Haffner Press publisher Stephen Haffner tells us the genesis behind his newest 588-page hardcover book, Detour to Otherness by Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore, with an introduction by Robert Silverberg, afterword by Frederik Pohl, and cover art by Richard Powers.
In 1961 (two years after Kuttner’s death), Ballantine Books published Bypass to Otherness, a paperback collection of some of Henry Kuttner’s (and C.L. Moore’s) best short stories. Several selections were drawn from Kuttner’s popular series such as the “Hogbens” (comedic otherworldly hillbillies living in America), “Gallegher Galloway” (scientist who invents technical marvels only when intoxicated), and the “Baldies” stories eventually collected in Mutant. Bypass… was projected as the first of three “Otherness” collections of Kuttner’s short fiction. Return to Otherness followed in 1962 with eight more stories. And then… nothing. The third “Otherness” collection never appeared. Now, almost fifty years later, Haffner Press announces Detour to Otherness: a massive hardcover assembling the contents of both Bypass to Otherness and Return to Otherness, and adding eight additional stories selected for their scarcity, quality, and sheer entertainment value. Grand Masters Robert Silverberg and Frederik Pohl provide introductory and afterword materials to the book, and the whole affair is decorated with an unpublished painting by Richard Powers. An extra touch is the gold foil-stamping of the authors’ autographs onto the front board.
The table of contents for the new book is:
Introduction by Robert Silverberg
Bypass to Otherness:
Cold War
Call Him Demon
The Dark Angel
The Piper’s Son
Absalom
The Little Things
Nothing but Gingerbread Left
Housing Problem
Return to Otherness:
See You Later
This is the House
The Proud Robot
Gallegher Plus
The Ego Machine
Android
The Sky is Falling
Juke-Box
Detour to Otherness:
Open Secret
All is Illusion
Rite of Passage
Baby Face
Happy Ending
The Children’s Hour
Dream’s End
Near Miss
Afterword by Frederik Pohl