''The 4-Dimensional Nightmare'', also known as ''Voices of Time'', is a collection 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 ...
short stories by British writer
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...
, published in 1963 by
Victor Gollancz
Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian ...
.
Contents
* "
The Voices of Time"
* "
The Sound-Sweep
"The Sound-Sweep" is a short story by British writer J. G. Ballard. It was first published in ''Science Fantasy'', Volume 13, Number 39, February 1960 and was reprinted in the collection '' The Four-Dimensional Nightmare''.
Plot summary
The ma ...
"
* "
Prima Belladonna"
* "
Studio 5, The Stars"
* "
The Garden of Time"
* "
The Cage of Sand"
* "
The Watch-Towers"
* "
Chronopolis"
Some later versions substitute "Prima Belladonna" and "Studio 5, The Stars" with:
* "
Thirteen to Centaurus"
* "
The Overloaded Man"
Release
''The 4-Dimensional Nightmare'' was first published in the United Kingdom in 1963, through
Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group.
Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, an ...
. It was given a United States release in 1965 through
Penguin Books
Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
and has been reprinted several times, at one point retitled ''Voices of Time''. The collection has been translated into four languages, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese.
Reception
''The 4-Dimensional Nightmare'' was reviewed by Leslie Flood in ''
New Worlds Science Fiction''. ''
Locus
Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* Locus (mathematics), the set of points satisfying a particular condition, often forming a curve
* Root locus analysis, a diagram visualizing the position of r ...
'' also reviewed the work, noting that "Although their formal experimentation seems mild in comparison to much later Ballard, these stories seem utterly distinct from any other SF that was being written around this time, at least within the walls of genre publishing."
References
*
External links
The Terminal Collection: JG Ballard First Editions*
{{DEFAULTSORT:4-Dimensional Nightmare, The
1963 short story collections
Short story collections by J. G. Ballard
Victor Gollancz Ltd books