Today, September 23, is the birthday of Wilmar H. Shiras (1908-1990). She wasn’t prolific, but what she lacked in quantity, she made up for in quality.
Her first published story was “In Hiding” in the November 1948 issue of Astounding. It concerned a mutant child who was much more intelligent that other children who was trying to hide his abilities.
Two sequels followed. All three stories were incorporated into the novel Children of the Atom. That’s the Science Fiction Book Club edition on the left.
This was the, for lack of a better term, golden age of nuclear mutation stories. The late forties and early fifties saw a number of stories about the harmful effects of nuclear radiation on humanity. Rumor, never confirmed, was that this book was, at least partially, the inspiration for the X-Men.
I read this in high school and could identify with the isolation the main character in “In Hiding” felt. I’m not sure how I would relate to it now. The book’s reputation has faded in the decades since it was written. It was still well known back in the year [REDACTED] when I read it. The world has moved on. Mutatns aren’t one of the things we fear as a culture. At at least they aren’t high on the list.
Have any of you read it?
