The Line Between Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Wall Around the World

by Theodore Cogswell 
p. 1962

Published in 1962, this collection of ten short stories by Theodore Cogswell begins with a pair of introductions by two of his contemporaries. Both introductions seem to focus in particular on the blurry line separating science fiction from fantasy. I wondered why until I read a couple of the stories and realized that was a line Cogswell loved to hover over throughout his line of work. Containing spaceships to vampires to alien planets to flying broomsticks, almost all of his stories could fall into either category and invoke the struggle to define the two. Cogswell probably loved that old maxim, “magic is just unexplained science.”

The lack of distinction between magic and realism is not what made this book unique to me; indeed, I’ve read plenty of ‘science fiction’ stories that could alternatively be labeled as ‘fantasy.’ What stood out most was actually Cogswell’s playful sense of humor. All of his stories have a comical edge and a lighthearted tone that I don’t generally find in his contemporaries. Reading all these fifties and sixties science fiction books I often find myself shaking my head and laughing at some ludicrous plot point or an occasional melodramatic piece of dialogue; with Cogswell, I chuckled because it was a legitimately funny situation or line.

My favorite was probably “The Specter General,” a ‘novelette’ about a long-forgotten unit of the Imperial Space Marines and an ambitious young tech engineer fond of getting into trouble. The story—told in a handful of short chapters alternating between Kurt’s mini-adventure and a Commander in charge of their enemy, the Galactic Protectorate—was a little hard to follow at first, but even before the plot fell in line, I found myself laughing at the military mens’ interactions.

Some of Cogswell’s stories fell flat to me, or evoked an ‘Oh, so that’s where he was going’ when some sort of ‘twist’ developed, not unlike the eye-roll-inducing reaction to the types of jokes your uncle makes. But, for the most part, I found myself entertained by this quick read. The last story in the collection, the titular “Wall Around the World,” was about a boy named Porgie who lived in the city within the Wall but longed to find out what was beyond it. Weirdly, nobody else seemed curious and berated poor Porgie for his eagerness but the world within the Wall was one where magic and flying on broomsticks was commonplace so I guess I can forgive them for thinking things were well enough not to mess with status quo. After all, Harry Potter didn’t go to Hogwarts then graduate and think to himself, “Yes, I think I’ll become an investment broker instead.”

Speaking of Harry Potter, one can’t help but make the connections in their brain between the wizard and Porgie. Both were nice boys who grew up with their aunt and uncle and a quarrelsome bully of a cousin then learned how to fly a broomstick... I’m not saying J.K. Rowling plagiarized because the similarities really end there, but if Cogswell’s short story was any sort of inspiration for the epic series that unfolded more than three decades later, I wouldn’t be surprised.