tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post2596095387350909986..comments2024-01-07T09:36:51.796-08:00Comments on Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Books, Music, Cinema: The Draw by Jerome Bixby, 1954Prashant C. Trikannadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-24661189906115130662013-10-22T01:00:09.107-07:002013-10-22T01:00:09.107-07:00You're welcome, Sergio. Thanks for the link to...You're welcome, Sergio. Thanks for the link to the TWILIGHT ZONE classic. Bixby was, I think, indirectly involved with the series, one of his stories "It's A Good Life" becoming an episode and a movie. Todd has referred to the series in his comments above.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-77023194284537050252013-10-22T00:52:33.886-07:002013-10-22T00:52:33.886-07:00Col, I'd be interested to know what you think....Col, I'd be interested to know what you think.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-8683555394296947702013-10-22T00:37:28.086-07:002013-10-22T00:37:28.086-07:00Thanks for this Prashant - it sounds quite similar...Thanks for this Prashant - it sounds quite similar to a classic Twilight Zone script by Rod Serling, "Mr. Denton on Doomsday", which you can watch here:<br />http://vimeo.com/39788990Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-82216479451207978482013-10-22T00:23:34.245-07:002013-10-22T00:23:34.245-07:00Off to PG now, thanks!Off to PG now, thanks!col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-60861850920580406262013-10-21T02:39:58.873-07:002013-10-21T02:39:58.873-07:00Ron, thank you! Jerome Bixby has written the story...Ron, thank you! Jerome Bixby has written the story very convincingly.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-16839451874231577672013-10-21T02:38:22.311-07:002013-10-21T02:38:22.311-07:00Clarissa, THE DRAW is a fascinating story. I liked...Clarissa, THE DRAW is a fascinating story. I liked the concept. I guess it's not easy to pull off a hybrid story (as Todd notes) that reads like your regular western and yet isn't.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-73632274775930042322013-10-21T02:35:19.308-07:002013-10-21T02:35:19.308-07:00Todd, thank you for all the valuable inputs on Jer...Todd, thank you for all the valuable inputs on Jerome Bixby and his work and the offer to pass on any reviews you might come across. I'll do the same.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-9490248013655715882013-10-21T02:32:49.961-07:002013-10-21T02:32:49.961-07:00Todd, I didn't think he wrote any other wester...Todd, I didn't think he wrote any other western either for I didn't find any. It looks to me as if he wrote down this story one lazy Sunday afternoon. I'll be looking out for TWO COMPLETE SCIENCE ADVENTURE BOOKS and whatever else I can find online.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-56088875061286567552013-10-21T02:25:55.788-07:002013-10-21T02:25:55.788-07:00Thank you, Tracy! In spite of reading about Bixby ...Thank you, Tracy! In spite of reading about Bixby on the internet, he was a new find for me too. I'm keen to read some of his work in sf.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-76646515765586713922013-10-21T02:23:31.426-07:002013-10-21T02:23:31.426-07:00Jerry, thank you very much for bringing all of tho...Jerry, thank you very much for bringing all of those Jerome Bixby books to my notice. He has quite a following, especially among sf fans. His superior writing is evident in just this one story I read.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-17968910796881800352013-10-21T02:20:03.950-07:002013-10-21T02:20:03.950-07:00Yvette, thank you! I'm not very familiar with ...Yvette, thank you! I'm not very familiar with Jerome Bixby and his work though I have read about him on Todd's blog and some other blogs as well. I'll probably watch THE MAN FROM EARTH on the internet.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-11561180122270678212013-10-21T02:16:24.438-07:002013-10-21T02:16:24.438-07:00Todd, you're welcome. I hope to read both Jero...Todd, you're welcome. I hope to read both Jerome Bixby's IT'S A GOOD LIFE and his other sf as well as Isaac Asimov's novel FANTASTIC VOYAGE.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-83646198226907306822013-10-19T11:50:26.687-07:002013-10-19T11:50:26.687-07:00Nicely researched. Thanks.Nicely researched. Thanks.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-57993650686636733952013-10-18T15:41:41.125-07:002013-10-18T15:41:41.125-07:00What a fascinating story. I really want to know wh...What a fascinating story. I really want to know what happens. It's too bad that the writer didn't write more stories.