- "Operation Ladybird" by Jay Williams. An invasion of Venus isn't what it seems. The writer seems a little oblivious to anything other than the particular points he set out to make. It's not boring, though. 2.5/4 (Okay).

- "The Ultimate Split Second" (science column) by Isaac Asimov. Asimov has a novel way of helping people visualize how short various impossibly-short fractions of time are. It doesn't occur to him that people who don't already understand this have no reason to care. 1/4 (Bad).

- "Day at the Beach" by Carol Emshwiller. Four years after a nuclear apocalypse, an family desperately tries to have a normal day out. This is very relatable in 2022. 3/4 (Good).

- "The Walker-Through-Walls" by Marcel Aymé. An uninteresting man discovers he is able to walk through walls. It's not much of a story, but it has an amusing delivery. 3/4 (Good).

- "Brave to Be a King" by Poul Anderson. A time-traveler accidentally becomes emperor of Persia. It's three or four times as long as it has any reason to be. There's some action and adventure, but not enough to keep it interesting. And in the end the whole thing basically boils down to a set-up for a misogynist "joke." 1/4 (Bad).

- "The Rosebud" by Ray Russell. A baby has a third ear because "evolution." What? 0/4 (Terrible).

- "The Innocence of Evil" (books column) by Damon Knight. A review of two horror collections digresses into speculation about why the genre is coming back into popularity after 15 years. It's all BS, but it's somewhat fascinating to see the perspective of someone from a time when horror was apparently not popular. I didn't know that was a thing. 2.5/4 (Okay).

- "Ferdinand Feghoot: XVII" by Grendel Briarton. Another joke getting paid by the word. The first few paragraphs of this aren't even related to the eventual pun. 1/4 (Bad).

- "Empty Nest" by Kit Reed. A nosy woman's neighbor is some sort of bird monster? Or maybe just related to bird monsters? It doesn't make any sense. 0/4 (Terrible).

- "Me" (verse) by Hilbert Schenck, Jr. 1/4 (Bad).

- "Obituary" by Isaac Asimov. An abusive husband is determined to be a famous physicist, or else. It's a crime story set in a sci-fi scenario where Asimov gets to invent all the arbitrary rules he wants, to suit his murder twist. That doesn't work. 1.5/4 (Meh).

- "Pact" by Winston P. Sanders. A demon summons a human. Cute concept, but it doesn't quite work as a story. 2.5/4 (Okay).

(Mar. 2022) ( )