Author talk:A. Bertram Chandler
I noticed that the biblographic notes on Chandler's Rim Worlds/John Grimes stories states that no two story orders elsewhere agree. For quite some time now I've been engaged in a personal project, a concordance of all of the Rim Worlds stories. During that time, I have acquired and read everything published by the author (with help from David Kelleher who maintains the unofficial, offical Chandler website).
I have created what I consider to be the definitive list of Rim Worlds stories, as well as the definitive chronological ordering of those stories.
The one caveat is that in order to place all stories that have Rim Worlds characters, histories and settings, the assumption that some of them take place in alternate time lines (not out of character of the author's writings), must be used.
Below is a write-up of the story orders including some explanation of the alternate time lines, how and why a story is identified as "Rim Worlds" and notes on some of the stories. I think that one or more of these lists can be used to provide a more accurate reading order for the stories, as well as expanding reader's ideas of what a "Rim Worlds" story is.
RIM WORLDS and JOHN GRIMES STORY SEQUENCE
In order to place all of Chandler's Rim Worlds story in their proper historical order, one must first identify all of the stories that fit within this milieu and then one must accept the fact that not only are parallel/alternate universes a feature of many of the stories, they are also a feature of the chronological ordering.
Identifying the former is relatively easy, as the Rim Worlds setting is based on Chandler's merchant marine travels around the Pacific. It is a known fact that the author did not keep records (Chandler recounts how Harlan Ellison told him that his novella Frontier of the Dark was the best werewolf story he had ever read and ought to be expanded into a novel; Chandler replied that he had no file copies of his stories, whereupon Harlan hunted down the proper issue of Astounding and provided it to Chandler, who subsequently used it to write the novelized version of that story.) and whatever notes he may have put together were not always present aboard whatever ship he happened to be serving on. Rather than negatively affecting a consistent background for the stories, it seems this actually aided “Captain” Chandler. Historical facts, characters, place names and technologies are remarkably consistent throughout all of the Rim World's stories – especially considering they were written over a forty year period...with no notes.
It seems safe to say that the Rim was a real place for Chandler, as familiar as one's own neighborhood.
In order to identify those tales that fit within this particular “future history”, commonalities had to be identified. So what is a “Rim World's” story?
It is a story that takes place within the physical and historical construct that is the realized expansion of humankind into our galaxy.
A Rim Worlds tale is one that takes place in a future version of our galaxy where there are many habitable worlds, the large majority of which are inhabited by humanoid species, generally less technologically advanced than humankind; one where a handful of non-humanoid species have achieved interstellar travel; where (given the proper historical era) human space has divided politically between a dominant “Federation”, a handful of smaller, independent “empires” (Skandia, Empire of Waverly, Duchy of Waldegren); where “the Rim” consists of either four or eight human-habitable worlds “on the edge of the galaxy”; and where human expansion to the stars took place over the course of three eras of “expansion”, the first using slow boats and suspended animation, the second utilizing a relatively unreliable FTL drive known as the Ehrenhaft drive and the third (the most recent era and that inhabited by John Grimes) utilizing the Manschenn Drive that “moves ahead in space while traveling backwards in time”.
It is also a galaxy and universe in which is is demonstrated fairly regularly that the separation of realities “runs thin” on the edge of galaxies. On numerous occasions, beings and material objects – often central to a story – pass into or out of various parallel universes.
There are in fact two different ways of approaching this exercise. The first, less glamorous one, is to simply state that many of Chandler's stories take place with similar settings and backgrounds, many featuring a limited cast of characters, all of which share the same feel. The second is to take the author's own interest in parallel universes and alternate time lines, and to use that concept to more closely align many, many more of the stories by making the assumption that they all take place with a shared history and that any seeming discrepancies are not errors or chronological “disconnects” but, instead, take place in one of several different closely packed alternate time lines.
These time lines share many of the same historical events, technologies, people, etc. In fact, in several of them, main characters not only meet alternates of themselves, they meet the author – and/or alternate versions of the author.
Arranging the stories in a chronological order by “universe” also allows us to connect many, many more of the “Rim World” stories than might otherwise be impossible.
One final note before getting down to business: while a technological disconnect between stories is often present (and explained by adopting the alternate timeline concept), HISTORY is not impacted by contradictions. In each of the universes, any historical events that are covered in the texts remain consistent. Where “lost colonies” are discussed, they always derive from malfunctions of an “Ehrenhaft Drive”; planets found to be inhabited in one universe are inhabited by the same species in others; Grimes always progresses from Federation Survey Service Ensign to Astronautical Superintendent of the Rim Worlds merchant shipping service, Rim Runners; Francis Delamere and Drongo Kane are always foils, etc.
In other words, it is only possible to use the excuse of parallel time lines to order the stories because everything else is so remarkably consistent.
The Parallel Universes
At the current time (with only one Chandler story unread, one that is held by the Ellison estate and which had been intended for publication in The Last Dangerous Visions), thirty-two different and distinct universes have been identified.
Some are only mentioned, passingly, in a single story; others form the background for approximately half of the novel length works. Several are expressly identified as parallel universes within the works and several feature crossing between them – as well as encounters with alternate versions of characters – as major aspects of the plotting.
