James Nicoll Reviews

John Brunner’s 1973 From This Day Forward is a collection of science fiction stories. Interior art is by Jack Gaughan.

The first thing¹ I noticed about this slender, 176-page collection is…

That it didn’t overlap too much with previous anthologies and collections I’ve reviewed. One story appeared in Dangerous Visions (reviewed here) and a couple in The Best of John Brunner (reviewed here), but I think that’s it.

The other thing that caught my eye was the diversity of the publications to whom Brunner had sold pieces: Analog, Galaxy, F&SF, Quark, and more. Of course, he had to. No given story would earn much and few magazines will publish two works by the same author in a given issue. Therefore, Brunner did not have the luxury of picking a few editors with whom he was comfortable working.

The copyright notes that “All stories included herein have been specially revised by the author for book publication.” How extensive the editing was, I could not say.

Brunner sometimes liked to tell stories from the perspective of terrible people who suffer appropriate fates, often of their own making. Not that all of the stories are of that sort, but the first four draw one’s attention to that particular authorial propensity.

The Best of John Brunner might be a better introduction to Brunner… if it were in print, which it very much is not. From This Day Forward offers brevity, a fair assortment of short pieces, and availability, the last of which I find quite useful in a book.

From This Day Forward is available here (Open Road Media), here (Barnes & Noble), here (Bookshop US), and here (Chapters-Indigo).

I did not find From This Day Forward at either Bookshop UK or at Words Worth Books. Presumably the latter is because the book is only available in ebook format. The explanation for the former is a bit astonishing: I assumed Gollancz’s SF Gateway might offer the collection. They do not. In fact, currently, Brunner is not listed as one of the authors whose books are available from SF Gateway.

Let’s take a closer look.

A "From This Day Foreword", As It Were • (1972) • essay by John Brunner

A short, pessimistic foreword. To quote:

[quote] It behooves us all to be interested in the future, because that’s where we’re going to spend the rest of our lives. [/quote]

Brunner seems (I know this will shock and amaze people familiar with Brunner) pessimistic about just how the future will work out.

This foreword is listed as part of the contents on ISFDB. My paper copy is the DAW MMPB; that edition did not include the foreword. The Open Road Media edition does include it. As it is an ebook, the Open Road version also has adjustable fonts, a feature the paperback sadly lacks.

“The Biggest Game” • (1956) • short story by John Brunner

A predatory lothario meets his match.

Brunner does his best to underline what an awful person his protagonist is. I was a bit surprised to see “likes to beat up gay men” highlighted as a negative quality in a story of this vintage. Or for gay people to be mentioned at all.

“The Trouble I See” • (1959) • short story by John Brunner

A ne’er-do-well eases through life thanks to a minor precognitive gift… until he encounters a threat too large to avoid.

An Elixir for the Emperor • (1964) • novelette by John Brunner

A power-hungry Roman mistreats a wise sage and is rewarded appropriately.

“Wasted on the Young” • (1965) • short story by John Brunner

A ne’er-do-well’s plans to sponge off society are undone when the bill for his lavish lifestyle is presented in a manner he cannot ignore.

“Even Chance” • (1965) • short story by John Brunner

How did a young man from an isolated culture in South East Asia receive terrible radiation burns? And what are the implications for humanity?

Part of the plot centers around efforts to deliver vaccines world-wide. Remember when that was a thing?

“Planetfall” • (1965) • short story by John Brunner

A starfarer visiting Earth briefly befriends an Earth girl. His life is not what she expected, nor is Earth quite as the visitor believed. Nevertheless, each finds wonder in the other’s life.

This paints a somewhat grim picture of life in a so-called “flying city.” Despite the name, there are only twenty-five hundred people, whose lives are tightly regimented out of necessity. The star man does return to his ship, but some readers may wonder why he would.

“Judas” • (1967) • short story by John Brunner

A bid to end robot tyranny only makes things worse.

“The Vitanuls” • (1967) • short story by John Brunner

A dreadful new malady has an equally dreadful root cause for which the only treatment seems… unappealing.

Factsheet Six • (1968) • novelette by John Brunner

What dark motive drives a man to publish news articles correctly identifying dangerous products, despite the obvious inconvenience this presents to the companies responsible? And from what source is the villain drawing his information?

The answer to the first makes sense, but the answer to the second was a bit disappointing.

“Fifth Commandment” • (1970) • short story by John Brunner

What dreadful secret does retirement conceal?

In fact, it’s not that terrible. Brunner stories weren’t always downers.

“Fairy Tale” • (1970) • short story by John Brunner

The curious events that led a man to slumber for decades.

“The Inception of the Epoch of Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid” • (1971) • short story by John Brunner

Americans² are treated by South East Asians as America treats South East Asians. Carnage ensues.

The Oldest Glass • (1972) • poem by John Brunner

Musings on the tragic outcome of mirror-gazing.

1: I lie. The first clue was the microscopic print. However, that’s a given in paperbacks of this vintage.

2: USA delenda est.