Charles V. De Vet 17 min read

A conceited, thoroughly disliked man is carried in state before ribbon-clad natives on a red-sand world, sure, as always, that everyone loves him.

Charles V. De Vet's 1955 story watches the resentful crew hauling the self-important Bruckner toward a native chief, setting up a wry comeuppance among the alien tribes. Sharp, character-driven social SF with a satisfying satirical edge. Read it for a pointed golden-age tale about vanity meeting its match on an alien world.

In its time

Published in 1955, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

17 min read (a short story, a single idea, delivered and gone).

Illustrated by

Sandy Kossin