James McKimmey 29 min read

The blustering, thick-shouldered George H. Cutter strides into his own company shouting at the truck driver, a self-made man about to meet his match.

James McKimmey's 1954 story sets up its social-SF comeuppance around an arrogant California businessman under a bright, indifferent sun. Sharp, character-driven golden-age SF. Read it for a satisfying tale about a big-shot who has a confidence game of his own coming to him.

In its time

Published in 1954, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

29 min read (a novelette, room for a turn or two).