Henry Kuttner

[Connavar]

I wanted a general topic for Kuttner different works. All his pen names, different genres.

I have just started reading my first SF collection/book of his. Robots Have No Tails.

Apparently his Gallagher series is loved,respect by many people who have read it. I was wondering what others thought of his works that he didnt write with C.L Moore.

 

[J-Sun]

Well, you know about this but I figured I'd save time and just point others to what I said in a thread that ended up talking about Kuttner a lot. (Note that I was wrong regarding reprints, though - it's really great that some of his major work is apparently now coming back into print.)

 

[Extollager]

I wanted a general topic for Kuttner different works. All his pen names, different genres.

I have just started reading my first SF collection/book of his. Robots Have No Tails.

Apparently his Gallagher series is loved,respect by many people who have read it. I was wondering what others thought of his works that he didnt write with C.L Moore.

Can someone post something like this? -- a list including Kuttner's pseudonyms and collaborations, as well as his own name, and, for each name, a list of what are generally regarded as the notable stories? Perhaps this is too much for one person to take on.

Kuttner had something to do with some of my favorite stories, but I haven't kept careful track.

 

[Connavar]

This is a good tool http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/henry-kuttner/

Im new fan just reading my first SF stories of him so i dont everything about as who he wrote the stories. Real the only important pen name is the ones he used when writing with CL Moore. Most of his own works are published as new books today under his own name. It doesnt really say anything that he wrote Gallagher stories under Lawrence O'Donnell name in the 1940s. In 2012 there is only Henry Kuttner stories and Kuttner/Moore collections.

Which works of his have you read ? Favourites ? The ones you didnt like ?

 

[J-Sun]

Can someone post something like this? -- a list including Kuttner's pseudonyms and collaborations, as well as his own name, and, for each name, a list of what are generally regarded as the notable stories?

As far as the notable stories, I'm bad with titles so, can't really help there. And I can't vouch for the ISFDB's accuracy or the correctness of the awk command I used to parse some of it, but I get the following list of stories that ever appeared under anything other than Kuttner's name (along with some things caught in the dragnet that actually were just Kuttner, and along with several duped titles as they appeared in different forms or under different names):

