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Fanomena, March 1948

Page 19

Celia; the two are inseparable. Of the two, I am inclined to think that she is the more practical, intelligent, engaging, quick witted, aggressive---these adjectives seem inadequate to describe her, although her idea of aggressiveness and mine may differ. I do not subscribe to her belief that an argumentative nature denotes aggressiveness. Mrs. Keller is a delightful conversationalist and never seems to grow tired of discussing anything. She is perfectly at home in a fan gab, and keeps well abreast of the news in fandom; she likes nothing better than reading and discussing fanzines. Her address book includes almost all of the well-known fans as well as dozens she has personally ferreted out of their hiding places. She enjoys reading all science fiction and fantasy, and is familiar with almost all the works of the better writers. Woe to the author that leaves a loose thread somewhere in the story; her quick eye will catch it. Mrs. K. has an uncanny aptness in detecting flaws in a tale,but sometimes exhibits a lack of this same talent regarding David's work that is almost phenomenal.
The works of David H. Keller offer almost as many paradoxes as the man himself. In his stories, one may find the brilliance of a genius at creating masterworks, and also (sometimes in the same story) unspeakable crudities that detract a great deal from the general quality of a story. However, before going any farther, it may be well to point out that the people who become Keller fans consistently remain Keller fans throughout the years. One must read many of his stories to begin to appreciate the huge scope of the whole scheme, the care with which each part is made to fit into the whole; this is particularly true of his stories which were written as parts of a series.
The characterization which Dr. Keller uses in his tales is one of the hardest phases of his work to classify and describe. Many of his most ardent fans say that the part which they loke most about Keller's stories is the fact that he writes about people, humans with understandable weaknesses that makes them seem like old friends. This is correct, yet one fan also spoke truthfully when he remarked, "His characters never act quite normally"; this person, incidentally was a long-standing reader of Keller's works. That is one of the outstanding things about Keller's fans; they see his faults all too clearly, yet their enjoyment of his works is lessened not a bit by this. There you have an idea of Keller's characterization; his characters do things it is highly improbably normal people would do under similar circumstances, yet all his fans insist that the human element in a Keller story is one of its most valuable assets. A paradox if there ever were one!
A word to those who perhaps have read little or none of Keller's stories: if you like your glorified space-opera, action in the raw, weird monsters, or blasting ray-guns, DON'T try to read any of David Keller's works. Keller's stories are as down-to-earth as today's newspaper, yet the best of them can hold one spell-bound for a number of hours, and bear constant re-reading. It might be well for those people who might consider some of Dr. Keller's work hackneyed or dull to realize that he was writing when many of today's writers didn't know what science fiction meant, and that many of today's time-worn plots were original with him and others of the old school.
Many of the characters in Col. Keller's stories are people he has known, and in almost all of them, David H. Keller, M. D. is present in the background with his vast knowledge of the medical and psychiatric profession. Even if it were not known that he was a physician, it could be guessed by the numerous references and details inserted in his stories that only an experienced doctor could know. These added bits do much to give Keller stories an air of individuality and uniqueness.
As with every author author, there are bound to be points for criticism in the works of David Keller. The most noticeable of these, I believe, is a tendency to over-color the events in his stories; at times the human interest, which some of his admirers acclaim so loudly, is overplayed almost to the point
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Celia; the two are inseparable. Of the two, I am inclined to think that she is the more practical, intelligent, engaging, quick witted, aggressive---these adjectives seem inadequate to describe her, although her idea of aggressiveness and mine may differ. I do not subscribe to her belief that an argumentative nature denotes aggressiveness. Mrs. Keller is a delightful conversationalist and never seems to grow tired of discussing anything. She is perfectly at home in a fan gab, and keeps well abreast of the news in fandom; she likes nothing better than reading and discussing fanzines. Her address book includes almost all of the well-known fans as well as dozens she has personally ferreted out of their hiding places. She enjoys reading all science fiction and fantasy, and is familiar with almost all the works of the better writers. Woe to the author that leaves a loose thread somewhere in the story; her quick eye will catch it. Mrs. K. has an uncanny aptness in detecting flaws in a tale,but sometimes exhibits a lack of this same talent regarding David's work that is almost phenomenal. The works of David H. Keller offer almost as many paradoxes as the man himself. In his stories, one may find the brilliance of a genius at creating masterworks, and also (sometimes in the same story) unspeakable crudities that detract a great deal from the general quality of a story. However, before going any farther, it may be well to point out that the people who become Keller fans consistently remain Keller fans throughout the years. One must read many of his stories to begin to appreciate the huge scope of the whole scheme, the care with which each part is made to fit into the whole; this is particularly true of his stories which were written as parts of a series. The characterization which Dr. Keller uses in his tales is one of the hardest phases of his work to classify and describe. Many of his most ardent fans say that the part which they loke most about Keller's stories is the fact that he writes about people, humans with understandable weaknesses that makes them seem like old friends. This is correct, yet one fan also spoke truthfully when he remarked, "His characters never act quite normally"; this person, incidentally was a long-standing reader of Keller's works. That is one of the outstanding things about Keller's fans; they see his faults all too clearly, yet their enjoyment of his works is lessened not a bit by this. There you have an idea of Keller's characterization; his characters do things it is highly improbably normal people would do under similar circumstances, yet all his fans insist that the human element in a Keller story is one of its most valuable assets. A paradox if there ever were one! A word to those who perhaps have read little or none of Keller's stories: if you like your glorified space-opera, action in the raw, weird monsters, or blasting ray-guns, DON'T try to read any of David Keller's works. Keller's stories are as down-to-earth as today's newspaper, yet the best of them can hold one spell-bound for a number of hours, and bear constant re-reading. It might be well for those people who might consider some of Dr. Keller's work hackneyed or dull to realize that he was writing when many of today's writers didn't know what science fiction meant, and that many of today's time-worn plots were original with him and others of the old school. Many of the characters in Col. Keller's stories are people he has known, and in almost all of them, David H. Keller, M. D. is present in the background with his vast knowledge of the medical and psychiatric profession. Even if it were not known that he was a physician, it could be guessed by the numerous references and details inserted in his stories that only an experienced doctor could know. These added bits do much to give Keller stories an air of individuality and uniqueness. As with every author author, there are bound to be points for criticism in the works of David Keller. The most noticeable of these, I believe, is a tendency to over-color the events in his stories; at times the human interest, which some of his admirers acclaim so loudly, is overplayed almost to the point 19