Earth for Inspiration by Clifford D. Simak

Published digitally by Open Road Media on July 5, 2016

This is volume 9 of The Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak. The introduction to this volume focuses on Clifford Simak’s westerns. A western has been included in each of the volumes that I’ve read, but the bulk of this book, like the other volumes, consists of the science fiction stories at which Simak excelled.

“Earth for Inspiration” (1941) doesn’t fit within the cycle of stories that Simak assembled into the book City, but it does feature a robot valet named Jenkins (apparently not the same Jenkins who appears in City). This Jenkins tells a blocked science fiction writer to visit Earth for inspiration. There the writer meets a rusty robot named Philbert who probably would have fit nicely into the City plotline. This isn’t a great story but it’s interesting to see how Simak played with some ideas that he later used to produce great stories.

“Idiot’s Crusade” (1954) is one of Simak’s alien visitor stories, although it is far from his best use of that theme. The alien takes over a human idiot and launches a crusade against people who are unfriendly to idiots.

“Hellhounds of the Cosmos” (1932) is one of Simak’s earliest published stories. Even the volume’s editor admits that it doesn’t make much sense.

“Honorable Opponent” (1956) illustrates a point that Simak made many times -- that aliens and humans are likely to have very different perspectives on almost everything. In this clever story, aliens have a concept of war that humans only come to understand in defeat.

“Green Flight, Out” (1941) is one of Simak’s aviation combat stories. Not my thing.

“Carbon Copy” (1957) takes on a greedy realtor. Greedy or exploitive businessmen never do well in Simak’s stories. This one is pranked by an alien, deservedly so.

“The Asteroid of Gold” (1932) is a science fiction action/adventure story that borrows its themes from westerns. Prospectors exploring new frontiers fight for survival (using wits, science, and overall toughness). The story is better than some of Simak’s other early efforts.

“Good Nesters Are Dead Nesters” (1945) is a western. I am usually entertained by Simak’s westerns and this one was no exception.

“Desertion” (1944) was one of the stories that Simak incorporated into City. It is also one of his best stories. In fact, this story of a man and a dog who move beyond life on Earth remains my favorite Simak story.

“The Golden Bugs” (1960) tells of aliens who try to steal the Earth’s metal, not realizing that humans take it personally when aliens mess with our cars. The story is notable for the narrator’s ambivalent reaction to Earth’s response.

“Full Cycle” (1955) returns to the theme of deserted cities that was integral to City. This take on the theme takes a more optimistic view of humanity’s ability to endure the breakdown of society.

This may not be the best volume in the series, but it contains two of the best stories: "Desertion" and "Honorable Opponent." Several of the rest have retained their entertainment value.

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