"You Could've Scored! Are You Out of Your Head?"

TODAY'S STORY takes the idea of blood sports to a new level . . .

"The Racer."

By Ib Melchior (1917-2015; Wikipedia HERE; the ISFDb HERE; the SFE HERE; and the IMDb HERE).

First appearance: Escapade, October 1956.

Illustrations by Ed Kysar (?-?).

Filmed as Death Race 2000 in 1975 (WARNING! SPOILERS! Wikipedia HERE), plus four derivative productions (WARNING! SPOILERS! Wikipedia starting HERE).

Notice who gets top billing and who doesn't.

Short short story (6 pages).

Online at SFFaudio (HERE).

(Parental caution: Mild profanity.)

   "The two men fought savagely for control. They were only yards from the fleeing children."

WHEN you are a professional killer, probably the last thing you'd wish for is a case of conscience . . .

Main characters:

~ Willie Connors, Hank Morowski, and Muriel.

Typo: "Oh, year" (yeah). 

Resources:

- After first publication, Ib Melchior's "The Racer" enjoyed an unusually long afterlife, making it into the movies first and then anthologies as a result (FictionMags data):

  Escapade’s Best #1, 1957.

  If This Goes On, 1965.

  Perry Rhodan #97, 1976.

  They Came from Outer Space, 1981 (HERE).

  Reel Future, 1994 (HERE; borrow only).

  Ackermanthology! 1997, as "Deathrace 2000" (HERE; borrow only).

  Death on Wheels, 1999.

  Science-Fiction Classics: The Stories That Morphed Into Movies, 1999 (HERE; borrow only).

- Is it possible for an entire society to become pathological? Ray Bradbury imagined it in Fahrenheit 451 (WARNING! SPOILERS! Wikipedia HERE) and "The Crowd" (HERE), and 

so did Robert Sheckley in "Seventh Victim" (HERE).

- Some of you will remember a previous encounter with Ib Melchior (HERE).

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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