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Instrumentality of Mankind

The Instrumentality of Mankind

Name: The Instrumentality of Mankind
Rating: 4.12 (1585 reviews)
Author: Cordwainer Smith

Cordwainer Smith January 1, 1979

4.12 1.6k Ratings

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Synopsis

14 short stories set in a universe of scanners, planoforming ships and animal-derived Underpeople.

1 No, No, Not Rogov! (1959)
2 War No. 81-Q (1928)
3 Mark Elf (1957)
4 The Queen of the Afternoon (1978)
5 When the People Fell (1959)
6 Think Blue, Count Two (1963)
7 The Colonel Came Back from the Nothing-at-All (1979)
8 From Gustible’s Planet (1962)
9 Drunkboat (1963)
10 Western Science Is So Wonderful (1958)
11 Nancy (1959)
12 The Fife of Bodidharma (1959)
13 Angerhelm (1959)
14 The Good Friends (1963)

“First Edition: May 1979” stated on the copyright page.

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Neutron Star

★ 4.13

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Come to Larry Niven's Universe and meet all the Thrints, Bandersnatchi, Puppeteers -- and a host of other wonderfully created characters.
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A spectacular cycle of the future . . . a 10,000-year history of man on Earth and in space!

The Rediscovery of Man

★ 4.13

Cordwainer Smith

Cordwainer Smith was one of the original visionaries to think of humanity in terms of thousands of years in the future, spread out across the universe. This brilliant collection, often cited as the first of its kind, explores fundamental questions about ourselves and our treatment of the universe (and other beings) around us and ultimately what it means to be human.
Contents:
* Cordwainer Smith: The Shaper of Myths (1975) • essay by John J. Pierce [as by J. J. Pierce]
* The Instrumentality of Mankind (timeline) (1975) • essay by John J. Pierce
* Scanners Live in Vain [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1950) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith: meet Martel, a human altered to be part machine-a scanner-to be able withstand the trauma space travel has on the body. Despite the stigma placed on him and his kind, he is able to regrasp his humanity to save another; Fantasy Book #6 ’50
* The Lady Who Sailed The Soul [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1960) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith, Genevieve Linebarger; Galaxy Apr ’60
* The Game of Rat and Dragon [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1955) / short story by Cordwainer Smith; Galaxy Oct ’55
* The Burning of the Brain [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1958) / short story by Cordwainer Smith; If Oct ’58
* Golden the Ship Was - Oh! Oh! Oh! [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1959) / short story by Cordwainer Smith, Genevieve Linebarger; Amazing Apr ’59
* The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1964) / short story by Cordwainer Smith; Amazing May ’64
* The Dead Lady of Clown Town [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1964) / novella by Cordwainer Smith: get to know the underpeople-animals genetically altered to exist in human form, to better serve their human owners-and meet D'Joan, a dog-woman who will make readers question who is more human: the animals who simply want to be recognized as having the same right to life, or the people who created them to be inferior; Galaxy Aug ’64
* Under Old Earth [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1966) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith; Galaxy Feb ’66
* Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1961) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith; Galaxy Jun ’61
* Alpha Ralpha Boulevard [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1961) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith; Galaxy Jun ’61
* The Ballad of Lost C'mell [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1962) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith: the notion of love being the most important equalizer there is, is put into action when an underperson, C'mell, falls in love with Lord Jestocost. Who is to say her love for him is not as valid as any true-born human? She might be of cat descent, but she is all woman!; Galaxy Oct ’62
* A Planet Named Shayol [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1961) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith: it is an underperson of bull descent, and beings so mutilated and deformed from their original human condition to be now considered demons of a hellish land, who retain and display the most humanity when Mankind commits the most inhumane action of all; Galaxy Oct ’61

aka: Paul M. A. Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, Paul Linebarger, Felix C. Forrest, Carmichael Smith, Kordvejner Smit.
.

