Scott as utterly out of his depth with a misguided reliance on “instant impact” without substance or cohesion or knowledge of the field. Mike Ashley in Transformations: The Story of the Science Fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970(2005) does not have kind words for the three-year run of the magazine Super-Science Fiction (1956-1959). Harlan Ellison’s “Psycho at Mid-Point” first appeared in Super-Science Fiction, ed. Frank Kelly Freas’ cover for Super-Science Fiction, ed.Martin’s “ The Second Kind of Loneliness” (1972) and Tom Godwin’s “The Nothing Equation” (1957) Previously: Alfred Coppel’s “The Hunters” (1952, “The Dreamer” (1952), and “Double Standard” (1952). If you know of any other Ellison stories that might fit the theme, let me know.Īs always, feel free to join the conversation and read along with me on the search for the depressed astronaut. As a bonus, I’ve paired it with one of Ellison’s better known 50s tales of mutants and prison ships–“The Discarded” (variant title: “The Abnormals”) (1959). The first story in this post–“Psycho at Mid-Point” (1956)–exemplifies the theme at its most brutal and nihilistic. I’d previously read and reviewed his collection Approaching Oblivion (1974) and a handful of other stories including “A Boy and His Dog” (1969). I am completely ignorant of his 50s visions. I turn now to an author, Harlan Ellison (1934-2018), whom I’ve only marginally explored considering his prodigious output. I relish the act of literary archaeology.

The following review is the 20th installment of my series searching for “SF short stories that are critical in some capacity of space agencies, astronauts, and the culture which produced them.” Some stories I’ll review in this series might not fit.

Brain Movies by Harlan Ellison