Category Archives: 1960s

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We Specialists: a sci-fi story in the Reawakened Worlds, Vol. 1 anthology

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(John) Hayden Howard wrote his fictional short story We Specialists in 1967: three years after a horrific crime had been reported in the newspapers. Sixty years later, that case–and its reported “bystander effect”–is still discussed in countless psychology classes.

Page 60 of Reawakened Worlds, with the story We Specialists, by John Hayden Howard. Story written in 1967,

While Hayden couldn’t possibly have known that specific case would still be discussed sixty years later, it’s obvious it impacted him at the time. I know I never forgot the story from my own psych classes in the late 1970s. Imagine my surprise when I found something similar among Hayden Howard’s yellowing manuscripts.

I nearly missed the association with his character’s futuristic name: Kitty G-3, because he makes no mention of any news story. As with Hayden’s usual subtle style, he simply tells a story and lets readers experience their own “ah-hah!” moments.

For those of you unfamiliar with the original crime and hate spoilers, of course avoid Googling it. You can read John Hayden Howard’s sci-fi story in Reawakened Worlds Vol 1 before exploring the related news story. In the meantime, I’ll share no more details of the original crime previously mentioned!

Let’s focus instead on the underlying message in Hayden’s story:

Even in the distant future, no matter how high-tech that may be, I hope people will learn to all look out for each other. That, I’m sure, is the message Hayden meant to convey in We Specialists. That we can’t make excuses for not helping strangers, even if the government (as in his fiction story) were to attempt to box us into specific roles. That we should never become so desensitized to violence that we focus only on ourselves or on rules or laws.

Yes, this brief short story is one of violence. I’m not a fan of anything truly gory, but I’d give this short story a PG 13 rating for violence, as he focused more on the ridiculousness of allowing ourselves to be confined by roles that exclude helping others. Showing that ridiculousness, his last line referring to a Homicide Specialist is a real kicker.

About John Hayden Howard:

John Hayden Howard was well-known in the 1960s for his science fiction writing (see the International Science Fiction Database) but also had published many mysteries and detective stories, in magazines including Ellery Queen’s (originally called Ellery Queen) mystery magazine. Perhaps Hayden saw “We Specialists” as a bit of a crime and sci-fi genre merge. Here’s where you can find the story (one of eight):

To read descriptions of some of his other stories in Volume One, see my former posts on:

The Tragedy of Henry Diddoh: a 1950s Frankenstein-ish story in Reawakened Worlds

Gremmie’s Reef: in Reawakened Worlds Vol 1

Hayden Howard: Short Stories with Creative Wordplay (featuring “Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ”)

More stories to come!

Volume Two of Reawakened Worlds, MORE Dystopian and Sci-Fi Short Stories, is slated for release in September, with pre-ordering soon! Here’s a sneak peek at the cover of book 2! Contact me (or Subscribe) to know the moment it’s released. And as always, I’d love to read your comment below. Let me know if you’ve read Volume One and how it grabbed you!

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Gremmie’s Reef: in Reawakened Worlds Vol 1

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In Gremmie’s Reef–a 1964 science fiction short story in the anthology Reawakened Worlds Vol 1 by (John) Hayden Howard–a teen surfing off the Santa Barbara, California coast finds something bizarre.

Previously published in If Worlds of Science Fiction, October 1964 (illustrated by Finlay) the story Gremmie’s Reef puts us in the flip-flops of a young teenager. He is an eager surfer, but desperate for his older teen brother’s attention. We first meet young Ted at the beach:

A strange new sight off the Santa Barbara coast . . .

Then Ted sees, offshore, some terrific new swells. It’s strange–as if giant waves are over a submerged reef he knows can’t be there. Still, he gets excited about trying to surf. He has some success. That is, despite getting clobbered in the process and getting something oddly purple on his skin.

Ted rushes home to tell his brother David. Maybe, finally, his brother will pay attention to him.

