What happens next when a bride on her honeymoon loses a game of chess to a dwarf? Or when a human cannonball has an argument with his wife? Or when an amnesiac convinces his doctor to let him out of the asylum? Fredric Brown likes to pose such questions and then fashion nifty little stories to explore the answers. The tales in this collection are arranged chronologically from 1940 through 1953; with a few late specimens (1960's) of Brown's specialty, the short-short. It's fun to watch the stories improve in quality as the author matures, really hitting his stride in 1947 with the astonishing "Don't Look Behind You", where the narrator explains how and why he plans to kill you. That's right, you. ( )