Thirteen O'clock

Please give me a helpful vote at https://www.amazon.com/review/R2WDQVA5XYTGLL/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

This is a very minor - essentially forgotten - work from a very great writer.

C. M. Kornbluth died much too young, after writing some great science fiction short stories and novels. He undoubtedly had in him a novel that would have redefined science fiction if time had permitted him to write it.

This short story is entertaining but minor. Peter Packer inherits his grandfather's house. He discovers a strange clock that goes to “13” and - boom, zoom - Peter slips into an alternate universe where magic seems to work. The magical universe is a parody of our own with trolls and anachronistic resemblances to mid-20th Century America. Peter meets a girl, loses the girl, rescues the girl and gets home again. It is thoroughly predictable and all in good fun. Kornbluth was just playing around with this story.

The average reader can pass this by and never miss it. A modern reader might find it curiously dated. On the other other hand, if you are a fan of the great writers of science fiction, you will want to read this as a guilty pleasure.