Phoenix

Here’s a pleasant surprise—a science fiction suicide mission to save an entire planet. Smith brings his considerable narrative powers to a straight adventure piece, rather than the horror that I’m more familiar with in his work. It’s a great little tale given a little extra zest by the dramatic read......more

Ashton Smith turns his hand to science fiction in this dated 1954 tale. The story is about an attempt to rekindle the sun by humanity after an epochal ice age in which man has reverted to being a cavern people, albeit one with a high level of technological accomplishment. Of course, it is scientific......more

This story made impressions on me when I was a kid, 16 or 17 years old. First, the heroism and strength of the main characters touched me, the tragedy in salvation, and the poetry of the closing line. I remember being shocked -- it wasn't usual in the sort of literature I had been reading. Second, I......more