"The Land Ironclads" is a 1903 science fiction short story by H. G. Wells. It is an eerily prophetic story about a war correspondent and a soldier in a fictitious battle between “townsmen” and “countrymen”. What’s the catch? While one side has the brawn, the other may have the brains to turn the tide of the war forever.

H. G. Wells: Master Oracle of Future Science:

Even though we don’t have time machines and anti-gravity units yet, Wells certainly was a pioneer of these now almost ubiquitous concepts in science fiction. But what actual science did he predict? The military now uses heat emitting microwave rays for riot control. We live in a wirelessly connected world not so different from his utopian novel, Men Like Gods. He even described in great detail automatically sliding doors, escalators and airport people movers before the turn of the 20th century – a true visionary.

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell:

A news reporter is on assignment at the front. He’s thrust into the heart of battle with his only source being a war-weary soldier with a very cynical attitude towards the whole ordeal. Can they survive the onslaught, dug in and entrenched, and ready to once again put up a staunch defense? Or does the opposition have a secret weapon that will finally put an end to the bloody stalemate?

Interesting Tidbits:

• Word Count: 8,690 (16 pages)
• Did you know that military officers frequently read The Strand Magazine and might have picked up a few pointers on trench warfare tactics from reading this story?

Where You Can Find The Land Ironclads:

• Originally published in the December 1903 issue of The Strand Magazine.
• You can read (or download) a free version of "The Land Ironclads" at The Scrapboard.
• It is also included in his many short story collections.

More About the Contributor, Slava Heretz:

• Slava Heretz writes science fiction and is the author of The Outer Pendulum, a serialized space opera: Amazon.com.
• Slava also posts free weekly flash fiction on his website: www.slavaheretz.com

Only A Little Bit Outdated!

I get a kick out of reading older science fiction stories like this one. It is fun to see the possibilities that are imagined for our solar system – even if we know better today. There were a few parts in this story that I was like “What?” – and then I remembered that is was written almost 80 years ago, so I just relaxed and went with the flow. It was much more fun that way!

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

The great thirty-fourth century astronomer Phobar has made a disconcerting discovery: he has found several new stars in the past week, and each of them is getting closer and closer to Earth! It doesn’t take him very long to figure out that something is on its way to visit our planet. As this object gets closer it begins to disrupt the orbits of the outer planets, and even affects the sun. Something needs to be done, and when Phobar is given an amazing but short opportunity he definitely makes the most of it. But will it be enough against such a powerful foe?

Interesting Tidbits:

• Word Count: 8,030 (16 pages)
• Did you know that Donald A. Wandrei was a friend and protege of the famous author H. P. Lovecraft? Yep. You can learn more about this accomplished write at Wikipedia.
• Special thanks to QuasarDragon for pointing me towards this fun story.

Where You Can Find Raiders of the Universes:

• This story was originally published in the September 1932 issue of Astounding Stories.
• You can read (or download) a free version of “Raiders of the Universes” at Project Gutenberg.
• It is also included in the book Colossus: The Collected Science Fiction of Donald Wandrei.

If you liked “Raiders of the Universes” then you may also be interested in “The Colour Out Of Space” by H.P. Lovecraft – about a meteorite that falls from the sky in the 1880′s and the devastating consequences it has upon the people in a rural New England town.

YOU KNOW THE STORY

If you have ever watched cartoons, then you have seen the story of Jekyll and Hyde. You know: A kind, refined gentleman that is pleasant as can be, who suddenly turns into a big ugly brute that goes around making everyone miserable. It’s amazing that a story can become a part of culture. Even people who haven’t read the story know the story. Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale has been adapted into dozens of movies, broadway musicals, comic books, and even has songs written about it and bands named after it! Now THAT is some memorable writing!

So, I’m a little ashamed to admit that I am one of those who have never read the story! I’ve been in the mood for a good Halloween read, and this one hit the spot.

NON SPOILER SUMMARY

Dr. Jekyll is a brilliant doctor who invents a potion that divides his personality. Oops!… I gave away the ending. The ACTUAL story is an account of events that lead up to Dr. Jekyll’s confession. Yeah, the tale we all know so well from Bugs Bunny cartoons… that all comes from the last 3 pages. That surprised me. But I found the story all the more intriguing by following the mysterious events that lead up to the final pages.

