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    The Calm Man
    The Calm Man
    The Calm Man
    Ebook42 pages30 minutes

    The Calm Man

    By Frank Belknap Long

    3/5

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateNov 27, 2013
    The Calm Man
    Author

    Frank Belknap Long

    Frank Belknap Long Jr. (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was an American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known for his horror and science fiction short stories, including contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos alongside his friend, H. P. Lovecraft. During his life, Long received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (at the 1978 World Fantasy Convention), the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (in 1987, from the Horror Writers Association), and the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award (1977).

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    • 3/5
      The woman in this short story was so impatient to find a man I hoped this was postapocalyptic SF: but it was ordinary midcentry sexism.A good story, a bit predictable, of the "I Married a _____" school.I wanted to read it as a critique of gender roles but it just isn't. This is one of Long's more memorable short stories.

    Book preview

    The Calm Man - Frank Belknap Long

    The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Calm Man, by Frank Belknap Long

    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

    almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or

    re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

    with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

    Title: The Calm Man

    Author: Frank Belknap Long

    Release Date: April 21, 2009 [EBook #28583]

    Language: English

    *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CALM MAN ***

    Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online

    Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

    Dip the pen of a Frank Belknap Long into a bottle of ink and the result is always bound to be a scintillating piece of brilliant imaginative science fiction. And he's done it again in the tortured story of Sally.

    the

    calm

    man

    by ... Frank Belknap Long

    Sally watched the molten gold glow in the sky. Then knew she would not see her son and her husband ever again on Earth.

    Sally Anders had never really thought of herself as a wallflower. A girl could be shy, couldn't she, and still be pretty enough to attract and hold men?

    Only this morning she had drawn an admiring look from the milkman and a wolf cry from Jimmy on the corner, with his newspapers and shiny new bike. What if the milkman was crowding sixty and wore thick-lensed glasses? What if Jimmy was only seventeen?

    A male was a male, and a glance was a glance. Why, if I just primp a little more, Sally told herself, I'll be irresistible.

    Hair ribbons and perfume, a mirror tilted at just the right angle, an invitation to a party on the dresser—what more did a girl need?

    Dinner, Sally! came echoing up from the kitchen. Do you want to be late, child?

    Sally had no intention of being late. Tonight she'd see him across a crowded room and her heart would skip a beat. He'd look at her and smile, and come straight toward her with his shoulders squared.

    There was always one night in a girl's life that stands above all other nights. One night when the moon shone bright and clear and the clock on the wall went tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. One night when each tick said, You're beautiful! Really beautiful!

    Giving her hair a final pat Sally smiled at herself in the mirror.

    In the bathroom the water was still running and the perfumed bath soap still spread its aromatic

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