Today is February 26. It is the birthday of Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985). The title of this post is a play on the title of his 1958 collection, A Touch of Strange.

Sturgeon was primarily a short story writer. He began publshing short fiction in 1939. He quickly began selling to the two major markets of the day, Unkown and Astounding. In later years he suffered from writer’s block, and his produc tivity dropped off after his first couple of decades, although he never completely stopped writing. His complete chort fiction was collected in thirteen volumes.

I personally prefer his early stories, but that’s partly because those were in print and available when I first started reading science fiction and fantasy.

Sturgeon only wrote a handful of novels, and not all of them were fantasy or science fiction. Some of Your Blood is a nonsupernatural horror story. The Player on the Other Side is an Ellery Queen novel.

Sturgeon was noted for the humanity fo his characters. Unlike other writers who tended to write characters who were flat and interchangeable, such as Isaac Asimov, Sturgeon’s characters had warmth and depth. He also tended to focus on characters who didn’t always fit into society.

Some of my personal favorites are “It”, “Shottle Bop”, and “Cargo” as well as Some of Your Blood.

What are your favorite Sturgeon stories?

Today, February 26, is the birthday of Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985).

Sturgeon was one of the most highly regarded writers of his day, especially his short fiction. I read “Thunder and Roses” today when I had a few minutes free from work and traveling.

“Thunder and Roses” is a postapocalyptic story in which the United States was attacked by unnamed enemies from both the east and the west.

Instead of retaliating, the government chose to not respond. Continue reading →

“The Professor’s Teddy Bear”
Theodore Sturgeon
Originally published in Weird Tales, March 1948
Currently available in Thunder and Roses Volume IV: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon
ebook $8.99

Things have been extra hectic this last week or two, and I’ve missed several  birthdays that I wanted to post about.  I’ll do some posts about the authors I wanted to discuss over the next few weeks. Today is Theodore Sturgeon’s birthday, and I didn’t want to miss it. Sturgeon (1918-1985) was born on February 26. He was one of the first sf authors I read as a teenager, and some of his short stories left a big impressions. Continue reading →

I’m a day late on this one, but Edward Hamilton Waldo, AKA Theodore Sturgeon, was born on February 26, 1918 on Staten Island, New York.

Sturgeon was best known as a short story writer, although he wrote some well received novels, such as More Than Human, The Dreaming Jewels, and the under-appreciated Some of Your Blood.

He got his start writing for Unknown and Astounding in the late 1930s and early 1940s,  Much of his best work was done in that time period. 

Outside of science fiction and fantasy he’s probably best known for what has come to be called Sturgeon’s Law:  90% of everything is crap.

I really like Sturgeon’s short fiction, especially his early work.  There’s a level of craftsmanship and fun that some of his later works, such as “If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?” lack.  Skip that story and go to “It” or “Mewhu’s Jet” or “Yesterday Was Monday.

His first collection was entitled Without Sorcery, which was something of a misnomer since much of it was fantasy.  It was reprinted by Ballantine under the title Not Without Sorcery and is an excellent introduction to his work.

There was an attempt in the late 90s and 00s to collect all of Sturgeon’s short fiction between hardcovers.  I think I’m missing the last of that set.  But if you get a chance, read some of his work.  It’s worth seeking out.