Fredric Brown’s novels, short stories, and short-shorts have found their way into many film and tv shows over the years, with and without attribution. What sets Brown apart from (and above) most science fiction writers of the dubiously named “Golden Age” of science fiction is his use of irony and humor. Such is not to say that Brown shies away from dark territory. He doesn’t. He also tackles issues such a racism, which was far from fashionable for a pulp writer to do in the 1950’s. Yet for all the weight he foists upon his characters, Brown doesn’t always force them to slog through their stories with the grim, overly serious determination and moral certainty that has so often thrust me into the flaccid clutches of boredom. Honeymoon in Hell contains the eponymous short story along with many of Brown’s short-shorts, of which he was a master.
Honeymoon in Hell
p.j. taegel 