Detour to Otherness

In 1961, 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), "Gallagher 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 8 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 8 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and Frederik Pohl provide introductory and afterword materials to the book, and the whole affair is decorated with an unpublished painting by Richard Powers.

Table of Contents
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