Review: “The Transmutation of Muddles” by H. B. Fyfe (1960)

Posted on January 14th, 2008

I was going to pass on this one because of the goofy title, but it was short so I went ahead and gave it a shot. Not to mention I actually looked forward to it once I read the blurb:

An experienced horse-trader, bargain-haggler, and general swapper has a very special talent for turning two headaches into one aspirin pill….

From what I recall, I was surprised as I read it to find that I was enjoying the story of a government arbitrator sent to an alien planet opening up to trade. The arbitrator was needed to mediate between the natives, who impounded a trading ship that emergency landed on their temple site, the ship owner, who wanted his insurance company to pay up, and the claim adjuster who, not surprisingly, didn’t want to pay, arguing that the ship didn’t actually wreck, it was just impounded by the locals and therefore a job for whatever the galactic Space Police were called in the story.

The arbitrator, playing a bit fast and loose, ends up finding a creative way to solve the situation to hopefully everyone’s satisfaction.

This story is like cotton candy, a pleasant brief flavor which instantly melts away. I read this story just a short while ago and while I can remember being diverted and maybe even slightly amused, I can’t recall why or muster any feelings about it one way or the other. The illustrations by Van Dongen are a little on the cartoonish side.

I guess I would rate it Fair. If you are looking for a brief but likely soon forgotten diversion, give it a taste at Project Gutenberg in a couple flavors or Manybooks.net in more.

Tags: free science fiction, public domain science fiction, Review, speculative fiction
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