ALLAMAGOOSA: by Eric Frank Russell

[Bill Ryan]

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58 years ago, Eric Frank Russell wrote Allamagoosa, the funniest science fiction short story it’s ever been my delight to read.

http://projectavalon.net/Allamagoosa.pdf

In this exquisite little tale, the captain of a space cruiser is notified that there is to be a mandatory routine inventory inspection. It’s a hassle, but he must comply. After days of work, everything is accounted for except for one item, which reads simply: "offog, one".

No-one can explain the 'offog', and no-one has a clue what it is. Fearful of admitting to his superiors that the item has been lost, he fabricates a little white lie that he’s awfully sorry, but the 'offog' had disintegrated in a hyperspace jump.

The story ends with the captain staring at an urgent telex recalling every ship in the galactic fleet, at a cost of trillions of dollars, pending a serious, official investigation....

[Mike]

hilarious!

some of the dialogue is reminiscent of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22", or Vonnegut.

did Russell write any novels, I wonder? (googling now)

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Chinaski (here)
hilarious!

some of the dialogue is reminiscent of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22", or Vonnegut.

did Russell write any novels, I wonder? (googling now)

He wrote quite a lot of stuff, including many short stories. He was often wonderfully funny. I devoured him as a kid, and loved his easy, casual style, that was so unpretentious and easy to read. I've laughed out loud at Allamagoosa (probably his funniest story) each of the many times I've read it.

[Mike]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Frank_Russell

seems he was Vonnegut before Vonnegut. i'm not too terribly well read, but i'm still shocked I haven't heard of the man. his novel WASP would seem to be way ahead of its time.

the easy, casual style is what made me keep reading Allamagoosa. so strange: even after reading just this one story, I can see his influence everywhere. very funny!

[Maknocktomb]

That was an opper-pooper of a story!

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Chinaski (here)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Frank_Russell

seems he was Vonnegut before Vonnegut. i'm not too terribly well read, but i'm still shocked I haven't heard of the man. his novel WASP would seem to be way ahead of its time.

the easy, casual style is what made me keep reading Allamagoosa. so strange: even after reading just this one story, I can see his influence everywhere. very funny!

OK, here's WASP.

• http://avalonlibrary.net/ebooks/Eric...20-%20WASP.pdf

From the Wikipedia entry:

Wasp is a 1957 science fiction novel by English author Eric Frank Russell. Terry Pratchett (author of the Discworld series of fantasy books) stated that he "can't imagine a funnier terrorists' handbook." Wasp is generally considered Russell's best novel.

[Carmody]

Another of the comedic greats was Robert Sheckley.

Which is where I get my 'nom de plume' from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimension_of_Miracles

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Carmody (here)
Another of the comedic greats was Robert Sheckley.

Which is where I get my 'nom de plume' from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimension_of_Miracles

Yep!

I love Robert Sheckley. He and Eric Frank Russell were ridiculously funny (and inventive!) -- a great deal of the time.

[Bill Ryan]

Hello, Everyone:

I came across this again just now. I've read it many times over the years, and each time it makes me literally laugh out loud. A most gorgeous, clever little story, now 63 years young. It takes just 10 minutes to read. Do enjoy.