Without Sorcery

Without Sorcery is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories by American writer Theodore Sturgeon. The collection was first published in 1948 by Prime Press in an edition of 2,862 copies of which 80 were specially bound, slipcased and signed by the author and artist. The stories first appeared in the magazines Astounding and Unknown.

Without Sorcery
Dust-jacket from the first edition
AuthorTheodore Sturgeon
IllustratorL. Robert Tschirky
Cover artistL. Robert Tschirky
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction, fantasy
PublisherPrime Press
Publication date
1948
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages355
OCLC5147779

Contents
  • Introduction, by Ray Bradbury
  • "The Ultimate Egoist"
  • "It"
  • "Poker Face"
  • "Shottle Bop"
  • "Artnan Process"
  • "Memorial"
  • "Ether Breather"
  • "Butyl and the Breather"
  • "Brat"
  • "Two Percent Inspiration"
  • "Cargo"
  • "Maturity"
  • "Microcosmic God"

"It!"

To promote Without Sorcery, Prime Press published the story "It" in advance of the full collection. The book was published in paperback in an edition of 200 copies (OCLC 19372331). Fifty copies were given away at the Associated Fantasy Publishers party at the 6th World Science Fiction Convention and most were signed by Sturgeon. Few of the remaining copies were sold and the remainder are assumed destroyed.

Reception

Boucher and McComas named Without Sorcery the best SF short fiction collection of 1949, citing the way Sturgeon "combines ingenious concepts with humor, humanity and sheer good writing."[1] Astounding reviewer P. Schuyler Miller praised the collection, saying it included "perhaps the greatest variety of any short-story collection yet brought out by the fantasy publishers."[2]

References
  1. "Recommended Reading," F&SF, February 1950, p.105
  2. "Book Reviews", Astounding Science Fiction, September 1949, pp.152–53

Sources
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