September 1958.
Robert Edward Weinberg was an American author, editor, publisher, and collector of science fiction. His work spans several genres including non-fiction, science fiction, horror, and comic books.
The Opener of the Way is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by American writer Robert Bloch. It was released in 1945 and was the author's first book. It was published by Arkham House in an edition of 2,065 copies. A British hardcover was issued by Neville Spearman in 1974, with Panther Books issuing a two-volume paperback reprint in 1976. An Italian translation, with the stories reordered, appeared in 1991. The collection was never reprinted in the United States, but its contents were included in the 1994 omnibus The Early Fears.
Pleasant Dreams: Nightmares is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by American writer Robert Bloch. It was released in 1960 and was the author's second book published by Arkham House. It was released in an edition of 2,060 copies.
Imaginative Tales was an American fantasy and science fiction magazine launched in September 1954 by William Hamling's Greenleaf Publishing Company. It was created as a sister magazine to Imagination, which Hamling had acquired from Raymond A. Palmer's Clark Publishing. Imaginative Tales began as a vehicle for novel-length humorous fantasy, early issues featuring stories by Charles F. Myers and Robert Bloch. After a year, Hamling switched the focus to science fiction and it became similar in content to Imagination, publishing routine space operas. In 1958, with public interest in space high, Hamling changed the title to Space Travel, but there was little effect on sales. Magazine circulation was suffering because of the rise of the paperback, and the liquidation in 1957 of American News Company, a major magazine distributor, made it even harder for small magazines to survive. Hamling eventually ceased publication of both Imaginative Tales and Imagination in 1958, preferring to invest the money in Rogue, a men's magazine he had started in imitation of Playboy in 1955.
The Early Fears is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by American writer Robert Bloch. It was released in 1994 by Fedogan & Bremer in an edition of 2,400 copies, of which 100 were signed by the author. The collection reprints the stories from Bloch's two earlier collections published by Arkham House, The Opener of the Way and Pleasant Dreams: Nightmares with three additional stories. The stories originally appeared in the magazines Unknown, Weird Tales, Amazing Stories, Strange Stories, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Beyond Fantasy Fiction, Fantastic, Imagination and Swank. The collection includes Bloch's 1959 Hugo Award winning story, "That Hell-Bound Train."
This article presents an incomplete list of short stories by Robert Sheckley, arranged alphabetically by title.
Blood! The Life And Future Times Of Jack The Ripper was a set of two record albums that was issued in 1977. The first record has American writer Robert Bloch reading his short stories, "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" and "A Toy for Juliette". The first was published in Weird Tales in 1943; the second appeared in Harlan Ellison's science fiction anthology, Dangerous Visions. On the second record is speculative fiction author Harlan Ellison reading his short story, "The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World".
Science-fiction and fantasy magazines began to be published in the United States in the 1920s. Stories with science-fiction themes had been appearing for decades in pulp magazines such as Argosy, but there were no magazines that specialized in a single genre until 1915, when Street & Smith, one of the major pulp publishers, brought out Detective Story Magazine. The first magazine to focus solely on fantasy and horror was Weird Tales, which was launched in 1923, and established itself as the leading weird fiction magazine over the next two decades; writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E. Howard became regular contributors. In 1926 Weird Tales was joined by Amazing Stories, published by Hugo Gernsback; Amazing printed only science fiction, and no fantasy. Gernsback included a letter column in Amazing Stories, and this led to the creation of organized science-fiction fandom, as fans contacted each other using the addresses published with the letters. Gernsback wanted the fiction he printed to be scientifically accurate, and educational, as well as entertaining, but found it difficult to obtain stories that met his goals; he printed "The Moon Pool" by Abraham Merritt in 1927, despite it being completely unscientific. Gernsback lost control of Amazing Stories in 1929, but quickly started several new magazines. Wonder Stories, one of Gernsback's titles, was edited by David Lasser, who worked to improve the quality of the fiction he received. Another early competitor was Astounding Stories of Super-Science, which appeared in 1930, edited by Harry Bates, but Bates printed only the most basic adventure stories with minimal scientific content, and little of the material from his era is now remembered.
The Thief of Forthe and Other Stories is a collection of sword and sorcery and other fantasy short stories by American writer Clifford Ball. It was first published in paperback and ebook by DMR Books in March 2018.
The Sapphire Goddess: The Fantasies of Nictzin Dyalhis is a collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories by American writer Nictzin Dyalhis. It was first published in by DMR Books, appearing in paperback in March 2018, and as an ebook in June of the same year.
The Best of Edmond Hamilton is a collection of science fiction short stories by American author Edmond Hamilton, edited by his wife and fellow science fiction writer Leigh Brackett. It was first published in hardback by Nelson Doubleday in April 1977 and in paperback by Ballantine Books in August of the same year as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction. The book was reissued in trade paperback and ebook editions by Phoenix Pick in November 2010. It has also been translated into German.
Swordsmen in the Sky is an anthology of science fantasy short stories, edited by Donald A. Wollheim. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1964. The book has been translated into German.
The Best of C. L. Moore is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories by American author C. L. Moore, edited by Lester del Rey. It was first published in hardback by Nelson Doubleday in November 1975 and in paperback by Ballantine Books in March 1976 as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction. A second hardcover edition was issued by Taplinger in 1977, and the paperback edition was reissued by Del Rey/Ballantine in December 1980 and January 1981. The book has been translated into German and Italian.
The Best of Frederik Pohl is a collection of science fiction short stories by American author Frederik Pohl, edited by Lester del Rey. It was first published in hardcover by Nelson Doubleday in March 1975 as a selection of its Science Fiction Book Club, and in paperback by Ballantine Books in June of the same year as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction, and reprinted in April 1976. The book was reissued in hardcover by Taplinger in 1977. The first British edition was issued in Hardcover in January 1977 by Sidgwick & Jackson, which later gathered it together with The Best of Harry Harrison (1976) into the omnibus volume Science Fiction Special 29 (1978). It has also been translated into Italian and German.
The Best of Raymond Z. Gallun is a collection of science fiction short stories by American author Raymond Z. Gallun, edited by J. J. Pierce. It was first published in paperback by Del Rey/Ballantine in August 1978 as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction.
The Best of Fredric Brown is a collection of science fiction short stories by American author Fredric Brown, edited by Robert Bloch. It was first published in hardback by Nelson Doubleday in January 1977 and in paperback by Ballantine Books in May of the same year as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction. The book has been translated into German and Spanish.
The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre is a collection of stories by American author H. P. Lovecraft. It was first published in trade paperback by Del Rey/Ballantine in October 1982 as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction, and reprinted in September 1988 and April 1995, with an ebook edition issued in November. 2002.
Jon Arfstrom was an American artist of imaginative realism known for his fantastical works in the fantasy and horror genres, active both in the late pulp fiction era of the 1950s, with his Weird Tales cover art and interior illustration work, and then again in science fiction publishing in the 1980s, for his mature cover work, for which he received a Bram Stoker Award in 1994.