David gets very annoyed at Ted bothering him. He keeps calling him a “gremmie. ” (That’s 1960s slang for an inexperienced and objectionable surfer.) He finally goes with Ted to the beach, though David doesn’t believe there are any strange new swells at Chalk Cliff.

Then they both encounter something even more bizarre, and the story takes an ironic and subtly humorous intergalactic twist.

As I review what I like about this story, I think Hayden Howard showed well what it can be like for a teen in any era to feel ignored and sometimes bullied by a sibling. The author himself only had a sister. Yet perhaps when young he had peers bully him, so might have known what that felt like. (He had an ear deformity he hid most of his life under long hair, but when he was a child long hair was not in style.)

That human element, mixed into an entertaining science fiction tale, gives Howard’s characters depth. Meanwhile, slang throughout the story immerses me in the 1960s.

Here’s a copy of the cover of the 1964 science fiction magazine in which this story by (John) Hayden Howard was originally published. Other authors in this publication included Robert A. Heinlein. Below that is a 2023 anthology of Howard’s works, Reawakened Worlds, Vol 1. In that book is the full story of Gremmie’s Reef, including its surprise ending.

If Worlds of Science Fiction, October 1964
Reawakened Worlds Vol 1, July 2023, WildBlue Press, available in hardcover, paperback, audiobook and eBook.
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Book Trailer for Reawakened Worlds, VOL 1

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Here’s a fun little teaser for Volume One of Reawakened Worlds: Vintage Dystopian and Sci-Fi:

This Reawakened Worlds video is for the first collection of short stories and novelettes by John Hayden Howard. I enjoyed compiling his vintage works as his literary estate executor, and writing the Foreword and Afterword.

The second set of stories, VOL 2, is in the works, with publisher deadlines this week. Aaaack! WildBlue Press, my publisher, created this trailer, which I appreciate. I hope you enjoy it!

Book cover for Reawakened Worlds: Vintage Dystopian and Sci-Fi from a Master Storyteller, by author John Hayden Howard, editor Laurie Winslow Sargent.

Reawakened Worlds: Vintage Dystopian and Sci-Fi VOL One is currently in eBook, Audible audiobook, paperback, and hardcover formats.

Find this fun collection of 8 short stories and novelettes at many fine stores, including Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Hudson Booksellers and Target.

The Kindle version is available internationally, in English, and can be read on any device (any type of computer, phone, tablet, or Kindle reader) via the Kindle App in Google Play or Apple. Read more about John Hayden Howard here.

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Reawakened Worlds: 8 Fun 1950s-1960s Classic Sci-Fi Short Stories

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In REAWAKENED WORLDS Vol. One, 1950s university professors & archaeologists, 1940s boxers, and 1960s teen surfers all have mysterious encounters.

Well, I must admit I was thrilled to see Reawakened Worlds was listed on Amazon for nearly a month as the #1 New Release in Classic Science Fiction eBooks! And the hardcover is a beauty to behold.

Would you believe that after my compiling and editing it umpteen times, on receiving the hardcover I sat up all night reading it? Some clever turns of phrases jumped out at me like never before.

I must admit, I’ve become hooked on Hayden.

But before I tell you why, let me give you the list of the eight stories in this book, Vol One. (Vol. Two, releasing next year, will have eight more!) After my Foreword, where I introduce Hayden, in Part One: WHAT IF, is:

The Tragedy of Henry Diddoh: In a university town in a secret laboratory, a Frankenstein-esque experiment enables a professor to be in two places at the same time. Disastrous consequences ensue. Written in St. Augustine, FL, in 1951.

Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ: A late 1940s boxer goes ten rounds against a stranger, with an even stranger audience, in hopes of remaining the champ. Written in St. Augustine, FL in 1951. 

We Specialists: In a large city in the future, everyone takes comfort in their designated roles. That doesn’t end well when the victim, KittyG3, can’t find the right person to call for help. Written in Santa Barbara, CA in 1967.

