Intangibles, Inc.

Five classic science fiction and fantasy tales from the author of “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” the inspiration for the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

Science Fiction Grand Master Brian W. Aldiss was a prolific author, as well as a winner of two Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award. Originally published in 1969, Intangibles, Inc. collects five amazing short works from early in his career.

In “Neanderthal Planet,” an author is caught attempting to escape a zoo where human beings are sequestered and must explain his behavior to the ruling artificial intelligence. Unborn children in “Randy’s Syndrome” grow frustrated with the state of the world and revolt. A psychiatrist believes he’s Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria in “Send Her Victorious.” A strange little man peddles an even stranger product that rules the lives and deaths of its customers in the title tale. And in “Since the Assassination,” a political assassination, evidence of a time distortion, and a drug granting immortality could all spell disaster for Earth.

Each story in this anthology grapples with uniquely brilliant ideas, and together they vividly illustrate the powerful imagination of one of Britain’s greatest science fiction writers.