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12160669603997465454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-62422515500402930922013-10-18T15:30:24.836-07:002013-10-18T15:30:24.836-07:00I'll need to look for that third collection Je...I'll need to look for that third collection Jerry House mentions...and if I see the Bixby reviews online, Prashant, I'll point them out to you (I know a few are up here or there). Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-52855536930194652842013-10-18T15:28:55.573-07:002013-10-18T15:28:55.573-07:00but it published some interesting issues)...he lef...but it published some interesting issues)...he left Love Romances and worked at STARTLING STORIES and THRILLING WONDER STORIES, writing among other things fanzine reviews, and then onto the GALAXY group, working (I think) on the Galaxy Novels and otherwise being one of the many short-term assistant editors to H. L. Gold...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-53706306709867498282013-10-18T15:20:28.560-07:002013-10-18T15:20:28.560-07:00You know, I don't think I've read another ...You know, I don't think I've read another western, aside from this hybrid (and AMAZING was an sf magazine, for the most part, of course) by Bixby, though I've enjoyed his collections SPACE BY THE TAIL and THE DEVIL'S SCRAPBOOK, and he left Love Romances Publishing (where he worked on, and vastly improved, PLANET STORIES and helped found 2 COMPLETE SCIENCE-ADVENTURE BOOKS...still my least favorite sf magazine title in terms of awkwardness...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-53474374643374632712013-10-18T14:34:47.680-07:002013-10-18T14:34:47.680-07:00Very interesting post, Prashant. I am not familiar...Very interesting post, Prashant. I am not familiar with Bixby and he sounds so versatile. Thanks for all this information.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-8078234314280558822013-10-18T13:47:10.845-07:002013-10-18T13:47:10.845-07:00Bixby certainly qualified as a forgotten writer. ...Bixby certainly qualified as a forgotten writer. Until recently there were only three books by Bixby: the collections SPACE BY THE TAIL (1964), which included this story, and DEVIL'S SCRAPBOOK (1964), which was reprinted ten years later as CALL FOR AN EXOCIST, and the Star Trek "Fotonovel" DAY OF THE DOVE (1978). In 2011, a print-on-demand collection of 18 stories became available, "ONE WAY STREET" AND OTHER STORIES. He was a good writer and a good editor.Jerry Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482856733981933159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-33305347191245238492013-10-18T12:55:19.047-07:002013-10-18T12:55:19.047-07:00Great post, Prashant. Jerome Bixby should definite...Great post, Prashant. Jerome Bixby should definitely be remembered for authoring the brilliant screenplay for THE MAN FROM EARTH - one of my all time favorite sci/fi films. I'm glad you noted that on your post. I hadn't realized he'd written so many other things besides. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-59443112869075711762013-10-18T10:30:50.351-07:002013-10-18T10:30:50.351-07:00Oh, and Asimov's novel FANTASTIC VOYAGE is bas...Oh, and Asimov's novel FANTASTIC VOYAGE is based on the script and the treatment Bixby wrote...it was a novelization of the film. Thanks for the pointer to my blog, btw!Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-29929305435354908252013-10-18T10:29:24.129-07:002013-10-18T10:29:24.129-07:00"Alger Rome" was actually the collaborat..."Alger Rome" was actually the collaborations between Algis Budrys and Jerome Bixby...the pseudonym was a reconstruction of "Al/Jerome"..."It's a <i>Good</i> Life," his most famous short story by some distance, has become so famous that hardly anyone remembers he wrote it (rather like another TZ adaptation, "To Serve Man," based on the short story by Damon Knight.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-62353071195740307822013-10-18T08:50:08.790-07:002013-10-18T08:50:08.790-07:00Col, I'm not going to tell you how it ends but...Col, I'm not going to tell you how it ends but I can tell you where you can read it—Project Gutenberg or Archive.org—which is one and the same thing. I'm looking for some of Bixby's other western stories. He writes very well. There is also subtle humour in his writing.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-32994665116074114432013-10-18T08:24:27.274-07:002013-10-18T08:24:27.274-07:00Prashant - how does it end? I think you need to sp...Prashant - how does it end? I think you need to spill the beans or at least give me a heads-up on where I can read this, otherwise you not playing fair! col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.com