"Letter to a Phoenix" is a science fiction short story by American writer Fredric Brown, about immortality. It was first published in Astounding Science Fiction in August 1949.

Plot summary

A 180,000-year-old man writes a letter to humanity as a whole, explaining the lessons he has learned while observing the rise and fall of multiple civilizations.

Reception

Literary scholar Jack Seabrook has described it as "(t)hought-provoking rather than exciting" and "perhaps (the) best" of Brown's stories focusing on "social or political commentary".[1]

Vernor Vinge has said that he was "fascinated" by the story, and that it was the direct inspiration for the 1975 story "The Peddler's Apprentice" which he co-wrote with his then-wife, Joan D. Vinge.[2]

James Nicoll, writing in 2018, felt that the story "has not aged well."[3]

References

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