Michael Shaara 12 min read

An odd old man who fishes, watches the sky, and tells tall tales to children has a secret, and the trouble with working wonders is that sometimes you must.

Michael Shaara's 1959 story sketches the mysterious, mail-less Mr. Jell on his riverbank, a gentle recluse whose quiet life hides a great problem. Warm, humane first-contact SF with a light touch. Read it for a charming golden-age tale about a kindly stranger and the wonders he'd rather not have to work.

In its time

Published in 1959, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

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

Illustrated by

Dick Francis