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AND I AWOKE AND FOUND ME HERE ON THE COLD HILL'S SIDE
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And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side (1972)
The Snows Are Melted, the Snows Are Gone (1969)
The Peacefulness of Vivyan (1971)
Mamma Come Home (1968)
Help (1968)
Painwise (1972)
Faithful to Thee, Terra, in Our Fashion (1969)
The Man Doors Said Hello To (1970)
The Man Who Walked Home (1972)
Forever to a Hudson Bay Blanket (1972)
I'll Be Waiting for You When the Swimming Pool Is Empty (1971)
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The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume II A

★ 4.31

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Eleven Classic Novellas by the most honored authors of science fiction:

This volume is the definitive collection of the best science fiction novellas between 1929 to 1964 and contains eleven great classics. There is no better anthology that captures the birth of science fiction as a literary field. Published in 1973 to honor stories that had come before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame introduced tens of thousands of young readers to the wonders of science fiction and was a favorite of libraries across the country. This volume contains novellas by: Ray Bradbury, James Blish, Algis Budrys, Theodore Cogswell, E. M. Forster, Frederik Pohl, James H. Schmitz, T. L. Sherred, Wilmar H. Shiras, Clifford D. Simak, and Jack Vance.

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Introduction · Ben Bova · in
· Call Me Joe · Poul Anderson · nv Astounding Apr ’57
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· The Marching Morons · C. M. Kornbluth · nv Galaxy Apr ’51
· Vintage Season [as by Lawrence O’Donnell] · Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore · na Astounding Sep ’46
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Deathbird Stories

★ 4.13

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Harlan Ellison's masterwork of myth and terror as he seduces all innocence on a mind-freezing odyssey into the darkest reaches of mortal terror and the most dazzling heights of Olympian hell in his finest collection.

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"His stories will rivet you to the floor and change your heartbeat...as unforgettable a chamber of horror, fantasy and reality as you'll ever experience." -Gallery

"Brutally and flamboyantly shocking, frequently brilliant, and always irresistibly mesmerizing." -Richmond Times-Dispatch

Contents:

· Introduction: Oblations at Alien Altars
· The Whimper of Whipped Dogs · ss Bad Moon Rising, ed. Thomas M. Disch, Harper&Row, 1973
· Along the Scenic Route [“Dogfight on 101”] · ss Adam Aug’69; Amazing Sep’69
· On the Downhill Side · ss Universe 2, ed. Terry Carr, Ace, 1972
· O Ye of Little Faith · ss Knight Sep’68
· Neon · ss The Haunt of Horror Aug’73
· Basilisk · ss F&SF Aug’72
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· Corpse · ss F&SF Jan’72
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· The Face of Helene Bournouw · ss Collage Oct’60
· Bleeding Stones · ss Vertex Apr’73
· At the Mouse Circus · ss New Dimensions I, ed. Robert Silverberg, Doubleday, 1971
· The Place with No Name · ss F&SF Jul’69
· Paingod · ss Fantastic Jun’64
· Ernest and the Machine God · nv Knight Jan’68
· Rock God · ss Coven 13 Nov’69
· Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38°54’N, Longitude 77°00’13"W · nv F&SF Oct’74
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· The Keys to December · nv New Worlds Aug ’66
· Devil Car [Sam Nurdock] · ss Galaxy Jun ’65
· A Rose for Ecclesiastes · nv F&SF Nov ’63
· The Monster and the Maiden · vi Galaxy Dec ’64
· Collector’s Fever · vi Galaxy Jun ’64
· This Mortal Mountain · nv If Mar ’67
· This Moment of the Storm · nv F&SF Jun ’66
· The Great Slow Kings · ss Worlds of Tomorrow Dec ’63
· A Museum Piece · ss Fantastic Jun ’63
· Divine Madness · ss Magazine of Horror Sum ’66
· Corrida · ss Anubis v1 #3 ’68
· Love Is an Imaginary Number · ss New Worlds Jan ’66
· The Man Who Loved the Faioli · ss Galaxy Jun ’67
· Lucifer · ss Worlds of Tomorrow Jun ’64

The Wind’s Twelve Quarters

★ 4.06

Ursula K. Le Guin

Wizardry, transforming its master into a cloud of fine mist...cloning, duplicating the ideal man ten times over...Utopia, in a city where almost everyone is perfectly happy...

Ursula Le Guin, author of The Earthsea Trilogy, has a special way of blending stirring adventure with fantasy that has made comparison with such masters as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien inevitable.

Now, in The Wind's Twelve Quarters, seventeen of her favorite stories reaffirm Ursula Le Guin as one of America's outstanding writers.

CONTENTS:

Foreword
Semley's Necklace
April in Paris
The Masters
Darkness Box
The Word of Unbinding
The Rule of Names
Winter's King
The Good Trip
Nine Lives
Things
A Trip to the Head
Vaster than Empires and More Slow
The Stars Below
The Field of Vision
Direction of the Road
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
The Day Before the Revolution

The Instrumentality of Mankind

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Deathbird Stories

The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth

The Wind’s Twelve Quarters

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