MY THOUGHTS

• I’ve always thought Jekyll & Hyde were symbols of good and evil. Not so. Jekyll was a man like all of us. Good and evil both resided in him. Hyde however, was pure evil. There was no personality of only good in this story. And I found that fascinating.
• Mr. Hyde, being the dark and sinister personality, thrived in indulging his every desire. He had no guilt. He had no restraint. He was gleeful in his wrongdoings. Ahhh… how would it be to not have a conscience? (Yes, I do realize the world would spiral out of control. But it must feel good don’t you think? To have no guilt?)
• I also found it fascinating how Mr. Hyde eventually overcame Dr. Jekyll. The evil personality was being exercised so frequently that it titled the scales. He had no good to balance himself… reinforcing the age old saying: “Moderation in all things.”
• I loved the visual and physical traits that were attributed to good and evil. Dr. Jekyll was a handsome, tall, thin man. He was distinguished, respected, and had good taste and many friends. Mr. Hyde was short, squat, hunch-backed, ugly, and people did not like to be in his presence. I find it interesting that we so readily judge what is good and what is evil simply by appearance. (I do it to books all the time.)

INTERESTING TIDBITS

• Page Count: 78
• Published: 1886
• Robert Louis Stevenson is also the author of Treasure Island, which he was inspired to write after making a treasure map for fun with his stepson. Read more about this famous author at Wikipedia.

WHERE TO FIND THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

• You can read it for free at University of Virginia Library.
• I purchased the book at Amazon.com.

Non-Spoiler Summary

Giovanni Guasconti has come to attend the university at Padua, in northern Italy. Being a student he rents a modest room that happens to overlook a garden full of beautiful but deadly flowers. It is here that Giovanni is captivated by the exquisite young lady who helps her father tend the garden. (Who wouldn’t be, right?) As he learns more about the dark and foreboding gardener, Giovanni discovers that the crazy old man is a highly competitive doctor who is willing to experiment on just about anything for the sake of science – and that is bad news for Giovanni!

Some Juicy Tidbits About This Story

• Word count: 11,372 (16 pages)
• Did you know that the DC Comics character Poison Ivy was partially based on Rappaccini’s Daughter? Yep. Learn more about this famous story at Wikipedia.

Where To Find Rappaccini’s Daughter

• This short story first appeared in Hawthorne’s 1848 collection Mosses from an Old Manse and Other Stories.
• You can read "Rappaccini’s Daughter" for free online at Sam Houston State University.
• It is also included in the classic book Hawthorne’s Short Stories.

Craving More SF Stories Like This One?

If you liked "Rappaccini’s Daughter" then be sure to read about her continuing adventures in the excellent modern story The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss.

NON SPOILER SUMMARY

John is a physician, and his wife suffers from temporary nervous depression.  So he takes her to an old home in the country to allow her plenty of rest and fresh air to cure her.  Against her protests, she is confined to her room and not allowed to do any work or anything that could be considered even slightly strenuous.  So she sits, and she sleeps, and she stares all day at the ugly yellow wallpaper in the room.  Eventually, she sees a woman behind the pattern in the wallpaper.  Of course, no one else in the house believes her, and they dismiss her visions to her illness.

MY THOUGHTS

This story was written as journal entries by the woman.  It was simply fascinating to see her mental state deteriorate each day of her confinement.  And who ever thought that wallpaper could be brought to such life?  The elaborate descriptions of the patterns and lines of the yellow wallpaper were as entertaining as the rest of the story!  This story makes me glad to live in the day of modern medicine.

INTERESTING TIDBITS

• Word Count: 6,136
• Page Count: 12
• Published: 1899
• About the Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper after she suffered a severe episode of postpartum depression.  Read more about her at Wikipedia.

WHERE TO FIND THIS STORY

• The Yellow Wallpaper was first published in 1899 by Small & Maynard, Boston, MA.
• You can read The Yellow Wallpaper online for free.
• It was also very interesting to read the author’s own explanation of why she wrote the story.  Read Gilman’s “Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper,” from the October 1913 issue of The Forerunner.  (SPOILER WARNING!)

Displacer Beast?

Being the big fan of Dungeons & Dragons that I am, I have always been fascinated by some of the strange creatures in the Monster Manual. One of those fascinating monsters is the Displacer Beast. It is very cool, but I often wondered where they got the idea for it. Well, I think I now have the answer – the terrifying alien in this story most likely provided the inspiration for it. Now if I could just figure out the origin of the rest of the monsters I’d be set!

