Review Tuesday: Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr as Don A. Stuart

Who Goes There?

1938

(aka THE THING in film)

by John W. Campbell, Jr.

written under the pen name Don A. Stuart

Some scientists make a horrific discovery in Antarctica that could potentially destroy all life on the Earth.

I was on social media recently when a saw some click-bait suggesting it would inform you of the forgotten and obscure novella written in 1938 that the THREE movies bearing the name THE THING were based on. AS it turns out WHO GOES THERE? by John W, Campbell was neither forgotten nor obscure and you can find it in all formats to read on any device you might have. 

What initially attracted me to this story was that it was written in 1938. I was curious how much of what was on the screen actually was in the story. The answer is QUITE A LOT. It starts in a secluded Antarctic Research Facility with little to no access to the world beyond. They make a startling discovery. Something in the ice is throwing off a huge magnetic field. When a group goes to investigate, they made a shocking discovery. They found an alien frozen in the deep blue ice, and the spacecraft that it came in. The crew was able to liberate the creature by cutting out a block of ice it was embedded in. The craft, however, was lost while trying to free it. 

The rest of the story is about how the runs amok as it runs through the animals and scientists in the facility. 

The story is very clever and imaginative, and drives the point of the danger of the situation. It doesn't build the suspense like I would've expected. Then again, it's a short story, so the author didn't need to have the reader going on a roller coaster ride. I did like it very much and would highly recommend it.

Get it on AMAZON