Today, October 21, is the birthday of Edmond Hamilton (1904-1977). He’s a favorite around these here parts. In observance of his birthday, I’m going to look at two stories from What’s It Like Out There?. I snagged a copy in great condition for a song last weekend, so this was the book I went to. This is a break from my usual practice of reviewing stories that are easily available. Copies of What’s It Like Out There? aren’t too hard to come by, though.
The back cover copy of What’s It Like Out There? says this is a collection of Hamilton’s best stories. The publication date is 1974, and the publisher was Ace, so this collection predates the Ballantine collection The Best of Edmond Hamilton by roughly three years. It’s interesting to note that What’s It Like Out There? has a dozen stories from the 1940s and 1950s, with one story from the early 60s, with the majority from the 40s. The Best of Edmond Hamilton has 21, from the 1920s to the late 60s. The title story of the Ace collection, “What’s It Like Out There?”, is the only duplication between them.
Hamilton is best remembered as a science fiction writer, but he wrote his share of fantasy and weird tales. In fact both of the stories we’ll look at are from Weird Tales. Neither are major works, but they are both entertaining. Continue reading
