MARLEY'S CHAIN - Alan E. Nourse


 Author Alan E. Nourse was one of the first authors I had read that led to a long history of reading science fiction. For a few decades now I've felt as though I've outgrown Nourse's work but when I came across the free download of this story I thought it would be nice to give the author a read again.

In this story, Tam has returned to Earth after spending a long time working in space.  But men such as he are known as "Sharkie's" and Sharkies are not welcomed. His clothes are shabby and his meager belongings don't look much better. All he wants is another job, to keep himself busy and productive, but no one will even give him the time of day.

Tam visits an old school chum who is in a position to hire but the most he can promise Tam is a chance for a job on Mercury, but Tam knows that's a death sentence. Without a job prospect, Tam is willing to take matters into his own hands.

Much of this story feels dated - I could pretty well guess when it was written, just by the style of writing. However, the social commentary 'hidden' here is pretty powerful and seems rather risky for this time period.

I'm not sure I'm ready to sit down and read a whole bunch of stories from this time period, but I enjoyed reading this story and would enjoy a few more such stories scattered among my reading lists.

Looking for a good book? Alan E. Nourse's short story "Marley's Chain" is a surprisingly powerful short story, written in 1952, that still could surprise readers today.

3-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

"Marley's Chain"

author: Alan E. Nourse

publisher: Aegypan

ISBN: 1606644920

paperback, 28 pages

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