The Machine in Shaft Ten and Other Stories

Harrison's first collection of short stories is a prime example of the ‘new wave' of fantasy and SF writing that emerged during the sixties and early seventies.

Subverting the conventions of genre, these stories exist on a plane of unease and decay, where nothing is certain. It begins with the title story, The Machine in Shaft Ten. A machine buried at the earth's core is the target of one scientists obsessive, destructive madness. It's a minor piece but sets the tone for the rest of the book.

The early classic Running Down features some of Harrison's favourite tropes: the strange loner, the devastating effects of decay, the old friend as narrator. It's a brilliant story.

Elsewhere we have three stories from the Viriconium cycle, including the very first (Lamia Mutable, here called The Bringer with The Window). A world away from Tolkienesque fantasy, these unsettling stories are full of vivid imagery and characters whose motives are hard to fathom.

The whole tone of the book is dark and filled with unease. Decay is everywhere, nothing is certain. In many cases a character's actions lead to disaster. Catastrophes beset the Earth, in some stories the invader is insectile, a trope that Harrison would revisit in the second Viriconium novel, A Storm of Wings.

This style of fiction won't be to everyone's taste, but I'm a fan, so it's been interesting to read Harrison's earliest works. I'd recommend all of his fictions. He really is a great writer.