"Astounding Science Fiction", October 1959 (ed John W Campbell, Jr) (magazine, free): Annotated table of contents

Scans of this magazine in CBR format are online as part of a larger package.

Table of contents. 

Links on author fetch more fiction by author. Where I'm aware of other online copies of a story, I include them too. If I have a separate post on a story, link on story title goes there.

1. [novelette] Christopher Anvil's "The Lawbreakers": "Their mission was sabotage--the destruction of critical installations. Their victims? Hah! Their victims were most eagerly awaiting their hoped-for coming..."
   
   I've a feeling I've seen text version of this story online somewhere, but cannot locate the URL now.
2. [novelette] Jack Vance's "Dodkin's Job": 'The really essential question was, "Who's runnin' this shebang, anyhow?" The rough part of that question is, of course, that one man may think he is--while a quite different man does. So who do you ask?'
3. [ss] Murray F Yaco's "Unspecialist" (A); download: "A machine can be built to do any accurately described job better than any man. The superiority of a man is that he can do an unexpected, undescribed & emergency job ... provided he hasn't been especially trained to be a machine."
4. [serial - part 2/2] Randall Garrett & Laurence M Janifer's "That Sweet Little Old Lady" aka "Brain Twister" (as by Mark Phillips); download text/audio: "It was tough enough for the FBI men to have to hunt out a telepathic spy...but when the only known telepath-locator was a more than somewhat peculiar little old lady who had to be humored..."
   
   ISFDB notes that "Brain Twister" is the title of its 1962 book version.

See also.

1. Fiction from Analog/Astounding (only issues edited by Harry Bates, John Campbell).
2. Stories written by John Campbell.
3. Fiction from old "pulp" magazines.
4. Fiction from 1950s.

Murray F Yaco's "No Moving Parts" (short story, humor, free): Non-conforming personality is good

Enjoying this generally fun story probably requires a healthy disrespect for authority. It celebrates the abnormal, cranky, & competent over the normal & conforming.

Story summary.

In a far off future, Federation is the human political grouping spanning multiple star systems. There is contact with other space faring alien species too.

"His Exalted Excellency, R'thagna Bar", an alien ruler, is returning home after meeting the Federation President. And he is returning in "Euclid Queen", a human space ship! Why in a human ship rather than his own? Don't ask me. But it's key to the story.

Now this ship has landed, probably on the alien world. But ship's door won't open! They cannot even cut the door open without vaporizing the entire ship - some silly & far fetched reason for that.

An urgency is added by a peculiarity of Bar's species. They can reproduce only once in a lifetime. And the visitor's time for reproduction is approaching!

Story is of human bureaucracy's funny efforts at solving the door opening problem amidst the escalating diplomatic crisis. Eventually, a cranky & unofficial man (a "Gypsy") called Candle will get it trivially solved. Hansen, a young emergency call center operator living alone on asteroid "Communications Relay Station 43.4SC" will also play a role.

Fact sheet.

First published: Amazing Science Fiction Stories, May 1960.
Rating: A
Download full text (from Project Gutenberg).

Murray F Yaco's "Unspecialist" (short story, science fiction, free): Overspecialization kills flexibility

I won't place it among the top rung of sf stories, but it's not far below them. Great concept. Space centric execution didn't work as well with me, but not a moment of boredom.

Story summary.

Arnold, an unspecialist, is forced by authorities as a passenger on an unarmed military spaceship with 2 crew - on a mission to deliver some "potato fertilizer and tractor fuel" to a far off farm world.

After picking up their load, but before delivery to destination, they'll discover an asteroid full of a military fleet of aliens called Ankorbadians - obviously intended to raid human worlds soon, & before this ship can seek help.

While the pilot Banner & co-pilot Harcraft are insisting there is no way out, Arnold will save the day by rigging together a bomb from onboard load of fertilizer & diesel plus whatever tools are at hand in this unarmed ship.

They'll successfully blow up the alien fleet.

Fact sheet.

First published: Astounding Science Fiction, October 1959.
Rating: A
Download full text.