Hollerbochen's Dilemma
"Hollerbochen's Dilemma" is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. Bradbury's first published work, it appeared in Forrest Ackerman's fanzine Imagination! in January 1938.[1]
Synopsis
[edit]Hollerbochen is precognitive, and has the ability to stop time to get out of danger, but when he is faced with too many threats at once, he explodes.
Reception
[edit]"Hollerbochen's Dilemma" was poorly received, with Bradbury subsequently writing "no one enjoyed my story" and "I think it was terrible myself".[2] Bradbury later wrote a sequel, "Hollerbochen Comes Back", in which a resurrected Hollerbochen rescues an imprisoned Bradbury and takes him to wreak wordplay-based vengeance on those who criticized the first story.[3] Bradbury biographer Jonathan Eller has suggested that, together, the two Hollerbochen stories provide a "first glimpse of Bradbury's lifelong defense mechanism against developing an overweening ego."[3]
In 2014, it was nominated for the 1939 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Short Story.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ The Forrest J Ackerman Oeuvre: A Comprehensive Catalog of the Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Screenplays, Film Appearances, Speeches and Other Works, with a Concise Biography, by Christopher M. O'Brien, published September 6, 2012, by McFarland and Company
- ^ Becoming Ray Bradbury, p 18, by Jonathan R. Eller; published August 10, 2011, by University of Illinois Press
- ^ a b Becoming Ray Bradbury, p 27, by Jonathan R. Eller; published August 10, 2011, by University of Illinois Press
- ^ 1939 Retro Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved August 11, 2018
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