An Ornament to His Profession

An Ornament to His Profession

This collection brings back into print stories covering Harness' repertoire from alternate history, SF about the legal profession, and lyrical and witty stories of science and the arts, including the short novel The Rose and sixteen other works of short fiction. It also contains introductions by David Hartwell and the editor, Priscilla Olson, an afterward by George Zebrowski, a bibliography, and cover art by James Stanley Daugherty. The New England Science Fiction Association does sf lovers a big favor with this valuable collection of 17 pieces by an exceedingly gifted, lamentably obscure author now in his eighties and still writing. "The Rose," a moving tribute to his older brother and to dance; the title story, which mixes science and the supernatural as well as comedy and grimness in a fashion typical of Harness; a new piece, "Lethary Fair"; two classic time-travel stories; and the others cover a very wide range in subject and manner. Harness has always loved to play with ideas--the more ideas, the merrier--and mix them together with sublime disregard for genre categories or editorial prejudices. He has also been a master of graceful prose during times when clunkiness was far more common in the sf and fantasy fields. For those who wonder whether the author of the superlative novel The Paradox Men (1953) ever wrote anything else--well, he did, and here is a highly enjoyable sampling of it. Roland Green SF collection, first edition; published to mark the author's 50th anniversary as an SF writer, this is another splendid volume from the fan-based publishing house which has given us so many outstanding books in the past decade or so that it must be considered the best publisher in the world; this book contains 17 good Charles L. Harness stories, ranging from his debut, 'Time Trap,' (1948) to a new previously- unpublished novelette, 'Lethary Fair'; among the other pieces are his well-known novella The Rose (1953) and the title story (1966); highly recommended. -- Interzone, Nov. 1998 An entry in the NESFA's Choice Series of neglected sf authors. Used Book in Good Condition