form experiencing hostility on Earth. "Dumb Martian" tells of a Human and his Martian 'wife' out deep in space, far away from civilisation and the man's slow descent into brutality and madness. "Close Behind Him" is a horror story about a burglar who becomes convinced that the spirit of a man killed during a break in is coming ever closer behind him. "The Emptiness of Space" is a story of the Troon family as seen in The Outward Urge. In New Caledonia, 2194, an astronaut suffers the after effects of the urge to travel in space and fears he has lost his soul. External links 1973 short story collections Short story collections by John Wyndham Books published posthumously Sphere Books books