Henry Farrell 2 hr 15 min read

Shot at the microphone by a scar-faced gunman, Marc falls through a blinding sheet of flame, and elsewhere, beyond time and space, the High Council convenes as grey mists swirl.

Henry Farrell's 1952 story is a genial fantasy and social-SF romp starring his irrepressible dream-woman Toffee. Fun, breezy golden-age SF. Read it for a lively tale where a man's brush with death sends his imaginary sweetheart to the rescue across the boundaries of reality.

In its time

Published in 1952, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

2 hr 15 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).