6 X H: Six Stories

 6 X H: Six Stories (aka The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag; 1959) by Robert H. Heinlein

Heinlein is an author that I have read only in novel-length works prior to this. His abilities in world-building, stage-setting, and characterization translate well into the shorter form. From the novella-length titular story to the shortest of the short stories, he pulls the reader in and we believe in the time, place, and characters even if we find the story itself a little unbelievable. He gives us a little of everything from straight fantasy to hard science fiction. And, like most collections, he gives us a mix of good stories and not-so-good.  ★★★

"The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag": Jonathan Hoag becomes convinced that he must do something terrible during the day. The trouble is, he can't remember anything at all about what it is. He hires Ted and Cynthia Randall, private detectives, to follow him and find out. But what seems like a simple "tail" job turns into a nightmare for the team when their memories of what happens during the investigation don't match.

"The Man Who Traveled in Elephants": John Watts used to be a traveling salesman and his wife, Martha who loved to travel and see new things, would go with him on the road. They loved visiting all the carnivals and festivals and country fairs that they found along the way. Even after John retired, they still traveled, claiming (to those whose curiosity was such that they just had to know why they traveled so much) that now John "traveled in elephants." And now--now Martha is gone and John is keeping the tradition alive by traveling on his own. But then the bus he's on has an accident and he finds himself at the most fantastic festival he's ever seen.

"--All You Zombies--" A time travel story full of all kinds of paradoxes. Most aptly, a jukebox in the bar which features in the story is playing "I'm My Own Granpaw" on what seems like endless repeat....

"They": Our unnamed protagonist is an inmate in a mental hospital. He is sure that he is one of the few "real" entities in the universe and that those around him are trying keep him from others like him and from finding out the truth. Is he just paranoid? Or is there some truth to his apparent delusions?

"Our Fair City": When a corrupt local government takes on a reporter, a newspaper photographer, and an old parking attendant with an unusual pet, they reap the whirlwind--quite literally.

"And He Built a Crooked House": When Quintus Teal, architect, thinks up a new way to build houses--based on the fourth dimension and the idea of tesseracts, he believes it will revolutionize home-building. It will allow large houses to be built on much smaller plots of land and save on building costs overall. He builds his first model--but a couple of earthquakes thoroughly shake up the process.

First line (1st story): "Is it blood, Doctor?" Jonathan Hoag moistened his lips with his tongue and leaned forward in the chair. trying to see what was written on the slip of paper the medico held.

Last lines (last story): Teal ducked in time. He always was a man of action.