Arthur K. Barnes                       Almussen's Comet (1940) [as by Arthur K. Barnes ]
Arthur K. Barnes                       The Energy Eaters (1939) with Arthur K. Barnes [also as by Arthur K. Barnes ]
Arthur K. Barnes                       The Seven Sleepers (1940) [as by Arthur K. Barnes ] 
Bertram W. Williams                    The Curse of the Crocodile (1939) with Bertram W. Williams [only as by Bertram W. Williams ]
C. H. Liddell                          Android (1951) [as by C. H. Liddell ] 
C. H. Liddell                          Carry Me Home (1950) [as by C. H. Liddell ]
C. H. Liddell                          Golden Apple (1951) with C. L. Moore [only as by C. H. Liddell ]
C. H. Liddell                          The Odyssey of Yiggar Throlg (1951) with C. L. Moore [only as by C. H. Liddell ]
C. H. Liddell                          The Sky Is Falling (1950) [as by C. H. Liddell ] 
C. H. Liddell                          The Visitors (1953) [as by C. H. Liddell ] 
C. H. Liddell                          Those Among Us (1951) [as by C. H. Liddell ]
C. H. Liddell                          We Shall Come Back (1951) with C. L. Moore [only as by C. H. Liddell ]
C. H. Liddell                          Where the World Is Quiet (1954) [as by C. H. Liddell ] 
C. L. Moore                            Home There's No Returning (1955) with C. L. Moore [also as by C. L. Moore ]
C. L. Moore                            Vintage Season (1946) [as by C. L. Moore ]
C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner          Ghost (1943) [also as by C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner ]
C. L. Moore and Lewis Padgett          Beyond Earth's Gates (1954) [as by C. L. Moore and Lewis Padgett ]
Edward J. Bellin                       The Touching-Point (1941) [as by Edward J. Bellin ] 
Henry Kuttner                          5 Cold War (1949) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Beggars in Velvet (1945) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Clash by Night (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Exit the Professor (1947) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Gallegher Plus (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Humpty Dumpty (1953) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          See You Later (1949) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          The Lion and the Unicorn (1945) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          The Piper's Son (1945) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          The Portal in the Picture (Complete Novel) (1949) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          The Proud Robot (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Three Blind Mice (1945) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          A Gnome There Was (1941) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Absalom (1946) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          All Is Illusion (1940) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Android (1951) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Baby Face (1945) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Call Him Demon (1946) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Camouflage (1945) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Carry Me Home (1950) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Compliments of the Author (1942) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          De Profundis (1953) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Deadlock (1942) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Dream's End (1947) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Endowment Policy (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Happy Ending (1948) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Home Is the Hunter (1953) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Housing Problem (1944) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Jesting Pilot (1947) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Juke-Box (1947) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Mimsy Were the Borogoves (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Near Miss (1958) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Nothing But Gingerbread Left (1943) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Open Secret (1954) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Or Else (1953) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Piggy Bank (1942) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Private Eye (1949) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          Shock (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          The Body and the Brain (1939) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          The Children's Hour (1944) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          The Dark Angel (1946) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          The Ego Machine (1952) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          The Iron Standard (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          The Little Things (1946) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          The Portal in the Picture (1954) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          The Sky Is Falling (1950) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          The Twonky (1942) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner                          This Is the House (1946) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Those Among Us (1951) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Two-Handed Engine (1955) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          Vintage Season (1946) [as by Henry Kuttner ]
Henry Kuttner                          What You Need (1945) [as by Henry Kuttner ] 
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore          Ex Machina (1948) [as by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore ]
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore          The Proud Robot (1983) [as by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore ] 
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore          The World Is Mine (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore ]
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore          Time Locker (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore ]
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore          The Devil We Know (1941) [also as by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore ]
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore          Year Day (1953) [also as by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore ]
Henry Kuttner and Catherine L. Moore   A Wild Surmise (1953) with C. L. Moore [also as by Henry Kuttner and Catherine L. Moore ]
Hudson Hastings                        Noon (1947) [only as by Hudson Hastings ]
Hudson Hastings                        The Big Night (1947) [also as by Hudson Hastings ]
James Hall                             Dictator of the Americas (1938) [also as by James Hall ]
Keith Hammond                          Valley of the Flame (Complete Novel) (1946) [as by Keith Hammond ] 
Keith Hammond                          Bells of Horror (1939) [as by Keith Hammond ]
Keith Hammond                          Call Him Demon (1946) [as by Keith Hammond ] 
Keith Hammond                          Dark Dawn (1947) [only as by Keith Hammond ]
Keith Hammond                          Lord of the Storm (1947) [only as by Keith Hammond ]
