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dee9401 's review for:
The Anything Box
by Zenna Henderson
A really good read, though some stories were far more outstanding than others. Her ideas were always good to excellent but the execution wavered throughout this collection. It seemed to be mostly the earlier ones, which would make sense as she honed her craft, but there were some later ones that started out great but just fizzled or imploded at the end.
Starting with the sublime ones, "The Anything Box" (1956) was simple & beautiful. It had a Kate Wilhelm-esque quality to it, which for me is the highest compliment, one of psychological intensity and perfect craft. The Anything Box was a joy of a piece. "Something Bright" (1960) was also beautiful. It was like a painting. Not a single word nor a piece of punctuation was wasted. Short stories, when done like this, are examples of the greatest form of writing. I also loved "Walking Aunt Daid" (1955). It is a haunting story that reminded me of Boris Karloff's Thriller series or the best of Night Gallery. It was nicely executed.
Turning to the good to great stories, I thought "Subcommittee" (1962) was a good story though a little saccharine at times and filled with dated stereotypes. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed my time. "Hush!" (1953) is an interesting horror piece, but it did not feel as elegant as other stories mentioned above. Finally, "The Substitute" (1953) was such a great idea and the first 11-12 pages were pure perfection, but the final 1-2 pages felt rushed with a little twist at the end. I was wholly sucked into this piece and felt a little disappointed at the end. But, as I said, 12 out of the total 14 pages of this short story were excellent.
As to the other items in the collection "Come On, Wagon!" (1951) was an okay idea and okay execution, but nothing to write home about. It would have been fine for a SFF magazine piece, which is probably what it was. "Stevie and the Dark" (1952) had a good start but sputtered out. "The Grunder" (1953) felt like a bad Night Gallery/Twilight Zone script. It set an interesting premise but it didn't flow or feel like one of her better stories.
After reading the first 3 stories, I was sure I'd go with 5 stars, but I ended up with just 4 after finishing. It is still a worthy read and as proof, I ordered another collection of her stories before I even finished this one. It arrrives today!
Starting with the sublime ones, "The Anything Box" (1956) was simple & beautiful. It had a Kate Wilhelm-esque quality to it, which for me is the highest compliment, one of psychological intensity and perfect craft. The Anything Box was a joy of a piece. "Something Bright" (1960) was also beautiful. It was like a painting. Not a single word nor a piece of punctuation was wasted. Short stories, when done like this, are examples of the greatest form of writing. I also loved "Walking Aunt Daid" (1955). It is a haunting story that reminded me of Boris Karloff's Thriller series or the best of Night Gallery. It was nicely executed.
Turning to the good to great stories, I thought "Subcommittee" (1962) was a good story though a little saccharine at times and filled with dated stereotypes. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed my time. "Hush!" (1953) is an interesting horror piece, but it did not feel as elegant as other stories mentioned above. Finally, "The Substitute" (1953) was such a great idea and the first 11-12 pages were pure perfection, but the final 1-2 pages felt rushed with a little twist at the end. I was wholly sucked into this piece and felt a little disappointed at the end. But, as I said, 12 out of the total 14 pages of this short story were excellent.
As to the other items in the collection "Come On, Wagon!" (1951) was an okay idea and okay execution, but nothing to write home about. It would have been fine for a SFF magazine piece, which is probably what it was. "Stevie and the Dark" (1952) had a good start but sputtered out. "The Grunder" (1953) felt like a bad Night Gallery/Twilight Zone script. It set an interesting premise but it didn't flow or feel like one of her better stories.
After reading the first 3 stories, I was sure I'd go with 5 stars, but I ended up with just 4 after finishing. It is still a worthy read and as proof, I ordered another collection of her stories before I even finished this one. It arrrives today!