A collection of short stories and other features (1966).

- "L'Arc De Jeanne" by Robert F. Young. A rebel colony planet has a Joan of Arc figure. I didn't hate this while reading it, but thinking back, it's really just a mess of bad ideas stirred together. C+ (okay).

- cartoon by Gahan Wilson. F (terrible).

- "Beaulieu" by Margaret St. Clair. A man with cancer is picked up by a strange woman. Wondering what's going on with this story turns out to be a frustrating waste of energy. D (bad).

- books column by Judith Merril. A rambling commentary on the culture of sci-fi publishing in England eventually gets around to mentioning a book. C- (meh).

- "To the Rescue" by Ron Goulart. A future private eye has troubles with technology. Very silly. B (good).

- "The Most Wonderful News" by Len Guttridge. A Welshman with a sick wife can't find any news to tell her on his next visit. Slow and predictable, but not a terrible concept. C+ (okay).

- "Smog" (column) by Theodore L. Thomas. Hey, guys, have you heard about pollution? F (terrible).

- "Survey of the Third Planet" by Keith Roberts. Alien invaders vs a colonialist army outpost. This would have been an enjoyable action/adventure story if he hadn't held back the thing that might have made it palatable for a twist ending. C (indifferent).

- "The Proton-Reckoner" (science column) by Isaacv Asimov. Asimov wonders how many particles could fit in the universe, for more than 10 pages. D (bad).

- "Representative from Earth" by Greg Benford. An alien abductee is given a series of tests. Based on this story, I assume this author is an ass. F (terrble).

- "Apology to Inky" by Robert M. Green, Jr. An unhappy man with repressed trauma is having hallucinations - or IS he!? D (bad).

(Jan. 2023) ( )