Farewell to the Master first appeared in the October 1940 issue of Astounding Stories. It became the basis for the 1951 film, The Day the Earth Stood Still. The story morphed from Bates's original conception into a cerebral SF cinematic classic. Much of the sense of wonder of that original story was lost in its adaptation to film. In fact, a fundamental characteristic that can be found in the stories by Bates's is that sense of wonder. While other author's stories generally held optimistic views of humankind, Harry Bates's sensibilities were often much darker. He dealt with philosophy, particularly the metaphysical, with mind-exploding ideas that predates similar explorations by such authors as A.E. van Vogt and Philip K. Dick.
In Farewell to the Master, Cliff Sutherland, a freelance reporter, is determined to get more photos of the giant robot that stands as a silent sentinel over his dimensional space-traveling ship. Cliff is determined to have an overnight vigil to get behind the mystery of the slain alien known as Klaatu.
Alas, All Thinking is the story of one man's journey in time to the end of humanity. But he is much more that just an observer as he takes matters into his own hands.A Matter of Size takes the listener for a journey of scale and the meaning of identity.
Death of a Sensitive is the tale of psychic who is thought to be mad with his benevolent treatment towards the cockroaches that infest his apartment. A haunting tale with a dire warning that is based on the pioneering parapsychology of J.B. Rhines. Death of a Sensitive is a forgotten classic that is presented here for the first time in over 50 years. Four classic short novels from a Golden Age giant of Science Fiction.
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