James H. Schmitz 48 min read

All Saturday night rain drums unseasonably on Sweetwater Beach, and Mel Armstrong lies snug and slightly swacked in bed, admiring the racket, waking to a cloudless, exceptionally beautiful Sunday.

James H. Schmitz's 1959 story is a warm first-contact and psi-powers tale that opens on an idyllic morning. Sharp, engaging golden-age SF. Read it for a story where a contented man's perfect beach weekend takes an unexpected turn, as the summer guests of the title make themselves known.

In its time

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

Reading it

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

Illustrated by

Wallace Wood