Synopsis
A couple looks to buy a house in Vermillion Sands on Stellavista, where the houses are all psychotropic. They become interested in the house that belonged to tragic movie star Gloria Tremayne.
History
First publication: Amazing, March 1962
Review
What would you do if you wanted to update The Fall of the House of Usher to a modern day story? You would get this one. Once again Ballard proves his genius in this story of a house that is tied to the psyche of it’s owners and the past events. This has an SF/technical explanation, but still I can see the connection to Poe. On its own, this story is excellent. The characters are good, but the house is the real star. Ballard brings it to life nicely. His usual excellent prose adds to the brilliance of this one. Absolutely recommended.
Videos
We have the story in these editions:
The Complete Short Stories, hardcover, Flamingo, 2001-11-00
Vermillion Sands, paperback, Carroll & Graf, 1988-09-00
Vermillion Sands, trade paperback, J. M. Dent Everyman Fiction, 1985-00-00
Amazing Stories, March 1962, edited by Cele Goldsmith, magazine, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, 1962-03-00
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
