Science Fiction Classic--"The Isolinguals" by L. Sprague de Camp

Science Fiction Classic--"The Isolinguals" by L. Sprague de Camp

In an effort to rekindle interest in classic Science Fiction, I will be posting a small excerpt from various short stories from yesteryear in the coming days. This is the first of those excerpts:


"The Isolinguals"--L. Sprague de Camp (first published in Astounding Science Fiction, September 1937)

Note: This was de Camp's first published work.

Nick looked at the cop, and the cop looked at Nick. The fruit vendor's friendly smile suddenly froze. The cop didn't know it, but something had gone ping inside Nick's head. He wasn't Niccolo Franchetti any longer. He was Decimus Agricola, engineering officer of the good old XXXIInd Legion. He had been standing behind his...

If you would like to read the entire story, there are many Science Fiction anthologies with this story included. The one comes to my mind right away is, "Wondrous Beginnings" from DAW Books.

I truely hope this series of Science Fiction story excerpts will bring new people to the classics and bring back those that have left the fold.

If you enjoy this series of Science Fiction short story excerpts, I urge you to leave a few comments to let me know. If there is something particular you would like to see as a part of this series, please let me know. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to The Sci-Fi Dude update list, using the form on the right, and/or the RSS feed so you’ll be the first to know when a new entry is posted.

The next Science Fiction Classic will be “The Runaway Skyscraper” by Murray Leinster.