Eric Frank Russell
by George Alex Windish

Long before James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Jean-Luc Picard and Data explored the spaceways with crews of assorted human and extraterrestrials aboard the various incarnations of the Enterprise, there soared the crew of Jay Score, McNulty, and a group of chess-playing, many-tentacled, thin-air breathing Martians aboard the Upskadaska City, affectionately known as the Upsydaisy.

In 1955, a collection of four novelettes were published in a volume called MEN, MARTIANS, AND MACHINES by Eric Frank Russell. The stories recounted the adventures of the Upsydaisy's crew on three different planets, and in the darkness of space. The first story, called simply "Jay Score," relates how the huge android willingly sacrifices himself for the safety of the crew, Perhaps the best story in the collection, it highlights Russell's strength as a science-fiction writer. It might be far in the future, he posits, but compassion is a shared trait of every species.

Eric Frank Russell was born in England in 1905 and died in 1976. The years between were full. His youth was spent traveling through Egypt and the Sudan, and he went on from there to study such subjects as chemistry and metallurgy.

In 1939, his first novel was published and he began a career that included many novels and even more short stories.

It can be said that Eric Frank Russell was a "pulp" writer. Maybe he was. But the stories he wrote portrayed the future with such optimism that they should not be overlooked.

George Alex Windish has been writing for many years, and has become a better typist, if nothing else. He has placed nearly a dozen short stories of horror and science fiction, has had a weekly column in a local Baltimore newspaper, and has written for and edited COUNTRY LINE, a small Pennsylvania magazine. He has also done ad copy and correspondence for businesses.  He has long been a fan of genre literature and truly tacky movies, as well as being a collector of vintage records.  Contact him at GeorgeWindish@aol.com. 

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