5 Stories: The Confluence of "Best of Frederick Pohl"s

Here are the five stories that Lester del Rey and James Frenkel agreed were among Pohl's best.  Of course, del Rey did not have the advantage of knowing Frenkel's choicees and Frenkel did. So del Rey may have influenced Frenkel to one degree or another, but it's hard to say. Frenkel seemed to have wise things to say about some of these, so it seems not necessarily a compulsion or influence but a selection.  

What's interesting is finding great works of SF that other editors missed.

• Let the Ants Try • (1949) • 

This is a solid story if problematic. Still interesting. I suspect that Pohl's saying this was his first good story may have influenced the editors' choice.

• The Day the Icicle Works Closed • (1960) •  

Creative pyromania. Perhaps a little messy, coloring outside the lines. But perhaps charming because of this. Influenced a minor pop/synth/alternative band who had a handful of international hits. One would want to reread out of sheer pleasure of its inventive spree.

• Speed Trap • (1967) • 

• The Day the Martians Came • (1967) • 

While I can see why some editors and award-voters might have passed on these, the above two works are truly great works of SF that require careful reading. Not to be missed, just because others may not have been paying attention.  

• Day Million • (1966) •

Pohl's most lauded work. Perhaps overrated (a perspective dependent on aesthetics over politics). Thought-provoking, yes, but passable fiction. Because it is much loved by some, it may be need to be included in any Pohl retrospective. I will give a few more empathetic reads and offer a third assessment at later date. (link to the tougher assessment of "Day Million")

"The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by Frederik Pohl & The Icicle Works (Band)

 First appeared in H. L. Gold's Galaxy. Reprinted in a retrospective by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. A British band, The Icicle Works, borrowed the name for their name. Both Lester del Rey and James Frenkel collected this as one of Pohl's best.

Summary:

A lawyer, Milo Pulchur wants to understand what is really happening to young people who have been arrested for kidnapping in order to escape their homeworld, Altair Nine. What they are doing to make money and a chance misunderstanding (of who Milo is) leads him to understand what is going on.

 

Discussion (part 1 -- the Title: meaning for the story and the band):

1.a. The Story

It's hard to say what Pohl meant by the title. The icicle works is an excuse to explore a completely different idea. Even "Day" could mean the day or a period of time though it must mean the later since the actual day is irrelevant to story. It probably should say "the day after" so that consequences after the death (rather, so called "death") of industries could be discussed.  

Apparently on Altair Nine ("Altair," some sources say, is a falcon; some a flying eagle. Google Translate simply calls it "birds" which coincides nicely with The Icicle Works most famous song "Birds Fly"--however, the "Nine" suggests eight others had this same idea or perhaps that they are the eighth colony of the original Altair planet), ice formed around airborne organic particles with antibiotic properties and fell as snow. This was presumably processed by the icicle works and became the planet's only export. A way of processing the chemicals synthetically called the Gumpert Process made the exports unnecessary. However, it doesn't make sense that a distant planet would export such a chemical over interstellar distances and hope to make  a profit unless it was insanely pricey and had insanely valuable antibiotic. That Pohl dreamed up and killed this industry suggests he was less interested in the industry than in the consequences for its lose. 

Because the industry is a larger part of the title than it contributes to the story itself, a term which sounds absurd without the elaborate explanation, suggests that Pohl may have had other intentions such as creating 1) a mystery, 2) a joke, 3) a mood, 4) a culture, 5) readerly estrangement, 6) some combination of the above.

1.b. Icicle Works, the Band 

The band The Icicle Works seem to have chosen it for similar reasons. In a 1984 interview, lead singer/guitarist/keyboard player Ian McNabb, said he liked "silly names" for bands. He called the book "nonsense," which may or may not be dismissive of the work, but it sounded like it, which is odd since Pohl may have used the term in the same way. On the other hand, perhaps "nonsense" was the sense he was seeking--or sense through nonsense. It may be that McNabb himself never read it, but a band member had. Or maybe he'd loved science fiction (as a 2023 interview suggests by a band putting on an act with an SF theme) and just went perusing books for a title that fit what they were trying to do.

Their top British charting single (#15), for instance--"Love Is a Wonderful Colour"--shows a kind of lyrical synesthesia (if one could transfer an emotion to a color), creating a kind of, in SF terms, estrangement. It treads near but isn't nonsense, asking people to return to love after difficulties.

"Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" is perhaps their most famous in the world, charting in the Top 40 for the US and Top 20 for Canada, having appeared in Stranger Things (season 2). The title originally was Elvis Costello's, but they took off the "From" which opens it more meanings (or perhaps none). At least part of their modus operandi seems to be thwarting meaning, but there may be some sense of self-definition, of encompassing/accepting all emotions. Perhaps the lyrics are of the type that allows the listener to pour in their own feelings and come up with their own meaning.

Pohl's story didn't seem to have an immediate impact on the genre except for del Rey who first selected it as one of his best. Even then, it didn't see a reprint until after the band's appearance, which Pohl quite rightly took some pride in, especially since it had moderate impact on the culture in the early 80s. The band, too, should probably embrace its namesake.

Discussion (part 2 -- the story itself -- spoilers):

What happens when an area's industry, known for this one thing, dies?

There a number of ghost towns that may be one answer, if not the primary one. Perhaps Pohl is exploring the process before it becomes a ghost planet. People are resorting to crimes in order to survive and escape. But even the rich are resorting to crime in this case. Using the poor who are selling their bodies as victims for whatever they plan to do while in this disguise.

However, it turns out the Gumpert Process is a sham, rigged so that the real criminal could buy up shares in the company. For some reason, this gets the kidnappers off the hook for their crime (presumably they would not have tried to kidnap if it hadn't been for the true criminal).

I'm not sure if I've seen this SF trope of "riders" from this angle before. This may be why Lester del Rey chose it, and part of the reason why Asimov and Greenberg chose it for theirs.

It may not be one of the greats of SF, but certainly one of the more inventive and fascinating.