In 1980 someone gave me a paperback of sci-fi short stories by some author whose name I cannot recall. One of the stories that stuck in my mind went something like this:
A spaceship is out exploring. They discover a planet that is 99.9% covered with water, save for one small island. The planet also has a very large moon. They name the planet after the crewman who was on watch, something like Thompson’s Planet (not sure about name). Anyway they go down to the island and it’s sort of a lush tropical place. I believe something has gone wrong with whatever craft they used to land, so they’re temporarily stranded.
Something about the island bothers the captain; like it shouldn’t be there. Turns out the suspicion is correct. They realize that since there’s such a large moon that the tides should periodically cover the island and that there should be no flora; ergo the island is artificial. Turns out that there is some underwater race of creatures that use the island as a lure to trap prey.
Please someone tell me who the author is. The other stories were decent and I’d love to read them again.
My guess (as it’s been a long time since I read it) is that you’re talking about “Grenville’s Planet”, by Michael Shaara. I read it in “Perilous Planets”, edited by Brian Aldiss.
Grenville’s Planet, (ss) F&SF Oct '52
Best SF 3, ed. Edmund Crispin, Faber & Faber, 1958
Untravelled Worlds, ed. Alan Frank Barter & R. Wilson, Macmillan U.K., 1966
World Zero Minus, ed. Aidan Chambers & Nancy Chambers, Macmillan Educational, 1971
Perilous Planets, ed. Brian W. Aldiss, Weidenfeld Nicolson, 1978
Soldier Boy, New York: Pocket, 1982
Peter Davison’s Book of Alien Planets, ed. Peter Davison, Sparrow, 1983
I think you hit it! I neglected to mention that I thought the author had a doble vowel in his name. I think the book I had was the Perilous Planets anthology.
