Robert Sheckley - Magic, Maples, and Maryanne

Robert Sheckley lives in Portland, Oregon. A satirist even better known for his short stories than his novels, he has been writing since the early 1950s and is one of the classic SF writers of the last five decades. His hundreds of wild, ironic, and stylistically graceful stories over the years tend to combine elements from a variety of genres: fantasy, science fiction, detective, and even conspiracy theory. He is known as a master of the plotted story, the kind that ends with a satisfying turn of events.
He wrote “The Seventh Victim,” which was the basis for the ’60s movie The Tenth Victim, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress. Many of his stories are collected in Citizen in Space, Can You Feel Anything When I Do This?, and seven other books. He has been selected as Author Emeritus for 2001 by the SFFWA. His most recent books are the fantasy novel Godshome (1999), and a “soft-boiled” detective series Soma Blues (1997), Draconian New York (1996), and The Alternative Detective (1997). His Web site is at www.sheckley.com.
This light-hearted allegory appeared in F & SF. In it, a young man trying out the possibilities of magic discovers appealing possibilities beyond magic, happily shedding the identity of magician for another role, yet to be discovered. Most writers would compel a character who figured out how to make magic make money, to continue making money (and find happiness that way). Sheckley, however, is fond of playing, to use the current phrase, “outside the box.” It is also an interesting comparison to the Scott Bradfield story.