Synopsis
A man owns a singing-flower shop in Vermillion Sands. A woman cabaret singer comes to town and the two of them get involved, along with his plants.
History
First publication: Science Fantasy, December 1956
Review
Ballard is an amazing writer. His stories are like paintings, full of amazing imagery and imaginings. This story is about a brief affair in a strange place and time, with a beautiful exotic woman. It is also about his plants, which have the ability to sing. Ballard gives few details about his world, but apparently there are a lot of mutations among life on earth. Or maybe Vermillion Sands is an alien world? The details are enough to make the story fascinating, but not enough to destroy the mystery. Unfortunately too little detail to make this story a Top Tale, but there is a whole series about Vermillion Sands. Maybe after reading the rest it will all come together. And this is only Ballard’s second professional sale. Recommended.
Videos
We have the story in these editions:
The Complete Short Stories, hardcover, Flamingo, 2001-11-00
Billennium, paperback, Berkley, 1962-00-00
Vermillion Sands, paperback, Carroll & Graf, 1988-09-00
Vermillion Sands, trade paperback, J. M. Dent Everyman Fiction, 1985-00-00
All of the stories in the Vermillion Sands series:
Prima Belladonna
Venus Smiles
Studio 5, the Stars
The Thousand Dreams of Stellavista
The Singing Statues
The Screen Game
Cry Hope, Cry Fury!
The Cloud-Sculptors of Coral D
Say Goodbye to the Wind
