''Looking Forward'' is an anthology of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

stories edited by

Milton Lesser Stephen Marlowe (born Milton Lesser, in Brooklyn, New York, died , in Williamsburg, Virginia) was an American author of science fiction, mystery novels, and fictional autobiographies of Goya, Christopher Columbus, Miguel de Cervantes, and Edg ...

, published in

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...

in 1953 by Beechhurst Press and reprinted in the British market in 1955 by Cassell & Company. The anthology was particularly poorly received, and carried the unusually high cover price, for its day, of $5.00. Its contents include one of the few uncollected and otherwise unanthologized stories by

Walter M. Miller, Jr. Walter Michael Miller Jr. (January 23, 1923 – January 9, 1996) was an American science fiction writer. His fix-up novel, '' A Canticle for Leibowitz'' (1959), the only novel published in his lifetime, won the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel. ...

* "Science Fiction Comes of Age", Milton Lesser * "The Man from Outside", Jack Williamson ( ''Astounding'' 1951) * "We Kill People", Lewis Padgett (''Astounding'' 1946) * "Win the World",

Chad Oliver Symmes Chadwick Oliver (30 March 1928 – 9 August 1993) was an American anthropologist and science fiction and Western writer. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a surgeon and his mother a nurse. When he was young he had rheumatic ...

(''

Startling Stories ''Startling Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by publisher Ned Pines' Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of '' Thrilling Wonder Stories ...

'' 1952) * "The Little Creeps", Walter M. Miller, Jr. ('' Amazing'' 1951) * "Highway",

Robert A. W. Lowndes Robert Augustine Ward "Doc" Lowndes (September 4, 1916 – July 14, 1998) was an American science fiction author, editor and fan. He was known best as the editor of ''Future Science Fiction'', ''Science Fiction'', and ''Science Fiction Quarterly ...

Science Fiction Quarterly ''Science Fiction Quarterly'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine that was published from 1940 to 1943 and again from 1951 to 1958. Charles Hornig served as editor for the first two issues; Robert A. W. Lowndes edited the remainde ...

'' 1942 * "Exile",

Edmond Hamilton Edmond Moore Hamilton (October 21, 1904 – February 1, 1977) was an American writer of science fiction during the mid-twentieth century. He is known for writing most of the Captain Future stories. Early life Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he ...

(''

Super Science Stories ''Super Science Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 to 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their Fictioneers imprint, which they used for magazines, pay ...

'' 1943) * "The Power"

Murray Leinster Murray Leinster () was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975), an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of List of science fiction authors, science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 ...

(''Astounding'' 1945) * "The Man in the Moon",

Mack Reynolds Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds (November 11, 1917 – January 30, 1983) was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Dallas Ross, Mark Mallory, Clark Collins, Dallas Rose, Guy McCord, Maxine Reynolds, Bob Belmont, and Todd Har ...

(''Amazing'' 1950) * "Production Test",

Raymond F. Jones Raymond Fisher Jones (15 November 1915 – 24 January 1994) was an American science fiction author. He is best known for his 1952 novel ''This Island Earth (novel), This Island Earth'', which was adapted into the This Island Eart ...

(''Astounding'' 1949) * "Lion's Mouth", Milton Lesser (''

Fantastic Adventures ''Fantastic Adventures'' was an American pulp fantasy and science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1953 by Ziff-Davis. It was initially edited by Raymond A. Palmer, who was also the editor of ''Amazing Stories'', Ziff-Davis's other sci ...

'' 1952) * "In This Sign",

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

( ''Imagination'' 1951) * "Victory Unintentional",

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

(''Super Science Stories'' 1942) * "The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years", Don Wilcox (''Amazing'' 1940) * "The Last Monster",

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson ( ; November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until his death in 2001. Anderson also wrote historical novels. He won the Hugo Award seven times an ...

(''Super Science Stories'' 1951) * "The King of Thieves",

Jack Vance John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. He also wrote several mystery novels under pen names, including Ellery Queen. Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Ach ...

(''

'' 1949) * "Man of Destiny",

John Christopher Sam Youd (16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012) was a British writer best known for science fiction written under the name of John Christopher, including the novels '' The Death of Grass'', ''The Possessors'', and the young-adult novel series ...

( ''Galaxy'' 1951) * "Lulungomeena",

Gordon R. Dickson Gordon Rupert Dickson (November 1, 1923 – January 31, 2001) was an American science fiction writer. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2000. Biography Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1923 ...

(''Galaxy'' 1954) * "Ultima Thule",

Eric Frank Russell Eric Frank Russell (January 6, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was a British people, British writer best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's ''Asto ...

(''Astounding'' 1951) *
Into Thy Hands
,

Lester del Rey Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the fantasy editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy an ...

(''Astounding'' 1945) * "Transcience",

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...

(''Startling Stories'' 1949) "We Kill People" carried the "

Lewis Padgett Lewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore,Nicholls 1979, p. 445. taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C. H. Liddell, as ...

" byline. "Win the World" was originally published as "The Subversives". "Highway" originally carried the byline "Wilfred Owen Morley". "Lion's Mouth" was originally published under the "Stephen Marlowe" byline. "The Last Monster" was originally published as "Terminal Quest."

Reception

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic J. Francis McComas described the volume as "exorbitantly priced," found Lesser's introduction "irritating" and "meaningless," noted that the stories were either already available ("in better books") or among their authors' "feebler works," and concluded that ''Looking Forward'' was a book "whose over-all merit is dubious indeed." ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'' reviewer R. W. Wallace declared that most of the stories "run to boiled beef rather than grilled tenderloin. . . . not what you'd pick if you wanted to tempt the appetite of a guest." P. Schuyler Miller more charitably noted the volume's price and declared it was "not bad.""The Reference Library", ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'', July 1954, pp.149-150

References

{{Reflist Science fiction anthologies

Contents

Reception

References