SSI - Czechoslovakia - Josef Nesvadba
Vampires Ltd.
“I’ll tell you where I left the car, of course, but I must warn you the car will kill you . . .”
Dr. Josef Nesvadba1 is an eminent psychiatrist in Czechoslovakia, as well as a short story writer. Some of his short stories, as “Vampires Ltd.”, are more than science fiction and have been translated into other languages in addition to English.
Today’s journey takes us to Czechoslovakia2, a country which I do not have much information about but now… I am interested in it even more.
Vampires Ltd. presents a subtly captivating blend of science fiction, astute social commentary, and biting satire. The story introduces us to our protagonists who is not very much fond of cars, and his observation of them. how these isolated boxes roaming cities and towns illustrate the Western crisis of individualism.
During his time in England, our protagonist describes an encounter with a somewhat peculiar vehicle. The way he acquired the vehicle is quite interesting. Someone offered him a ride, asked if he could drive, and after he confirmed that he could, said he would bring the car to his destination the next day, and then left.
Through out the story we hear how our protagonist made some friends along the way and his encounters and observations. After a few ups and downs we soon discover this is no ordinary car, but an anomaly on wheels. And whoever drives it has their blood sucked dry…. And then? Well, that’s for you to uncover.
All of my science fiction reading were limited to works of Issac Assimov3 but now I am inclined to find more and read them from all over the globe and specially was interested in more of Dr. Josef Nesvadba works after hearing he was the father of science fiction from Czechoslovakia
some things that caught my eye …
“The cult of the car as a prestige symbol in the west denoted a crisis in individualism”
” I thought the crowds of cars were just a symptom of the crisis of the personality in our age”
“Snakes of Steel boxes, each isolating its driver from the outside world so perfectly that he heard neither questions nor shouts”