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| Ice
and Fire In the Flesh Inconstancy The Incredible Whelk The Incubus of the Rose Inherit the Earth |
Innocent Blood The Innsmouth Heritage Inside Out The Invertebrate Man The Invisible Worm |
| Ice and Fire [2] | ||||||
| Albedo One #18 1998 | ||||||
| In the Flesh [8] | ||||||
| Future Histories, Horizon House 1997 | ||||||
| ed. Stephen McClelland | ||||||
| This story is online at Infinity +. | ||||||
| Inconstancy [4] | ||||||
| Impulse 12 (February 1967) | ||||||
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| The Incredible Whelk [1] | ||||||
| Ludd's Mill 16-17 (1980) | ||||||
| The Incubus of the Rose [7] | ||||||
| Weird Tales 320 | ||||||
| The Wayward Muse, Black Coat Press 2005 | ||||||
| Inherit the Earth [26] | ||||||
| Analog (July 1995) | ||||||
| Expanded into Inherit the Earth | ||||||
|
This follows the unfolding destiny (and you know how much trouble that can be) of Damon Hart, ex-prize fighter and VR engineer, once one of his step parents is kidnapped. Seperately, Hart and Interpol go on the hunt for the miscreants. A useful reminder of the excellence that is Inherit the Earth, the novel. Like the novel, this grabs you by the collar and never lets go, but it's a bit like being shafted(apparently ;-), in that it's over before you know it. The ending was completely re-written for the novel, so go on, treat yourself. |
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| Innocent Blood [8] | ||||||
| Tales of the Wandering Jew, Dedalus 1991 | ||||||
| ed. Brian Stableford | ||||||
| The Innsmouth Heritage [8] | ||||||
| Necronomicon Press 1992 | ||||||
| Shadows Over Innsmouth, Fedogan & Bremer 1994 | ||||||
| ed. Steven Jones | ||||||
| Shadows Over Innsmouth, Gollancz 1997 | ||||||
| ed. Steven Jones | ||||||
| Translated into German as: | ||||||
| Das Innsmouth-Syndrom in Der Cthulhu-Mythos 1976-2002 ed. Frank Festa, Festa 2003 | ||||||
|
Although I've never read any of H.P. Lovecraft's stories, I had no trouble understanding this at all; partially because all you need to know is that some sort of monster or monsters appeared from the deep and partially because what actually happened isn't that important in the context of this story. It follows a population geneticist called in to Innsmouth by an old college friend, who is also a native of the town. He of course, is interested in writing a scientific paper and helping to build his reputation, while the people with the Innsmouth 'look' mainly want shot of their dreams. As the studies continue, people start having accidents, out on the reef... What's nice about this story is the way feelings are portayed. Those with the Innsmouth look have no faith that there will ever be an end to their dreaming and the slightly dirty feeling of the researcher, even though he warned them a cure was highly unlikely. This story also successfully melds modern genetic theory with the mythic feel of the Cthulu stories. |
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| Inside Out [8] | ||||||
| Asimov's Science Fiction (March 1997) | ||||||
| Set in an alternative universe to ours and during The First
World War; this story has Margaret catching glimpses of parallel universes
where satyrs and other mythological creatures actually exist.
Given that Margaret is a patient in a sanatorium, she's understandably reluctant to discuss the true nature of her dreams and her psychoanalyst is convinced they are a symptom of her trauma. This tale ends in spectacular fashion, but in a way which doesn't seems to address the central thrust of its argument; in fact, it's a bit of a dues ex machina. |
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| The Invertebrate Man [10] | ||||||
| Interzone 039 (September 1990) | ||||||
| Sexual Chemistry, Simon & Schuster (UK) 1991(Revised) | ||||||
| A tragic accident during his childhood leads Patrick O'Connell
to study entomology and eventually to work with his idol: invertebrate
man and genetic engineer John McBride.
Patrick joins McBride in his laboratory on the desolate west coast of Ireland and eventually discovers what the great man has been doing in the basement of their shared accommodation block. Shocked, dismayed and afraid of people's reaction to McBride's secret work, Patrick agonises over what to do until the situation is taken out of his hands. The climax this story is straight out of a Frankenstein movie, but as well as bringing Patrick to a successful confrontation with a personal problem; it also raises the question of whether McBride's research, though distasteful to the point of nightmarish is actually wrong. Is it really right to regard nature as sacred? |
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| The Invisible Worm [11] | ||||||
| The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (September 1991) | ||||||
| Designer Genes: Tales of the Biotech Revolution, Five Star 2004 | ||||||
| Translated into Italian as: | ||||||
| 'Il tarlo invisibile' in Millemondiestate, Mondadori 1992 | ||||||
| Translated into Greman as: | ||||||
| 'Der Unsichtbare Wurm' in Invasoren ed. Wolfgang Jeschke, Heyne 1994 | ||||||
|
This story gives some insight into the domestic arrangements of the average emortal household. If you recall, each child is brought up by a group of parents who bear no close genetic relation to the baby at all. Thus we find Richard literally left holding the baby when their house's domestic systems begin to go haywire. Unsure of his ability to cope with the new infant and unable to dispose of a soiled shawl by the normal method; Richard takes the baby down into the cellar to use the house's main disposal unit. He then finds himself locked in with waste backing up the shute and threatening to drown the both of them in sewage... |
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