Keith Hammond                          The Bells of Horror (1939) [as by Keith Hammond ] 
Keith Hammond                          The Body and the Brain (1939) [as by Keith Hammond ]
Keith Hammond                          The Invaders (1939) [also as by Keith Hammond ]
Kelvin Kent                            Dames Is Poison (1942) [only as by Kelvin Kent ]
Kelvin Kent                            Hercules Muscles In (1941) [only as by Kelvin Kent ]
Kelvin Kent                            Man About Time (1940) [only as by Kelvin Kent ]
Kelvin Kent                            Roman Holiday (1939) with Arthur K. Barnes [only as by Kelvin Kent ]
Kelvin Kent                            Science Is Golden (1940) with Arthur K. Barnes [only as by Kelvin Kent ]
Kelvin Kent                            Swing Your Lady (1944) [only as by Kelvin Kent ] 
Kelvin Kent                            The Comedy of Eras (1940) [only as by Kelvin Kent ]
Kelvin Kent                            World's Pharaoh (1939) [only as by Kelvin Kent ]
Lawrence O'Donnell                     Fury (Part 1 of 3) (1947) [as by Lawrence O'Donnell ]
Lawrence O'Donnell                     Fury (Part 2 of 3) (1947) [as by Lawrence O'Donnell ]
Lawrence O'Donnell                     Fury (Part 3 of 3) (1947) [as by Lawrence O'Donnell ]
Lawrence O'Donnell                     Clash by Night (1943) [as by Lawrence O'Donnell ] 
Lawrence O'Donnell                     Fury (1947) [as by Lawrence O'Donnell ]
Lawrence O'Donnell                     The Children's Hour (1944) [as by Lawrence O'Donnell ] 
Lawrence O'Donnell                     This Is the House (1946) [as by Lawrence O'Donnell ]
Lawrence O'Donnell                     Vintage Season (1946) [as by Lawrence O'Donnell ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Beggars in Velvet (1945) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Ex Machina (1948) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Exit the Professor (1947) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Gallegher Plus (1943) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Humpty Dumpty (1953) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Mutant (1953) [C] [also as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Robots Have No Tails (1952) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          See You Later (1949) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          The Fairy Chessmen (Part 1 of 2) (1946) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          The Fairy Chessmen (Part 2 of 2) (1946) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          The Lion and the Unicorn (1945) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          The Piper's Son (1945) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          The Proud Robot (1943) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          The World Is Mine (1943) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Three Blind Mice (1945) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Time Locker (1943) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Part 1 of 2) (1947) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Part 2 of 2) (1947) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          A Gnome There Was (1941) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Camouflage (1945) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Chessboard Planet (1946) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Compliments of the Author (1942) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Dark Angel (1975) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Deadlock (1942) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Endowment Policy (1943) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Jesting Pilot (1947) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Line to Tomorrow (1945) with C. L. Moore [also as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Margin for Error (1947) with C. L. Moore [only as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Mimsy Were the Borogoves (1943) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Open Secret (1943) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Piggy Bank (1942) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Private Eye (1949) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Project (1947) with C. L. Moore [only as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Rain Check (1946) with C. L. Moore [only as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Shock (1943) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          The Cure (1946) with C. L. Moore [also as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          The Dark Angel (1946) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          The Fairy Chessmen (1946) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          The Far Reality (1963) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          The Iron Standard (1943) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          The Prisoner in the Skull (1949) with C. L. Moore [only as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          The Twonky (1942) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          This is the House (1946) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          Time Enough (1946) with C. L. Moore [only as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Tomorrow and Tomorrow (1947) with C. L. Moore [only as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          We Kill People (1946) with C. L. Moore [only as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          Well of the Worlds (1952) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Lewis Padgett                          What You Need (1945) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          When the Bough Bends (1944) [as by Lewis Padgett ]
Lewis Padgett                          When the Bough Breaks (1944) [as by Lewis Padgett ] 
Noel Gardner                           The Shining Man (1940) [only as by Noel Gardner ]
Noel Gardner                           The Uncanny Power of Edwin Cobalt (1940) [also as by Noel Gardner ]
Owith David Drake and C. L. Moore      The Jungle / Clash by Night (1991) [O] with David Drake and C. L. Moore [only as by Henry Kuttner and David Drake ]
Paul Edmonds                           "Telepathy Is News!" (1939) [only as by Paul Edmonds ]
Paul Edmonds                           Improbability (1940) [only as by Paul Edmonds ]
Paul Edmonds                           Night of Gods (1942) [only as by Paul Edmonds ]
Paul Edmonds                           The Lifestone (1940) [also as by Paul Edmonds ]
Paul Edmonds                           The Mad Virus (1940) [only as by Paul Edmonds ]
Paul Edmonds                           The Tree of Life (1941) [as by Paul Edmonds ]
Peter Horn                             50 Miles Down (1940) [only as by Peter Horn ]
Robert Bloch                           The Black Kiss (1937) with Robert Bloch [also as by Robert Bloch ] 
Robert Bloch                           The Grip of Death (1939) with Robert Bloch [only as by Robert Bloch ]
Robert O. Kenyon                       The Dark Heritage (1938) [also as by Robert O. Kenyon ]
Scott Morgan                           Trophy (1944) [only as by Scott Morgan ]
Will Garth                             Hands Across the Void (1938) [also as by Will Garth ]
Will Garth                             The Bloodless Peril (1937) [also as by Will Garth ]
Woodrow Wilson Smith                   Juke-Box (1947) [as by Woodrow Wilson Smith ]

