Fredric Brown: reviews, quotes, and essential works

Fredric Brown

Writer

Forreaders of science fiction and mystery who enjoy satire, twist endings, and mid-century american settings.
3 Reviews 2 Definitions 1 Charts

The Profile

Fredric Brown (1906–1972) was an American author known for razor-sharp short-short stories and twist endings, moving nimbly between science fiction and mystery. His novel The Fabulous Clipjoint won the Edgar Award, Martians, Go Home became a genre classic, and his story Arena inspired a celebrated Star Trek episode.

Preferred the spelling Fredric; noted for precision, paradox, irony, and satire; passionate about his cat, the flute, and chess; sometimes rode buses for days for inspiration; acclaimed master of short-short stories; active across SF and mystery; Edgar Award winner for The Fabulous Clipjoint.

Reviews highlight Fredric Brown as a master of short-short stories, paradox, and razor-sharp satire. Cosmolinea B-1 & B-2 showcase his range and inventiveness. Marziani andate a casa turns the Martian invasion into anarchic comedy, while Gli strani suicidi di Bartlesville explores ESP-driven possession in a 1950s small town. Overall sentiment is strongly positive about his versatility and clever twists.

Notable Quotes

❝ “Man, a fleeting event, a parasite, a pawn; a million planets in the universe, each inhabited by a race of insects that constituted a single intelligence for that planet... and all the intelligences combined formed the single cosmic intelligence... God!”.

❝ “It’s not teleportation, said the Martian. It’s kwimm. For teleportation, you need a machine. Kwimm is mental. You can’t do it because you’re not intelligent enough. Luke took another sip. Did you come from Mars this way? Sure. A second before knocking on your door.”.