I’ve been a big fan of Mike Ashley’s British Library series of Science Fiction Classics. Ashley’s newest volume, Future Crimes: Mysteries and Detection Through Time and Space, collects some intriguing SF mystery stories, some of them a bit obscure since Ashley likes to focus on UK SF writers for these anthologies.
I found this story analysis online by Anissa Annalise whose opinions of these stories coincides closely with mine. Are you familiar with any of these stories? GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Mike Ashley — 7
“Elsewhen” by Anthony Boucher – Great story in which experimenter Mr. Partridge concocts a time machine and uses it for nefarious purposes. The clever bit here is in the investigator, one Fergus O’Breen who in trying to solve it & prove Partidge’s guilt happens into a unique pocket which Partridge created for his alibi and ultimately himself fell victim to. — 13
“Puzzle for a Spacemen” by John Brunner- Another clever story in which a psychologist needs to get to the bottom of a murder and enlists a reluctant station chief. For the chief’s part, he just wants the psychologist to reclaim the dead body and get off his station so that tensions ease and work can continue. — 53
“Legwork” by Eric Frank Russell- Not a fave and a bit overlong but did excellently show the investigative process and “legwork” of different agencies is tracking a bank robber who happens to be an alien who has arrived as reconnaissance and to destroy humans. — 85
“Mirror Image” by Isaac Asimov- Esteemed mathematicians both claim work and that the other has stolen it. To make matters more difficult, their robot attendant backs up each of their claims. The Three Laws of Robotics come into play. Lije Baley is backed to suss this out by his robot friend, Daneel Olivaw. Very tidy. — 147
“The Flying Eye” by Jacques Futrelle- No actual crime takes place in this story nor any real detective work but it was a reasonably good short story. Points for early stealth tech. — 169
“Nonentity” by E.C. Tubb- Great story. A sabotage on a ship leads to a lifeboat situation. with an ultimately grisly end. I can’t give this one away and it may be my favourite in the bunch. It was easy to suss out what was going on but I think at the time this was written, it may have been quite a surprise. — 187
“Death of Telepath” by George Chailey- Telepathy not being my thing, this wasn’t a fave but was a well done story. — 213
“Murder, 1986” by P.D. James- A quiet story of a murder investigation during a pandemic. The glimpse into the society and also interesting ideas on what one may or may not do for the love of another. Also what constitutes a worthwhile life, what is done with the time had or how long a time one has. I really liked this one. — 221
“Apple” by Anne McCaffrey- A telepathy and pre-cog abilities story which was fine. — 249
“The Absolutely Perfect Murder” by Miriam Allen deFord- In which Mervin Alspaugh of the year 2146 has his perfect plan go awry because of his mistake in believing in a lie. A great story and a great one to end on. — 287
Story Sources — 301
Seems like a very interesting collection, George.
Neeru, I’ve enjoyed the previous British Library series anthologies edited by Mike Ashley. This FUTURE CRIMES volume includes several stories I think you would enjoy. One of my favorites is Anthony Boucher’s “Elsewhen” where a time machine leads its inventor into crime.
A good line-up of authors here, George. With the exception of George Chailey, all are writers I enjoy. But Chailey? Who he? This is the only fiction from him listed in the FictionMags Index. It appeared in the sixth issue of the British SF magazine SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURES, the first issue which did not comprise of reprints from the American SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURES. (He did publish one article in the same magazine later that year but, after that, zippo!) Other three authors in that issue were familiar names at the time: Wynne Whiteford (an Australian writer). Ken Bulmer (under his “Nelson Sherwood” pseudonym, and Arthur Sellings. There is a St. George’s Conservation Area just outside of Chailey, England, which leads me to think that Chailey is a pseudonym, either of an established SF writer or a local fan. Can any of your erudite readers shed light on this, George. Enquiring minds want to know.
Jerry, you’ve done some wonderful literary detective work on “George Chailey.” In the introduction to “Death of a Telepath,” Mike Ashley admits he knows nothing about George Chailey and suspects–like you do–that the name is a pseudonym for a well-known writer.
A brief discussion of the matter seems to suggest that “Chailey” might’ve well’ve been Bulmer, who spent a fair amount of his life living near the Chailey parish in England.
Todd, Kenneth Bulmer would have been my choice since he did so much of his work under pseudonyms like “Chailey.”
I agree with you on the quality of the previous Ashley collections. Of this group, I’ve read the Boucher (but really don’t remember it(, the Asimov, the Futrelle and the P.D. James, though I won’t mind refreshing my memory and reading them again.
Jeff, I’ve always liked Anthony Boucher’s “Elsewhen.” Ashley includes many British SF writers in these collections, so some of the stories are always new to me.
Not bad. I’ve read several, and the Tubb is in a collection I’m reading now.
Rick, I suspect E.C. Tubb is one of Mike Ashley’s favorite SF writers from that era. There’s a Tubb story in almost all of his British Library anthologies.
Prolific, dependable and largely out of print…
Todd, you’re right.
This Ashley might be a good value for money for me, as I’ve read only (I believe) the Boucher and the deFord, and remember both of them only vaguely. I can certainly ask around about Challey. Given my only experience with James’s sf is not getting too far with her stupid THE CHILDREN OF MEN (the wildly overpraised loose film version substituted other stupidities! But it was better than what I read of the novel.), amusing she might have proved more adept in short form.
Todd, these British Library anthologies are affordable. My Public Library also buys them.