The ISFDB also lists his pseudonyms alone (with some more massaging) as:

Edward J. Bellin
Paul Edmonds
Noel Gardner
Will Garth
James Hall
Keith Hammond
Hudson Hastings
Peter Horn
Kelvin Kent
Robert O. Kenyon
H. Kuttner
C. H. Liddell
Scott Morgan
Lawrence O'Donnell
Lewis Padgett
Woodrow Wilson Smith

A good rule of thumb is that most Kuttner, Padgett, and O'Donnell is great, the Hammond, Liddell, and Smith may be okay, and most of the others are mostly throw-aways.

 

[Connavar]

J-Sun your list is not correct already.

Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore Time Locker (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore ]

That is not true, Gallagher stories are only Kuttner. CL Moore introduction Robot Have No Tails says he wrote,sold the stories under O'Donnell on his own. She only laughed at them.

Thats why i say old pen name is useless, today the right stories are published under his own name or with CL Moore.

 

[J-Sun]

J-Sun your list is not correct already.

Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore Time Locker (1943) [as by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore ]

That is not true, Gallagher stories are only Kuttner. CL Moore introduction Robot Have No Tails says he wrote,sold the stories under O'Donnell on his own. She only laughed at them.

Well, like I say, this is the ISFDB's data first (and maybe me messing it up after that) but Hamlyn in the UK, for whatever reason, published The Proud Robot as by Kuttner and Moore, so that's what the ISFDB reports. It doesn't mean that's who wrote it - only listing what byline(s) it appeared under. The ISFDB is invaluable, yet it makes its data really really hard to work with unless maybe you set up the whole DB on your computer, so it's hard to extract the original magazine byline only. And, yeah, even that doesn't say who wrote it - just avoids certain publishers doing dumb things.

Also - not disputing her here, necessarily, but, generally, CL Moore had a tendency to minimize her contributions to their work. I will grant that the Gallegher stories certainly feel almost entirely like Kuttner and almost nothing like Moore.

Thats why i say old pen name is useless, today the right stories are published under his own name or with CL Moore.

Well, I wouldn't say useless - O'Donnell (often, not always) tends to indicate Moore's hand. Padgett tends to indicate humor or more science fictional (than fantasy) stories than some others - obscure pen names can often indicate inferior stories, etc. But, yeah, it's rare to come across them under anything but their own names these days or even going back years into used books. And it's also true that, other than as a possible indicator, the byline generally tells little to nothing about who was actually doing the writing.

 

[Extollager]

Which works of his have you read ? Favourites ? The ones you didnt like ?

Well, I don't have my books at hand, but I think Kuttner was author or co-author of "Vintage Season" (one of the top 5 sf stories for me, I suppose), "Two-Handed Engine," "Mimsy Were the Borogoves".....

So what else is really good? I am not particularly interested in sword and sorcery or Lovecraftian pastiches or sf farces (there's a series about a genius who can solve any problem as long as he is blind drunk?).

 

[Connavar]

Well, like I say, this is the ISFDB's data first (and maybe me messing it up after that) but Hamlyn in the UK, for whatever reason, published The Proud Robot as by Kuttner and Moore, so that's what the ISFDB reports. It doesn't mean that's who wrote it - only listing what byline(s) it appeared under. The ISFDB is invaluable, yet it makes its data really really hard to work with unless maybe you set up the whole DB on your computer, so it's hard to extract the original magazine byline only. And, yeah, even that doesn't say who wrote it - just avoids certain publishers doing dumb things.

Also - not disputing her here, necessarily, but, generally, CL Moore had a tendency to minimize her contributions to their work. I will grant that the Gallegher stories certainly feel almost entirely like Kuttner and almost nothing like Moore.



Well, I wouldn't say useless - O'Donnell (often, not always) tends to indicate Moore's hand. Padgett tends to indicate humor or more science fictional (than fantasy) stories than some others - obscure pen names can often indicate inferior stories, etc. But, yeah, it's rare to come across them under anything but their own names these days or even going back years into used books. And it's also true that, other than as a possible indicator, the byline generally tells little to nothing about who was actually doing the writing.

Yeah but when we read the stories today we dont see the pen names like the pulp readers saw them we see only Kuttner or Kuttner/Moore. They might say something since we know the names Kuttner/Moore wrote under when they wrote together and they are both more famous for stories they wrote togther as SF authors. Thats all thier pennames say, Lewis Padgett is Moore/Kuttner best stories.

Doesnt matter what CL Moore says about Gallagher stories herself, there is information of Kuttner selling them to JWC and re-writing them, the fact the books are published today under his own name.

The Proud Robot show there were mistakes made in that Kuttner and Moore confused things by using same pen names when they wrote togther or wrote their solo works like O'Donnell name.

Im more interested about talking what Kuttner wrote on his own in this thread and not which name he used when he wrote the story 70 years ago.

 

[J-Sun]

Im more interested about talking what Kuttner wrote on his own in this thread and not which name he used when he wrote the story 70 years ago.

Okay, gotcha. I was trying to go some ways towards answering Extollager's question but, yeah, that can go a bit OT.

So what else is really good? I am not particularly interested in sword and sorcery or Lovecraftian pastiches or sf farces (there's a series about a genius who can solve any problem as long as he is blind drunk?).

