Fairy Tale Spotlight: Pygmalion's Spectacles [Short Story Review]

"Pygmalion's Spectacles" is a short science fiction story written by Stanley G. Weinbaum. It was published in 1935. This story is notable for being the first piece of fiction to predict a somewhat accurate depiction of virtual reality.

In this story, a man has invented a set of spectacles that, when worn, will convince the wearer that he is somewhere else, experiencing another world. Although its mechanics are a little out there, the user is actually experiencing a movie filmed by the inventor. But the spectacles make everything he filmed feel very real. There is even smell involved, however we don't have that in today's virtual reality... yet.

The reality the man was placed in was like an elven fantasy. It is something like one would see in D&D or from Tolkien. Actually, to be honest, it reminded me more of the world from Shawn O'Toole's "Eye and Ear" series. It wasn't the same theme though. It was more of a romance.

The bulk of this story is about the fantasy the protagonist experienced while wearing the spectacles and how convincing it was. Anyone who has played VR games will understand what this man was experiencing to some degree. That said, the story itself is very good and the ending was amusing.

Although I cannot say for sure, I wager the reason nobody ever talks about this story is because it was probably panned when it first came out for being unrealistic or silly. But the truth is that it is not silly at all. It's really a very interesting story that carries the reader along with its fantasy extremely well. And let's just be honest... he wrote a realistic and plausible story and did not even know it.

I do recommend "Pygmalion's Spectacles." It is public domain now, and I actually found my copy for free. This is great science fiction. Mister Weinbaum died the same year this story was published, so he never knew anything about modern VR. That's a shame. I am sure he would have really enjoyed it.

This blog was written on March 2, 2025.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: After Ten Years [Short Story Review]

"After Ten Years" is a short story written by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1966. Despite actually being published, it is completely unfinished and has no ending or resolution of any kind.

This story is actually about the Trojan War from the perspective of the King of Sparta. It starts at the point he is waiting inside the horse to be deployed. He is also there to get his wife back. That would be Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus. But when he finds her, she has aged, and he is stuck with an ugly woman that everyone expects him to remain married to.

Crazy stuff, but it doesn't really go much farther than that. The emotions are running high, and there is the weird possibility that it might not even be Helen after all. She might be some sort of eidolon or something. Either way, the saddest thing about this well-written story is that it just suddenly stops.

Apparently, C. S. Lewis just lost interest in it. He moved on to other things. It is said that he did not even know where he was going with it and was more into the setting and characters than he was with giving it any real plot. To my knowledge, it was never actually intended to be published, but was published anyhow.

What is here was very well written and interesting. Despite the truth, it does feel like it is going somewhere very mysterious. Sadly, it is left up to our imaginations to decide what that ultimate truth would have been. Despite it's unfinished state, it is interesting enough to read. I recommend it.

This blog was written on February 24, 2025.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Forms of Things Unknown [Short Story Review]

"Forms of Things Unknown" is a short science fiction story written by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1966. This is kind of a weird one to review because of how the story actually plays out.

So this story was published a few years before we actually went to the moon. By this point, everyone was pretty clear on what it might actually be like, but we were not 100% sure yet. So what makes this story interesting is that it is a "going to the moon" story written almost right up to the actual point that we did it for real.

But this is not a story about the first moon landing. It's more like the forth. The reason its the forth is because the last three landings ended up in a suddenly cut radio transmission... and then nothing. So in a very real way, this story begins as a soft horror. The horror, in this case, comes from the mystery of several lost astronauts on the moon.

The main character of the story is named Jenkin, and he is next in line to try his luck. He is doing it because he is obsessed with the mystery and is willing to throw it all away just for that one opportunity to see what in the world had happened to those poor astronauts.

Now up to this point in the story, you'd probably be on the edge of your seat. I was. I dearly wanted to know what had happened. Even if Jenkin is lost, the narrative is following him, so you get the feeling that you'll get answers even if we lose the main character. It's an interesting way to pitch a story, and it works to build tension. You, of course, don't want to lose Jenkin, but the curiosity is still there.

But here is where there is a slight problem. The ending of the story is steeped in the surreal, the strange, and the obscure. It is a weird and fuzzy ending that doesn't quite explain what is happening. It may just be muddled by the author, or it could just be an artistic decision. It's hard to say. But I read it, and I don't really fully understand the things I saw, or Jenkin saw rather, in his apparent last moments. I do think, however, that it is something best left for interpretation, which is what I am going to do. I won't be spoiling the ending of this one.

I think "Forms of Things Unknown" has enough merit to recommend it. People should read it, but do be prepared to maybe not really understand the ending. It might also mean something different to each person who reads it. But regardless of what you see and hear, one thing is certain: Jenkin found what he was looking for.

This blog was written on February 19, 2025.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Ministering Angels [Short Story Review]

"Ministering Angels" is a science fiction short story written by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1958. This doesn't happen very much, but I actually struggled to follow this one. I apologize that this even happened, so please take any issues I have with this one for a grain of salt since my opinion may not be a very good one. Either way, I am going to keep this one short.

The story here has to do with the colonization of Mars. It is a sort of slice of life of social life happening there on the initial colony. A lot of the drama comes from some women from Earth who show up and start trying to bring up some talk about how sexual morals may be a thing of the past. It is the main discussion happening in the story.

I did think it was cool to see a science fiction story written by a Christian and with the moral perspective included, but I really struggled to follow along with what was happening. I think that recommendations in this case should be omitted. You might read it and understand it more than I did. The way it was written just didn't absorb well. There was also a lot of dialect [British] which really hindered it as well. I'll still take the blame though. That's all I got for this one. Once again... apologies.

This blog was written on February 16, 2025.

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