Stanley G. Weinbaum

Stanley G. Weinbaum (1902-1935) had a brief career as a science fiction writer before his untimely death, but he had an influence that has lasted decades. He was born today, April 4.  It’s been a couple of years since I looked at any of his work.

Weinbaum set many of his stories in a solar system where most of the moons and planets supported life.  That wasn’t anything unusual at the time.  Weinbaum had stories published from 1935-1938.  What was unusual was that Weinbaum’s aliens were often truly alien, such as Tweel from “A Martian Odyssey”, his most famous story.  The stereotypical monsters weren’t his thing.

One of the things that made much of Weinbaum’s work stand out was a sense of humor.  For example, “The Mad Moon”. Continue reading →