That's Gallegher, collected in The Proud Robot. As far as my recommendations, you can refer to the post I pointed to and just knock The Proud Robot off of it if you don't like the idea of it. None of the rest are farce and only some of the Startling Worlds stuff touches on a sort of S&S but probably not in the sense you're wanting to avoid.

 

[Extollager]

That's a little vague, J-Sun, but I guess this means I should get hold of

"What You Need" by Padgett

"Clash by Night," "The Children's Hour," "The Code," "The Lion and the Unicorn," "This Is the House," "Fury," "Promised Land," "Heir Apparent," "Paradise Street" by O'Donnell (really? I've never heard of some of these... are they even all sf?)*

What else?

I really want to know so that I can compare a list of the truly good stories with what I have scattered in my anthologies, and then maybe start hunting down some of the ones I don't have.

*I think I have "The Children's Hour" in a Groff Conklin anthology and thought it was good, and maybe also "What You Need."

 

[Connavar]

Okay, gotcha. I was trying to go some ways towards answering Extollager's question but, yeah, that can go a bit OT.



That's Gallegher, collected in The Proud Robot. As far as my recommendations, you can refer to the post I pointed to and just knock The Proud Robot off of it if you don't like the idea of it. None of the rest are farce and only some of the Startling Worlds stuff touches on a sort of S&S but probably not in the sense you're wanting to avoid.

I didnt mean to sound cranky its just that i have heard more talks online about who was Kuttner really when its about pen names, how the many names made it harder for him to be remembered before now. More talk about that than his works it seem. I hope to see people talk about what they have read in this thread. "Oh these stories are great and these are not his finest works etc"

What did you think of Gallegher stories ? My first SF of his and even if its more wacky humor than SF stories its much better storytelling than i expected.

I have Dark World as new book too and i will order his more serious SF story collections after that.

 

[J-Sun]

That's a little vague, J-Sun

Sorry - I'll try to look through my books and notes and see if I can be any more specific.

"The Code," ... "Promised Land," "Heir Apparent," "Paradise Street" by O'Donnell

No, these are all in Judgment Night and are actually nominally CL Moore stories and, oddly - I forget which are which - but most aren't actually that great. It's just that Judgment Night, itself, (the novel in the collection) is fantastic and that some of the other O'Donnell stuff (Fury, "Clash by Night", "The Children's Hour", "Vintage Season") are all great and/or well regarded.

As far as genre in general, I think they wrote some mystery novels or something but I think most everything you're likely to run into by them is SF/F/H.

 

[Extollager]

Sorry - I'll try to look through my books and notes and see if I can be any more specific.

No, these are all in Judgment Night and are actually nominally CL Moore stories and, oddly - I forget which are which - but most aren't actually that great. It's just that Judgment Night, itself, (the novel in the collection) is fantastic and that some of the other O'Donnell stuff (Fury, "Clash by Night", "The Children's Hour", "Vintage Season") are all great and/or well regarded.

I thought I'd insert that vintage cover. I'll have to look into Judgment Night.

I think maybe C. L. Moore is the author, of the two, whom I like better, although I haven't really searched out her work very much and am not particularly interested in Jirel or Northwest Smith...

 

[Connavar]

I thought I'd insert that vintage cover. I'll have to look into Judgment Night.

I think maybe C. L. Moore is the author, of the two, whom I like better, although I haven't really searched out her work very much and am not particularly interested in Jirel or Northwest Smith...

It seems you have read the SF stories they wrote together and how do you know you like Moore better ? If you dont read her best known solo works like Jirel,Smith,the SF she wrote alone. I dont think you would like Northwest Smith, its like HPL/Robert E.Howard type supernatural horror but in space setting,science fantasy setting.

I have read more CL Moore solo works and not much Kuttner yet. I will read their best works without the other before i decide.

 

[Extollager]

It seems you have read the SF stories they wrote together and how do you know you like Moore better ?

I said that I think I like Moore better than Kuttner because I like these stories that, so far as I know, are solely by her: "No Woman Born" and "Greater Than Gods." But I wouldn't be able to list any stories that are considered to be just Kuttner's work that I really like. Could be something is slipping my mind, though! After all, I'm participating in this thread discussion in hopes of learning some useful things....

By the way, I did read most or all of the Northwest Smith and Jirel stories many years ago. I just don't find myself wanting to read them again.

