Fredric Brown Books In Order

Publication Order of Ed & Am Hunter Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of The Outer Limits Collections

Publication Order of Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Fredric Brown was an American science fiction, fantasy, mystery and thrillers author. He has considered one of the boldest early writers in the fiction genre thanks to his use of narrative experimentation. Like Franz Kafka, he was never a popular author in his lifetime, and his popularity only rose almost half a century later after he wrote. His books have been reprinted due to the growing demand from his worldwide fan base and most notably in Europe and the United States. Some of Fredric Brown’s books have been adapted into movies in France.
Like most pulp writers, Brown was never financially secure, and this forced him to write at a fast and furious pace to pay his bills. This is the evident uneven quality of his work. Working as a professional newspaperman, Brown only spared 14 years of his life to write full-time. Besides writing, he was also a heavy drinker, and at times it affected his productivity. Brown’s interest extended far beyond those of most pulp writers, and he had a lifelong interest in chess, poker, flute and the works of Lewis Carroll.

Fredric Brown’s 1954 book, Martians, Go Home is a clever novel that treads on the fine line between serious fiction and absurdity as it has an important message to deliver about humanity while at the same time tormenting the readers with nasty Martians who want nothing more than annoy us. On the other hand, we are introduced to Luke Devereaux struggling with his life, wife, and writing career. We also have the Martians who force our character and the rest of the Earth’s population to reconsider how they treat each other.

The aliens take center stage as millions and billions of them arrive on Earth. They are nonphysical, but that does not make them helpless as they have X-ray vision and are capable of learning the human language in a matter of hours hence making them capable of learning all human secrets. The Martians also have the ability to teleport, so whenever a human tries to speak, the Martians interfere and reveal the truth hence exposing the humans to their own half-truths. There appears to be no point in what they do except annoy the humans since they can’t touch or interact with them humans. And worse enough, they won’t leave. The book incorporates the old saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, as even the countries caught in the Cold War are forced to collaborate to try to get rid of the Martians. The narrative shifts from what’s happening with Luke to what’s happening with the world. The main character, Luke, serves as the connection to the narrative, but the world, in general, is the core in which science fiction comes to play.

This is a traditional alien invasion fiction, modelled after H.G. Wells and written in the style of Pulp Magazine. Fredric Brown likes subverting genre notions of brave earthlings battling cunning aliens while clinging to a damsel in scant, torn attire. He begins with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, yet there is something substantial, keen, and perceptive underneath the humor. Brown is not content with simply exploiting the concept for laughs; he also employs social satire: perhaps we have welcomed such cruel behavior from the Martians by our recent treatment of one another and the Earth. Perhaps a society that falls apart so readily when privacy is denied was founded on bad ideals, to begin with.

What could the little aliens want with the humans? Do they want to help the humans overcome their own idiocy? Or are they here to prevent us from exporting our idiocy to the stars? Since they won’t stop and explain their intentions to us, how can we convince them that we are smart enough? Can we make them go away?

What Mad Universe opens up with a rocket sent to the moon? The rocket is equipped with a device that emits a powerful flash such that the people of Earth can see it as evidence of the landing. Unfortunately, the rocket fails and falls back to Earth, killing people and sending Keith Winton to an alternate reality. A world where everything is a duplicate of what he left on Earth. The alternate world has a habitable moon, planets, and alien monsters that are attacking Earth.

After a terrifying night in which he narrowly survived his life, Keith, with any luck, returns to New York and begins studying the history of the world. There are daily moon shuttles, star travel, and a conflict with the Arcs. A war that would have been lost without Dopelle.
What Mad Universe is humorous, arising mostly from the depiction of the protagonist’s culture shock and the strange phenomena in the world, such as sewing machines that pave the path for space travel. In this Universe, H. G. Wells did not pen a fictitious description of a Martian incursion of Earth, but rather a nonfictional political tract vehemently opposing the invasion and settlement of Mars by humans. A half-serious, half-humorous reflection on modern life and the realities of our planet, its lighthearted tone would be elaborated upon by following works, most notably Martians, Go Home, published in 1955. The concept of mankind encountering an intransigently hostile extraterrestrial species determined on its annihilation, with whom no discussion or compromise is imaginable, is similar to that of “Arena,” an earlier short tale by Fredric Brown.

Upon its publication, What Mad Universe received positive acclaim, with McComas and Boucher naming it the best science fiction book of 1949. They went further to cite it as the best blend of logic, humor, satire and terror. Others, such as P. Schuyler Miller, highly praised the book, and Ben Ostrander reviewed it in The Space Gamer No. 18 and stated that the book tells us something about ourselves as science fiction readers. If you enjoy reading classic science fiction books with plenty of humor and satire, then Fredric Brown’s books should be on your priority list.