Alistair McAlistair is searching the swamps of a planet similar to Earth, for a missing crew member whose communicator isn't responding. The place is inhabited by swamp-dwellers (who are human in form) and large carnivorous birdmen. Events develop when a member of another search party also disappears and McAlistair starts to have visions of his long dead wife (who committed suicide), whereupon he is drawn towards one of the large plants that grow in the swamp.
Author
Joseph Green wrote quite a few short stories from the 1960's onwards and this one creates a decent atmosphere in the gloomy swamp. It becomes too much of a 'message' tale by the end though and the concluding explanation wraps everything up in too trite a way for this to rise above the mediocre (the pretentious title doesn't help either).
Overall:- 5.5/10
Planet:- Achernar
Included in:-
New Writings in SF-17 edited by John Carnell (15 pages)
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