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

Coeurl is more than just a big, cat-like alien – he is also a highly developed killing machine. The only problem is that he has decimated the food supply of precious id on his planet. So imagine his good luck when a human exploration ship lands nearby to explore the ancient archaeological ruins. Coeurl is starved, but he plays it cool when he meets the humans, acting the part of a nice pussy cat. Poor humans – will they ever figure out the true nature of this beast? Let’s hope so.

My Two Cents…

• Without a doubt the coolest part of this story is Coeurl – what’s not to love about a terrifying, tentacled alien?
• The idea of Coeurl feeding on the precious id was quite interesting and not something I had seen before.
• The final showdown between the humans and Coeurl was great fun to read about.

Interesting Tidbits About This Story:

• Page Count: 20
• Word Count: 12,057
• Did you know that “Black Destroyer” is widely considered to be one of the stories that kicked off the Golden Age of Science Fiction? Yep. You can learn more about this story and its author at Wikipedia.

Where You Can Find Black Destroyer:

• This story was originally published in the July 1939 issue of Astounding Science-Fiction.
• You can read a free online version of “Black Destroyer” at Baen’s The Fifth Imperium web site.
• This excellent novelette is also part of the author’s anthology Transfinite: The Essential A. E. Van Vogt.

Craving More Science Fiction Short Stories?

If you liked “Black Destroyer” then you may also enjoy A Martian Odyssey by Stanley G. Weinbaum – about an astronaut who walks several hundred miles across the Martian landscape, and the amazing life forms he encounters.

If I Only Knew Then What I Know Now

I have often wished that my current knowledge would have been available to me in my youth – life would have been much different, I can tell you that! I’m not really sure things would have been better – just different. Anyway, here is a great little story that shows how one man dealt with that exact situation, but in a strange sort of way.

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

In the high society of 1860′s Baltimore, Mr. and Mrs. Roger Button are given the shock of their life when their newborn son turns out to be a 70 year old man! It isn’t easy explaining his age to their friends and family, but the difficulties of raising an old man don’t stop there. Clothes, canes, hair dye and even friends all come with a unique set of challenges for their son Benjamin, but strangest of all is the fact that he is growing younger each day! It has often been said that youth is wasted on the young, but this story proves that may not always be the case.

Interesting Tidbits About This Story:

• Page Count: 21
• Word Count: 9,257
• Did you know that F. Scott Fitzgerald was friends with Ernest Hemingway? Yep. You can learn more about the life of this famous American author at Wikipedia.

Where You Can Find The Curious Case of Benjamin Button:

• This story was originally published in the May 27, 1922 edition of Collier’s magazine.
• You can read “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” online for free at many different web sites.
• This story is also included in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous anthology Tales of the Jazz Age.

Benjamin Button Is A Movie Too!

• No doubt you have heard of (or seen) the popular 2008 movie starring Brad Pitt. If not then here is the trailer:

The Best of All Possible Stories

In my 12th grade English class we were required to read Voltaire’s Candide. It was my introduction to the author, and I found it to be deliciously sarcastic! Thus, when I recently learned that he had written a short story that could be considered a pre-cursor to modern science fiction I just couldn’t pass it up. Here is a ridiculous yet delightful story – made all the more interesting if you know a little bit about some of the real historical people mentioned in it. Enjoy!

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

On a planet orbiting the star Sirius lives a spirited and huge young man. At 20,000 feet tall it is no surprise that he lives on a much larger and more sophisticated planet than we do. Not only is he very tall, but he is also ancient and quite curious. Thus he sets out on a voyage of discovery around the galaxy and eventually makes his way to Saturn where he meets a very amenable Saturnian. Well, they chat it up for a while and eventually decide to explore the planets of the inner solar system – which brings them to Earth. They don’t expect to find any life here, but what they do find brings both excitement and humor!

Interesting Tidbits About This Story:

• Page Count: 13
• Word Count: 7,140
• Did you know that Voltaire frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma and the French institutions of his day? Yep. You can learn more about this witty author on Wikipedia.

Where You Can Find Micromegas:

• You can read “Micromegas” online, or download it in a variety of formats, at the incomparable Project Gutenberg.
• Special thanks to Listverse for pointing me towards this story in their Top 10 Underrated Sci-Fi Stories Before 1864 list.

Lucky Limbs?

When I was a kid someone gave me a “lucky” rabbit’s foot. I was elated! I put it on a little chain and carried it around in my pocket for days. I tried to use it to coerce other kids into giving me things (I was really little, remember.) It didn’t work, and it only served to make loads of people angry at me. I finally decided that it wasn’t lucky at all, and I threw it away. Sure, I was unhappy about the incident, but it was nothing compared to what the man in this story goes through!

