Untouched By Human Hands
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''Untouched by Human Hands'' 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 A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
by American writer
Robert Sheckley Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 – December 9, 2005) was an American writer. First published in the science-fiction magazines of the 1950s, his many quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, Absurdist fiction, absurdist, and ...
. It was first published in 1954 simultaneously by
Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...
(catalogue number 73), both in hardback and paperback.


Contents

The collection includes the following stories (magazines in which the stories originally appeared given in parentheses): * " The Monsters" (''
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiv ...
'', March 1953) * "Cost of Living" ( ''Galaxy'', December 1952) * "The Altar" (''
Fantastic Fantastic or Fantastik may refer to: Music * ''Fantastic'' (Toy-Box album) * ''Fantastic'' (Wham! album) * '' Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)'', an album by Slum Village * '' Fantastic, Vol. 2'', an album by Slum Village * ''Fantastic'' (EP), an EP by ...
'', July/August 1953) * "Keep Your Shape" (''Galaxy'', November 1953; also known as "Shape") * "The Impacted Man" ( ''Astounding SF'', December 1952) * "Untouched by Human Hands" (''Galaxy'', December 1953; also known as "One Man's Poison") * "The King's Wishes" (''F&SF'', July 1953) * "Warm" (''Galaxy'', June 1953) * "The Demons" (''Fantasy Magazine'', March 1953) * "
Specialist A specialist is someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research. Specialist may also refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist officer, military rank in ...
" (''Galaxy'', May 1953) * " Seventh Victim" (''Galaxy'', April 1953) * "Ritual" (''Climax'', 1953; also known as "Strange Ritual") * "Beside Still Waters" (''
Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearance ...
'', October/November 1953)


Reception

Critic
Groff Conklin Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904 – July 19, 1968) was an American science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories (co-edited with physician Noah Fabricant), wrote books on home improvement ...
reviewed the collection for ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' in 1954; although generally favorable, the review claimed that Sheckley was "still trying to discover his own particular bent" and that he "hasn't quite found his footing." Sheckley himself, according to a 1980 interview, was aware of the extreme stylistic diversity of the collection and the fact that some stories were not science fiction in the usual sense of the word: Writing in ''
The 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 ...
'', Villiers Gerson wrote that Sheckley was "a writer not quite like any other
hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant. Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound w ...
forte is his own brand of strange and wonderful humor." Boucher and McComas found it "as brightly individual and entrancing a group of science-fantasies as we've seen in some time." P. Schuyler Miller compared Sheckley to
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 ...
, citing his "fresh point of view", his "wry distortions of the familiar", and his "touch of the same poetry." Science fiction historian Michael Ashley, in his 2005 volume on the history of science fiction magazines, praised Sheckley's early work, including "Untouched by Human Hands", for the "sheer lack of sophistication—his ability to run circles around the establishment. ..Sheckley's work highlights the fact that man's worst enemy is himself."Michael Ashley. ''Transformations: The Story of the Science-fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970'', p. 109. Liverpool University Press, 2005.


Publication history

The collection was reprinted several times by different publishers. In 1965 the story "Seventh Victim" was adapted into ''
The 10th Victim ''The 10th Victim'' () is a 1965 science fiction film directed and co-written by Elio Petri, starring Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress, Elsa Martinelli, and Salvo Randone. An international co-production between Italy and France, it is based ...
'', an Italian film starring
Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...
and
Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss actress and former model who has appeared in American, British, and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962). She later star ...
, also known as ''La decima vittima''. Sheckley wrote a novelization of the film in 1966 (''The Tenth Victim''), and, in late 1980s, two more novels set in the same world.


References


External links

*{{ISFDB title, 38075 1954 short story collections Short story collections by Robert Sheckley Ballantine Books books American short story collections