Synopsis
Carson is a scout ship pilot for the Earth armada, but wakes up in a dome on blue sand. A barrier seperates him from his enemy. Only one of them can ever leave.
History
First publication: Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1944
1945 RetroHugo finalist for best novelette.
Review
This is a very famous story, partly from being used for a Star Trek episode. That episode doesn’t meet the brilliance of the original story. It’s great for how it puts representatives of two races in a situation where one can only survive by using brains and courage to outwit the other. This is an excellent example of the best of Golden Age Astounding science fiction. Brown imagines an alien really well and writes the story in a way that grabs you and holds you all the way through. Highly recommended.
Videos
We have the story in these editions:
The Best of Fredric Brown, edited by Robert Bloch, hardcover, Nelson Doubleday / SFBC, 1977-01-00
The Great SF Stories 6 (1944), edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg, paperback, DAW Books, 1981-12-00
Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1944, edited by John W. Campbell, Jr., magazine, Street & Smith, 1944-06-00
Science Fiction Terror Tales, edited by Groff Conklin, paperback, Pocket Books, 1969-09-00
