Don A Stuart alias John W. Campbell This volume contains the story which is probably the most frightening is all of science fiction or fantasy - "Who Goes There". It has been made into a movie twice - titled "The Thing". None of them send the chills up and down your spine like John Campbell's writing style does. He has a skill in writing that takes you right there with him. This is a must read book.
Essential John W. Campbell, Jr. First, a brief note: the following review is predicated on the assumption that the reader of it is familiar with John W. Campbell, Jr. (Don A. Stuart) and his works.
This book A New Dawn: The Complete Don A. Stuart Stories (Nesfa's Choice Series, Volume 22) contains all of the short stories written by John W. Campbell, Jr., the editor of ASTOUNDING STORIES/ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION/ANALOG SCIENCE FACT-SCIENCE FICTION from 1937 until his death in 1971. He wrote many stories, including all those here, under the pseudonym Don A. Stuart and while he did not write many stories after he became editor of ASTOUNDING, what he did write was of the highest quality.
Many people have read WHO GOES THERE? which is his most famous story, having been made into a film twice now [The Thing from Another World (the better version of the two), and The Thing (Collector's Edition))](and the basic plot element has been used many more times) but this particular edition of Campbell/Stuart's short stories, beautifully printed and bound, is the way to go if you don't already own a copy of this story (and even if you do!). NESFA's (New England Science Fiction Association) books are all priced reasonably and are printed and bound to a much higher standard than run-of-the-mill books.
Anyone buying this edition will be pleased both with its content (most important, of course) and with its presentation. It is a beautiful book.
In addition to John Campbell's stories, it contains an excellent appreciation and semi-biography of Campbell entitled "The Man Who Lost the Sea," written by Barry N. Malzberg. I suspect that John Campbell would have been annoyed to see this article in print - he did not like to see himself as the subject of any article - but he would have grudgingly appreciated its literary quality. I can tell you that it brought back many memories to me!
Amazon sells most, if not all, of NESFA's science fiction books (all of which are produced to the same high standard). I highly recommend them all in general and this one in particular.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
