The Compleat Werewolf: And Other Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Author:
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Paperback
Plots and my reviews, with rating of one to five stars. (Note all the stories were originally published in the early 1940's, so the specter of WWII is evident in some of them.)
The Compleat Werewolf PLOT: during the early days of WWII a werewolf and a magician team up to both make the werewolf's life better and thwart an anti-government plot. REVIEW: Nicely written tale that is as flippant as some of Boucher's full length novels (like The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars.) ****
The Pink Caterpillar PLOT: Detective Fergus O'Breen is sent to Mexico to confirm the death of a man for an insurance company. The man died of natural causes, but why he died is the astonishing part. REVIEW: Quickly told tale that's different and fun. ****
Q.U.R. PLOT: In a distant future, a man recounts how he was instrumental in replacing androids that did most of the work on the planet. REVIEW: another quirky view of the future as seen from the 1940's (where, it seems, it will take a thousand years for a black man to become head of an Interplanetary Government). ****
Robinc PLOT: written a year after Q.U.R., this is a continuation, as the men who invent robots that surplant androids battle the man in charge of the android industry. REVIEW: not as interesting as the previous story; maybe reading them a year apart would have been better. ***
Snulbug PLOT: a man concocts a spell that summons a demon, but one without too much power. The man demands the demon to help him raise money for a medical device to save lives, but the demon warns him that his plans for raising the money have a fatal flaw. REVIEW: nicely told and fun, with a hint of time-travel paradox theme thrown in. *****
Mr. Lupescu PLOT: a young boy claims he has a real fairy godfather; of course his mother believes it is just his imagination. REVIEW: shortest entry in the book is fun, in a dark sort of way. *****
They Bite PLOT: A man spying on desert military operations plans to use the legend of local man-eating ogres to cover his plan to stop a blackmailer. REVIEW: sort of a "you-saw-it-coming plot, but still well told and disturbing. ****
Expedition PLOT: explorers from Mars intent on colonizing Earth land in a remote desert where a hermit realizes their plans and fools them into leaving (or does he?) REVIEW: Fun story. ****
We Print the Truth PLOT: a newspaper editor in a small town uses magic and his weekly paper to change the town's future using magic (but as he is told, with magic "there's always a catch.") REVIEW: one of those stories that makes you imagine what you would do in someone else's place. *****
The Ghost of Me PLOT: a doctor is confronted by his doppelganger who claims he is soon to be murdered. REVIEW: okay story with some mind-bending thoughts (and since it's 1942 the doctor thinks nothing of smoking in his consultation room.) ***
The Compleat Werewolf PLOT: during the early days of WWII a werewolf and a magician team up to both make the werewolf's life better and thwart an anti-government plot. REVIEW: Nicely written tale that is as flippant as some of Boucher's full length novels (like The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars.) ****
The Pink Caterpillar PLOT: Detective Fergus O'Breen is sent to Mexico to confirm the death of a man for an insurance company. The man died of natural causes, but why he died is the astonishing part. REVIEW: Quickly told tale that's different and fun. ****
Q.U.R. PLOT: In a distant future, a man recounts how he was instrumental in replacing androids that did most of the work on the planet. REVIEW: another quirky view of the future as seen from the 1940's (where, it seems, it will take a thousand years for a black man to become head of an Interplanetary Government). ****
Robinc PLOT: written a year after Q.U.R., this is a continuation, as the men who invent robots that surplant androids battle the man in charge of the android industry. REVIEW: not as interesting as the previous story; maybe reading them a year apart would have been better. ***
Snulbug PLOT: a man concocts a spell that summons a demon, but one without too much power. The man demands the demon to help him raise money for a medical device to save lives, but the demon warns him that his plans for raising the money have a fatal flaw. REVIEW: nicely told and fun, with a hint of time-travel paradox theme thrown in. *****
Mr. Lupescu PLOT: a young boy claims he has a real fairy godfather; of course his mother believes it is just his imagination. REVIEW: shortest entry in the book is fun, in a dark sort of way. *****
They Bite PLOT: A man spying on desert military operations plans to use the legend of local man-eating ogres to cover his plan to stop a blackmailer. REVIEW: sort of a "you-saw-it-coming plot, but still well told and disturbing. ****
Expedition PLOT: explorers from Mars intent on colonizing Earth land in a remote desert where a hermit realizes their plans and fools them into leaving (or does he?) REVIEW: Fun story. ****
We Print the Truth PLOT: a newspaper editor in a small town uses magic and his weekly paper to change the town's future using magic (but as he is told, with magic "there's always a catch.") REVIEW: one of those stories that makes you imagine what you would do in someone else's place. *****
The Ghost of Me PLOT: a doctor is confronted by his doppelganger who claims he is soon to be murdered. REVIEW: okay story with some mind-bending thoughts (and since it's 1942 the doctor thinks nothing of smoking in his consultation room.) ***