Non-spoiler Summary in a Nutshell

One cold and wet night the White family is visited by Sergeant Major Morris, who has recently returned from India. He tells them about a magical monkey’s paw that grants wishes, but in a terrible way. He tries to destroy it but the White family will have none of that – they take the evil talisman off of his hands (Ha – pun intended!) Wow, what should they wish for? They wish for what most people would wish for: money! Unfortunately they get what they ask for, and now the big question is how to use the 2 other wishes.

My Two Cents…

• A deliciously creepy and chilling story! Don’t read it if you are all alone!
• I love Greek myths that show how people can’t escape their fate. “The Monkey’s Paw” is similar, but in a much more modern and terrible way.
• While the end of the story is very cool, it did stop quite abruptly. I wish… oops – I mean I would have liked it better if the ending would have told us a little bit more.

Interesting Tidbits About This Story:

• Page Count: 8
• Word Count: 3,918
• My Rating: A-
• Learn more about British author W. W. Jacobs at The Literature Network.

Where You Can Find “The Monkey’s Paw”:

• This story first appeared in the 1902 short story collection The Lady of the Barge.
• You can read a nice free version (complete with illustrations) online at the Scary For Kids web site.

Craving More Stories?

If you liked “The Monkey’s Paw” then you might also enjoy The Colour Out Of Space by H.P. Lovecraft – about a meteorite that falls from the sky in the 1880′s and the devastating consequences it has upon the people in a rural New England town.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

The story begins as our narrator is surveying the New England countryside for a proposed reservoir and he happens upon the “blasted heath” – five acres of grey desolation, sickly trees and hauntingly creepy feelings. Determined to learn the story of what happened he tracks down an old man named Ammi who tells him a most disturbing story: It all began in 1882 when a meteorite crashed onto Nahum Gardner’s property. Well, this created quite a stir and scientists and reporters soon showed up to investigate. The problem was that the meteorite was made of an extremely strange material – and it was shrinking more and more each day. Finally it dissolved into the ground, but that wasn’t the end – oh no, the problems were only getting started as the Gardner family was about to discover in horrible detail!

When I went into the hills and vales to survey for the new reservoir they told me the place was evil. They told me this in Arkham, and because that is a very old town full of witch legends I thought the evil must be something which grandams had whispered to children through centuries. The name “blasted heath” seemed to me very odd and theatrical, and I wondered how it had come into the folklore of a Puritan people. Then I saw that dark westward tangle of glens and slopes for myself, and ceased to wonder at anything beside its own elder mystery. It was morning when I saw it, but shadow lurked always there. The trees grew too thickly, and their trunks were too big for any healthy New England wood. There was too much silence in the dim alleys between them, and the floor was too soft with the dank moss and mattings of infinite years of decay.

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• If you like strange, creepy tales then you are sure to love “The Colour Out Of Space”. The slow, suspenseful build up leads to several horrific events that left chills on my arms! Very scary.
• The whole idea of using colors to enrich this story was awesome. The bland greys and blacks set against the vibrant colors of life provided excellent contrast.
• The detailed and meticulous story telling style served this piece very well. The detailed build up of all the problems caused by the meteorite really enhanced this story.

• The bad:

• “The Colour Out Of Space” was written a long time ago and as such has a lot of outdated words, several quaint phrases and a very different story telling style. Mostly this wasn’t a problem, but there were a few places where I was like “what?”

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 20
• Word Count: 12,196
• “The Colour Out Of Space” garnered the following awards:

• It placed 26th in the 1999 Locus All-Time Poll for best novelette.
• It was ranked 12th in the 1971 Astounding / Analog All-Time Poll, pre-1940 short fiction category.

Where you can find “The Colour Out Of Space”:

• This novelette first appeared in the September 1927 issue of Amazing Stories.
• “The Colour Out Of Space” is included in H.P. Lovecraft’s chilling collection The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories.
• You can read this story at several different places on the web, but I found a nice version at Yankee Classic.

Some Interesting Links:

• Did you know that Howard Phillips Lovecraft is the creator of the strange yet popular Cthulhu Mythos? Yep. You can learn more about this science fiction and horror author at Wikipedia.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like The Hanging Stranger, about the one man in Pikeville who notices a dead stranger hanging from a lamp post in the middle of town, by Philip K. Dick.