The Great Unknown
Unknown
Edited by Stanley Schmidt
28 Sep, 2023
Stanley Schmidt’s 1988 Unknown1 is an anthology of fantasy stories first published in Unknown magazine.
To quote Wikipedia:
Unknown (also known as Unknown Worlds) was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943 by Street & Smith, and edited by John W. Campbell. Unknown was a companion to Street & Smith’s science fiction pulp, Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by Campbell at the time; many authors and illustrators contributed to both magazines.
Unknown tried to do for fantasy what Astounding did for SF. Although well-received at the time, Unknown was hobbled and ultimately shut down by wartime paper shortages. Unknown’s reputation survived the end of publication, as one can tell from the fact that an editor born the year after Unknown went under saw fit to create this anthology.
In fact, I discovered a curious fact preparing for this review: Schmidt edited two Unknown-themed anthologies in 1988. The other was Unknown Worlds: Tales from Beyond, co-edited with the energetic anthologist Martin H. Greenberg (which is to say, not the Greenberg who founded Gnome Press) and published by Galahad. This is not a case of variant titles: the contents do not appear to overlap.
“Why did Schmidt publish two 1988 Unknown anthologies?” led to “how many Unknown anthologies have there been, anyway?” If Wikipedia is to be believed, six: 1948’s From Unknown Worlds, edited by John W. Campbell, Jr.; 1963’s The Unknown, edited by D. R. Benson2, 1963’s Hell Hath Fury, edited by George Hay; 1964’s The Unknown Five, edited by D. R. Benson; 1988’s Unknown, edited by Stanley Schmidt; 1988’s Unknown Worlds: Tales from Beyond, edited Stanley Schmidt and Martin H. Greenberg. I was able to locate (although not acquire as of yet) a surprising number of these. Don’t be surprised if there’s a steady trickle of Unknown-themed anthologies in 2024….
As to the anthology in hand: Unknown being edited by Campbell, there are of course no women authors. The only stories not known to me from other anthologies were the stories by Sturgeon, Bloch, and Jameson. Why hadn’t I read them? I was never a fan of Sturgeon or Bloch, while the Jameson was only reprinted in an anthology that I never saw. Otherwise, no novelty, no surprises. On the other hand, these are all tales deemed fit for inclusion in multiple collections and anthologies; they’re readable stories.
These are pretty much the sort of stories one would expect from Campbell trying his hand at Astounding-style fantasy. For the most part the prose is unremarkable. Many of the stories focus on the implications of the authors’ world-building choices. One difference: Campbell generally liked stories in which the protagonists win, but he was willing to publish more pessimistic stories in Unknown. Deals with the devil in particular have a way of not working out, at least from the human perspective.
Unknown is out of print.
Introduction (Unknown) • essay by Stanley Schmidt
A disappointingly short introduction.
The Compleat Werewolf • [Fergus O’Breen] • (1942) • novella by Anthony Boucher
A heart-broken professor embraces his inner werewolf in a quest for romantic happiness. Zany anti-Nazi hijinks ensue.
This is a comedy, which means our poor protagonist does not think through the possible consequences of his actions until it is too late. For example, while turning from wolf to human requires only a magic word, wolves cannot speak. Writing the word on classroom blackboard allows his class to utter the word, but since the wolf is unclothed, so is the human who appears.
I am a bit surprised this was never adapted into a comedic movie with carefully chosen camera angles.
“The Coppersmith” • [Ellowan Coppersmith • 1] • (1939) • short story by Lester del Rey
Waking from a sixty-year slumber, an elf finds that a much-changed world is still too polluted for his kind. However, hope exists. Oil and coal reserves are finite and will one day run out.
This is “a tiny magical person” elf, not “a tall, aloof, will cheerfully make you dance until you die” elf. Readers may be surprised to find a peak oil reference in a 1939 story, but in fact, other stories from the same period also dwell on the implications of finite reserves.
“A God in a Garden” • (1939) • short story by Theodore Sturgeon
A dishonest husband is granted the power of truth by a god. As one would expect, hilarious complications ensue.
Again, a lot of the humor is because the protagonist is a knucklehead who doesn’t properly consider his choices.
“Even the Angels” • (1941) • short story by Malcolm Jameson
Wrongfully condemned to Hell, a pious lawyer seeks justice and redemption. He gets what he asks for, as well as a lesson in how vindictive Heaven can be when embarrassed.
Angels are monumental dicks, apparently.
“Smoke Ghost” • (1941) • short story by Fritz Leiber
Occult dabbling brings untoward results.
Nothing in the Rules • (1939) • novelette by L. Sprague de Camp
Determined to win swimming matches, a coach exploits the fact that while the rule book forbids many obvious ploys, it doesn’t forbid hiring a genuine mermaid.
“A Good Knight’s Work” • (1941) • short story by Robert Bloch
A retired gangster encounters a time-travelling Arthurian knight, who unexpectedly turns out to be exactly the help that he needs to deal with a troublesome thug.
If you have ever wondered “did Bloch ever try his hand at a Damon Runyon pastiche?”… the answer is yes.
I had not encountered this story in 1988 when I bought the anthology, but I did encounter it afterwards. It was adapted for radio by Seeing Ear Theatre. Looking at my notes, I had no memory of having read it in Unknown.
If you want to hear the radio adaptation, you can find it here.
The Devil We Know • (1941) • novelette by Henry Kuttner
Having made a deal with a devil, a foolish mortal discovers that the devil has problems of his own. An attempt to deal with the devil’s stalker works admirably … from the infernal being’s perspective.
It’s pretty much a given that if you cut a deal with a genie or garden god, the results will be wacky but work out in the end, but if you try the same trick with someone from aitch ee double hockey sticks, the best you can hope for is an unpleasant death. For some reason, protagonists are always surprised by this.
The Angelic Angleworm • (1943) • novelette by Fredric Brown
A man must discover the cause of the bizarre and alarming phenomena that are complicating his life.
About one in a hundred of you will understand what I mean when I say “Ah, the Naltorian science solution.”
1: “Wait, wasn’t this from Baen? And aren’t you boycotting Baen?” Interesting question! I’ve decided to amend my policy slightly, from no book whose only edition is from Baen, to no book currently in print whose only edition is from Baen. Out of print material (particularly ancient books like this one, older than the median human) are fair game because Baen cannot benefit financially from this review.
I’d been thinking about this change because there’s a very out of print SF novel by a husband-and-wife team that intrigues me. In particular, I’d like to rediscover their names: all I recall is that they were a husband-and-wife team published by Baen a long time ago.
(Also, this would let me look at some early Melissa Scott works only published by Baen back in the 1980s.)
2: Also known as Donald R. Benson, whose And Having Writ… is reviewed here.