Part Two: STRANGE ENCOUNTERS ON EARTH

Gremmie’s Reef: A young teen surfing off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, makes an unusual discovery. Written in Santa Barbara, CA and previously published in If, October 1964.                                                      

The Butcher: Students working an archaeological dig in the New Mexico find something unearthly. Written in St. Augustine, FL in 1951.

Arctic Invasion: In the Canadian Arctic, a group of indigenous people suspiciously appear to have been taken over by an alien presence. Dr. West, who has been researching them, tries to escape while snow-blinded. Bear attack included. Written in Santa Barbara, CA in 1966. Previously titled “The Eskimo Invasion,” in Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1966, Galaxy Magazine (UK) Jan/Feb 1967, with an Italian translation in 1967. Nominated for a Hugo award. This story later became part of the novel The Eskimo Invasion, nominated for the 1967 Nebula Award: Best Novel.

Part 3: INTERPLANETARY TALES

Haranu: On Mars, an Earthman settler’s innocent dog nearly gets his master killed. The man finds a more peaceful solution with the help of a Martian, but the dog now must choose between two masters. Written in Miami, FL in 1950.

Mutiny in the Orbit of Uranus: In outer space a spaceship crew attempts a takeover, culminating in a massive anti-gravity battle. Written in Santa Barbara, CA in the mid-1950s-60s. A female navigator is the heroine of this story.

AFTERWORD: Hidden Facts About Hayden 

John Hayden Howard’s literary style:

What impressed me, while compiling these fiction short stories, was realizing how the author’s writing reaches readers (myself, included) who don’t ordinarily read sci-fi. Perhaps that’s because he had a literary style using clever wordplay with subtlety, humor, vivid descriptions, and unusual, strong characters. I simply enjoy a good story. But I enjoy too the little twists at the end of many of his stories that make me smile. Satisfying endings which often revealed his sense of humor, capping the stories off perfectly.

I also like that his stories make me think. His vocabulary was broader than mine, so I confess to looking up a few words, but am glad to now know them. He also used 1950s and 1960s slang, but not in a forced look-what-I-did way, because he actually wrote the stories in those time periods and likely used that slang himself.

One story in Reawakened Worlds Vol One–The Tragedy of Henry Diddoh–made me think: What might happen if I could actually be two places at the same time? In that story, a literary professor, Henry, tries to accomplish twice what he might otherwise, by sharing his mind with a once-cadaver via a science experiment. His double–dubbed Hank–longs to separate from Henry and be an independent person and even falls in love. But sadly, he is inexorably linked to Henry, for good and bad. Many of Hayden’s stories provoke what-if thoughts and feelings for the characters.

Jack the Pro-Writer

Also impressing me was John Hayden Howard’s stellar level of professionalism as a writer. Even his 1950s manuscripts, typed on a typewriter (so of course retyped, retyped, retyped) were in perfect manuscript format, ready to send his literary agent who placed many of his stories (he sold his works 73 times). Yes: in the 1960s, agents handled short stories, for the many pulp magazines looking for stories before television affected the decline of fiction magazines.

By now, many of you already realize I always knew Hayden simply as “Jack,” who married my mother when I was a young adult. So yes, I loved him for the person he was before I ever knew he wrote so much and so well. But now I’m his fan, too. Heavens, this almost sounds like a book review for Reawakened Worlds. I guess it is, since I didn’t write his stories, can I boast about them. After all, I never would have invested years of time in getting his stories in print now had I not thought they are terrific. I actually have a book of my own I’m also eager to get back to writing, but here I am, raving about Jack.

If you’ve already read stories in this book, I would love to know which ones are your favorites and why, either in a comment here or a review of the book.

If you haven’t read it yet, here’s a link to the Kindle version of Reawakened Worlds (9/7/2023 ranking, today, #164 in Classic Science Fiction eBooks.) It’s also in paperback and hardcover, with the audiobook being released soon with a fantastic narrator.

Laurie