 

[Connavar]

I said that I think I like Moore better than Kuttner because I like these stories that, so far as I know, are solely by her: "No Woman Born" and "Greater Than Gods." But I wouldn't be able to list any stories that are considered to be just Kuttner's work that I really like. Could be something is slipping my mind, though! After all, I'm participating in this thread discussion in hopes of learning some useful things....

By the way, I did read most or all of the Northwest Smith and Jirel stories many years ago. I just don't find myself wanting to read them again.

My bad i thought you were talking about their co-written works.

I have read Elak of Atlantis by Kuttner, Northwest Smith collection by Moore and now Robot Have No Tails by Kuttner. I have not read the classic SF stories they wrote together or any of their other solo works. Im totally newbie of Kuttner and Moore.

Kuttner interest me little more since my taste is in SF before fantasy and horror. Im gonna just take chances on his science fiction novels,collections in print in US/UK.

By the way what do you have against humours SF? Talking about Gallegher stories, many great SF stories are humours stories.

 

[Extollager]

By the way what do you have against humours SF? Talking about Gallegher stories, many great SF stories are humours stories.

I have a prejudice against humorous sf that has prevented me from trying some things that I might like. I guess what I have read in this vein usually hasn't done much for me. The sense of humor and the sense of wonder probably don't go together very well most of the time. The one humorous sf story that I remember liking was "The Big Pat Boom" -- author was Damon Knight, I think.

The following list seems to be pretty much all of the stories by Moore, Kuttner, or Moore and Kuttner that I have. So what's really good (other than sword and sorcery, Lovecraftiana, or farce) that I don't have? Are there no other great "Lawrence O'Donnell" stories aside from the superb "Vintage Season"?

Kuttner/Moore: "Two-Handed Engine" -- original appearance in Fantasy and Science Fiction, Aug. 1955

Kuttner/Moore: "A Gnome There Was," in Isaac Asimov Presents the Golden Years of Science Fiction Second Series

Kuttner/Moore: "The Children's Hour," in Boucher's Treasury of Great SF, Vol. 1; as by Kuttner: "The Children's Hour," in 4 for the Future, ed. Groff Conklin

Kuttner: "Piggy Bank," in Boucher, Treasury v 2

"Lewis Padgett": "The Proud Robot," "Time Locker," "The Twonky" in Healey and McComas's Adventures in Time and Space; "Twonky" is also in Asimov collection mentioned above

"Lewis Padgett": "The Piper's Son," in The Best of Science Fiction, ed. Conklin

"Lewis Padgett": "What You Need," in Omnibus of Science Fiction, ed. Conklin

"Lewis Padgett": "Margin for Error," in Big Book of Science Fiction, ed. Conklin

"Lewis Padgett": "Mimsy Were the Borogoves," in A Treasury of Science Fiction, ed. Conklin; also in Silverberg, ed. Science Fiction Hall of Fame

"Lawrence O'Donnell": "Vintage Season," in A Treasury of SF, ed. Conklin

Moore's "No Woman Born," in Conklin's Treasury

Moore: "Greater Than Gods," in facsimile of Astounding July 1939

 

[dask]

I remember reading a story in Isaac Asimov's Nightfall collection and laughed so hard I couldn't stop. Unfortunately I can't remember the title. John Sladek is pretty darn funny too.

 

[VideoChrist]

Well, you know about this but I figured I'd save time and just point others to what I said in a thread that ended up talking about Kuttner a lot.

In that other thread, J-Sun, you wrote:

"Agreed - he [Kuttner] was long considered the far more major author over Moore and, while I'm not remotely disputing the validity of it because her known solo stuff is brilliant, Moore's relative star (she was always well-regarded individually) mostly rose in post-feminist revisionism."

I'm not sure what "post-feminism revisionism" is, exactly, but evidently the movement began a half-century ago, in 1962, spearheaded (so to say) by that noted post-feminist, Sam Moskowitz. In his article "The Secret Lives of Henry Kuttner" (Amazing, Oct. 1962, pp. 41-53), Moskowitz wrote:

"A superbly proficient literary mimic, Kuttner usually wrote like whoever was in demand at the time. [...] The man had discipline, technical brilliance, immense versatility and ingenuity and these betrayed him. Who was the real Henry Kuttner? We will never know. Lured by opportunism, suffering from an acute sense of inadequacy, he refused to stand alone, but leaned for support upon a parade of greats: H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Stanley G. Weinbaum, A. Merritt, John Collier, A. E. van Vogt, and, of course, C. L. Moore."