Science Fiction Carnival is an anthology of humorous science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 stories edited by Fredric Brown

Fredric Brown

Fredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was born in Cincinnati.He had two sons: James Ross Brown and Linn Lewis Brown ....

 and Mack Reynolds

Mack Reynolds

Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Clark Collins, Mark Mallory, Guy McCord, Dallas Ross and Maxine Reynolds. Many of his stories were published in Galaxy Magazine and Worlds of If Magazine...

. It was published by Shasta Publishers

Shasta Publishers

Shasta Publishers was a science fiction and fantasy small press specialty publishing house founded in 1947 by Erle Melvin Korshak, T. E. Dikty, and Mark Reinsberg, who were all science fiction fans from the Chicago area...

 in 1953

1953 in literature

The year 1953 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* January 22 - The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, opens on Broadway....

 in an edition of 3,500 copies. Most of the stories originally appeared in the magazines Super Science Stories

Super Science Stories

Super Science Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 and 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their "Fictioneers" imprint, which they used for magazines paying writers less than one cent per word...

, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Astounding, Worlds Beyond

Worlds Beyond (magazine)

Worlds Beyond was an American digest magazine of science fiction and fantasy fiction in 1950 and 1951. The magazine only issued three monthly issues, from December 1950 to February 1951, but is notable for having printed stories by Cyril M...

, Slant

Slant (fanzine)

Slant was a science fiction fanzine edited by Walt Willis in collaboration with James White. It won the retro-Hugo for Best Fanzine of 1954, awarded in 2004....

, Imagination

Imagination (magazine)

Imagination was an American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in October 1950 by Raymond Palmer's Clark Publishing Company. The magazine was sold almost immediately to Greenleaf Publishing Company, owned by William Hamling, who published and edited it from the third issue,...

,, Space Science Fiction

Space Science Fiction

Space Science Fiction was a science fiction magazine published by Space Publications, Inc. of New York and The Archer Press Ltd. of London that ran for eight issues from May 1952 to September 1953. Space was edited by Lester del Rey and featured a monthly book review column by George O. Smith...

, Thrilling Wonder Stories and Blue Book

Blue Book (magazine)

Blue Book was a popular 20th-century American magazine with a lengthy 70-year run under various titles from 1905 to 1975.Launched as The Monthly Story Magazine, it was published under that title from May 1905 to August 1906 with a change to The Monthly Story Blue Book Magazine for issues from...

.

Contents

• Introduction, by Fredric Brown
  Fredric Brown
  Fredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was born in Cincinnati.He had two sons: James Ross Brown and Linn Lewis Brown ....
  
  
• Preface, by Mack Reynolds
  Mack Reynolds
  Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Clark Collins, Mark Mallory, Guy McCord, Dallas Ross and Maxine Reynolds. Many of his stories were published in Galaxy Magazine and Worlds of If Magazine...
  
  
• "The Wheel of Time", by Robert Arthur
• "SRL Ad", by Richard Matheson
  Richard Matheson
  Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
  
  
• "A Logic Named Joe
  A Logic Named Joe
  "A Logic Named Joe" is a science fiction short story by Murray Leinster that was first published in the March 1946 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. The story actually appeared under Leinster's real name, Will F. Jenkins, since that issue of Astounding also included a story under the Leinster...
  
  ", by Murray Leinster
  Murray Leinster
  Murray Leinster was a nom de plume of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an award-winning American writer of science fiction and alternate history...
  
  
• "Simworthy’s Circus", by Larry Shaw
  Larry Shaw (editor)
  Lawrence Taylor Shaw was a Hugo Award-winning science fiction fan, author, editor and literary agent who usually published as Larry T. Shaw....
  
  
• "The Well-Oiled Machine", by H. B. Fyfe
• "Venus and the Seven Sexes", by William Tenn
  William Tenn
  William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass , a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements.-Early life:...
  
  
• "The Swordsmen of Varnis", by Clive Jackson
• "Paradox Lost", by Fredric Brown
  Fredric Brown
  Fredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was born in Cincinnati.He had two sons: James Ross Brown and Linn Lewis Brown ....
  
  
• "Muten", by Eric Frank Russell
  Eric Frank Russell
  Eric Frank Russell was a British author best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction and other pulp magazines. Russell also wrote horror fiction for Weird Tales, and...
  
  
• "The Martians and the Coys", by Mack Reynolds
  Mack Reynolds
  Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Clark Collins, Mark Mallory, Guy McCord, Dallas Ross and Maxine Reynolds. Many of his stories were published in Galaxy Magazine and Worlds of If Magazine...
  
  
• "The Ego Machine", by Henry Kuttner
  Henry Kuttner
  Henry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.-Early life:Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915...
  
  
• "The Cosmic Jackpot", by George O. Smith
  George O. Smith
  George Oliver Smith was an American science fiction author. He is not to be confused with George H. Smith, another American science fiction author.-Biography:...
  
  
• "The Abduction of Abner Greer", by Nelson S. Bond
  Nelson S. Bond
  Nelson Slade Bond was an American author who wrote extensively for books, magazines, radio, television and the stage....
  
  

Reception

P. Schuyler Miller

P. Schuyler Miller

Peter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...

gave the anthology a lukewarm review, saying "The only trouble with [the book] is that someone else got to all the best stories first."