Wilhelm, Kate (1928– )

During the 1950s Kate Wilhelm wrote predominantly conventional science fiction stories. These
stories were occasionally quite striking, although
she would not begin to produce top quality work
until the 1970s. Among the better early stories
were “The Mile Long Spaceship” (1956), “A Is for
Automation” (1959), “The Last Days of the Captain” (1963), and “Andover and the Android”
(1963), all of which only hinted at her skills,
chiefly in the deft manner in which she created her
characters. Many of these were collected in
The
Mile Long Spaceship
(1963, also published as Andover and the Android). Her first novel was a mystery. Her second, The Clone (1965), written in
collaboration with Theodore L. Thomas, is a superior quasi-monster story. The clone in this case is a
rapidly replicating cell that converts all organic
matter into additions to its own substance, similar
to
The Blob of movie fame. The Nevermore Affair
(1966) involves a secret government project exploring ways to extend human longevity. The Killer
Thing
(1967, also published as The Killing Thing)
was less interesting, pitting humans against an ancient alien device driven by universal xenophobia
in a style reminiscent of the B
ERSERKER SERIES by
Fred S
ABERHAGEN. Let the Fire Fall (1969) was
more successful and began the transition to more
thoughtful work. Aliens arrive on Earth and receive a decidedly unfriendly welcome, as a consequence of which they arrange some pointed
revenge.
The Year of the Cloud (1970), again written with Theodore L. Thomas, is an effective but
predictable story of ecological disaster following a
major climatic change.
Wilhelm’s short fiction improved more rapidly
than her longer work. “The Planners” (1968) won
a Nebula Award, and
The Downstairs Room (1968)
was noticeably better than most stories in her first
collection. More excellent stories soon followed,
including “How Many Miles to Babylon?” (1968),
“Somerset Dreams” (1969), “The Infinity Box”
(1971), and “Whatever Happened to the Olmecs?”
(1973).
City of Cain (1974), the story of a man
with the ability to eavesdrop on the thoughts of
others, who inadvertently discovers a plot to install
a military dictatorship, was only a moderately convincing thriller.
The Clewiston Test (1976), the
story of illegal medical experimentation, is only
marginally science fiction, although it has some intriguing feminist content. Her next novel,
Where
Late the Sweet Birds Sang
(1976), would surpass
all previous expectations, winning a Hugo Award.
It is still one of the best novels about cloning. In
this case, a wealthy family creates an elaborate
shelter in anticipation of the next war, and when
the expected conflict finally erupts, they are isolated from the rest of the world. In the generations
that follow, they become increasingly infertile,
eventually turning to cloning in order to reproduce
themselves.
Juniper Time (1979) was another impressive effort. The children of a scientist develop differing
priorities in a future in which Earth has been ravaged by drought and famine. In
A Sense of Shadow
(1981), a wealthy man’s legacy to his estranged
children is an experimental process designed to
alter the way their brains work.
Welcome, Chaos
(1983) describes the battle for control of a process
that could extend the human lifespan indefinitely.
A man is literally separated from his physical body
in
Crazy Time (1988), and an alien probe, designed
to be harmless, malfunctions when it reaches Earth
and becomes a destructive force in
The Dark Door
(1988). A young child exhibits extraordinary mental powers in Naming the Flowers (1992).
Wilhelm’s recent novels have been primarily
detective stories that occasionally involve fantastic
elements. Her output of short stories decreased
dramatically in the early 1980s, but she had already
produced a considerable body of first-rate fiction
and had proven to be particularly effective at novelette length. Her collections are
Abyss (1967),
Somerset Dreams and Other Fictions (1978), Children of the Wind (1989), Listen, Listen (1991), State
of Grace
(1991), And the Angels Sing (1992), and A
Flush of Shadows
(1995). Among the best of her
later stories are “The Funeral” (1972), “The Girl
Who Fell into the Sky” (1985), and the time travel
story “Forever Yours, Anna” (1986). These last two
both won Nebula Awards. Wilhelm is a thoughtful,
talented writer whose insights into the human
character are almost always more impressive than
the overt events that take place in her plots.

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *