Out of This World is a collection of three related science fiction stories by Murray Leinster, published by Avalon Books in 1958. The stories, all featuring "hillbilly polymath" Bud Gregory,[1] originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories over a four-month span in 1947, and are sometimes characterized as a novel.[2] A fourth story in the Gregory sequence, "The Seven Temporary Moons", was published in TWS in 1948, but has never been collected. All the stories originally carried the "William Fitzgerald" byline (a derivative of Leinster's birthname, William Fitzgerald Jenkins).[3]
 First edition dust jacket | |
| Author | Murray Leinster |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Ric Binkley |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Avalon Books |
Publication date | 1958 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 221 |
Contents edit
- "The Deadly Dust" (as William Fitzgerald), Thrilling Wonder, August 1947
- "The Gregory Circle" (as William Fitzgerald), Thrilling Wonder, April 1947
- "The Nameless Something" (as William Fitzgerald), Thrilling Wonder, June 1947[4]
Reception edit
Damon Knight noted that "Leinster is ingenious in thinking up zany practical applications of slightly cockeyed principles," but concluded that "watching Gregory pull these things out of his hat one after another is wearisome; unlimited fantasy... is generally boring."[1] Floyd C. Gale called the book "a rampant spoof... staying just this side of slapstick. Nevertheless, it emerges more heavy-handed than most of his lighter works".[5]
References edit
- ^ a b "In The Balance", If, December 1958, p.112
- ^ ISFDB listing
- ^ ISFDB summary bibliography
- ^ Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections
- ^ Gale, Floyd C. (October 1958). "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf". Galaxy Science Fiction. p. 133.
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