The thirty parallel timelines are:
0 “Our” Universe, the one in which Chandler wrote the stories (All remaining universes are “fictional” ones)
1 The Inertial Drive is Developed
2 The Inertial Drive is Never Developed
3 The Null Space “Between” Parallel Universes
4 Grimes remains in the FSS and is eventually promoted to Admiral
5 Grimes remains in the FSS, is passed over for promotion and ends up as a Sub-Base Commander
6 Grimes is a Sergeant in the FSS Marines and has the first name of Andy
7 The Rim Worlds Confederacy is ruled by a Matriarchy
8 The Rim Worlds never secede from the Federation
9 A universe in which the lost colony ship Lode Ranger is rediscovered by the FSS Starquest
10 A universe in which the Lode Ranger founds the Chancehaven lost colony
11 A universe in which the Federation is ruled by an elected Empress
12 A universe in which Chandler's alter-ego and pseudonym, George Whitley, is a Science Fiction author
13 A universe in which Whitley trades consciousness with spaceman Peter Quinn
14 A universe in which mutated rats have conquered and rule the Rim Worlds
15 A universe in which the first developed FTL drive is not the Ehrenhaft drive
16 A universe in which the first FTL drive is derived from time travel experiments
17 A universe in which the first FTL drive results in the “twisting” of time
18 A universe in which the first FTL drive is similar to the Erikson Drive (light sail)
19 A universe in which the first FTL drive is Manschenn Drive – like and ships are piloted by robots
20 A universe in which the Manschenn Drive can cause “shape-shifting”
21 A universe in which the Federation outlaws Psionic Mutations
22 A universe in which a Manschenn Drive like device is used to effect time travel
23 A machine intelligence ruled universe (Zephalon's universe)
24 A machine intelligence universe (Brardur's universe)
25 A machine intelligence universe (Gift Horse's universe) (may also be Zephalon's universe)
26 A universe in which a Manschenn Drive like device is used to travel between parallel universes
27 A universe in which the Rim Runners' ship Faraway Quest is based on a Beta class ship
28 A universe in which an alternate version of the Rim Runner's ship Rim Girl exists
29 A universe that collects “fictional characters” (Hall of Fame universe)
30 A universe in which Sir Dominic Flandry exists
31 A multi-universe nexus point, where all universes are inhabited simultaneously by The Outsider artifact
The numbers for these universes were assigned as they were identified while cataloging the texts. They have since been re-ordered in two different ways; first, by order of “closeness” to the primary fictional universe and secondly, grouped by internal relationship.
The re-arrangement by “internal relationships” yields a handful of fairly closely related universes, the “Grimes” universes (G1 through G7, parallelities that feature one version of John Grimes or another, the “Rim Worlds” universes (R1 – R7) featuring stories that take place within the same milieu as the John Grimes stories but which are obvious variations based on historical data; A1-A3, universes dominated by machine intelligences; W1-W2, the “Whitley” universes in which “Chandler”, as the pseudonymous George Whitley, becomes a character in the story; M1-M7, universes in which the Manschenn drive technology is developed and/or used differently, etc.
A grouping by primary fictional universe is a bit more straight-forward: of the 32 identified universes, 19 can be more closely related than the others and therefore form the “canonical” set; there are four universes (including our own) occupied by A Bertram Chandler and/or George Whitley; there are seven universes inhabited by a John Grimes and seven others visited by at least one of those John Grimes'.; two of those universes are shared with Derek Calver; there are three universes inhabited by or visited by the Empress Irene, one of which includes the crew of the Epsilon Draconis. The Empress and Grimes also co-occupy a universe in two novels; two universes visited or inhabited by Christopher Wilkinson, three inhabited or visited by the Erikson drive ship RR Flying Cloud (including overlap with Grimes) and 13 obviously “Rim Worlds” universes, but ones not occupied by those we have come to know as the primary Chandlerian characters – George Whitley, John Grimes, Derek Calver, Irene Trafford, The Epileptic Dragon, the Flying Cloud and Christopher Wilkinson.
At this point it ought to be fairly obvious that, with a little parallel universe juggling, just about every Chandler story can be fitted into the Rim Worlds canon.
By way of stretching the example, I offer the following forensic analysis and descriptive presentation of what I've come to call the “Rat's Tale”.
Chandler began taking to the sea at the closing end of the steamship era and, as he himself has recounted on several occasions, ship-borne rats were of primary concern. One such story taking place in the Atlantic during World War II has junior officer Chandler going to war against the rodents with a .22 rifle, the only time during that war he engaged in arms.
It is no surprise then that rats translated to a spaceship environment are one of the subjects Chandler chose to focus on. On four separate occasions in fact – in two short stories and two novels.
With a little judicious re-jiggering of the time line, it is possible to make all of these stories fit into the Rim Worlds background, specifically all taking place within the 14th universe, the one in which mutated, intelligent rats take over the Rim Worlds.
In the canonical John Grimes/Rim Worlds novel Contraband From Other Space, a derelict ship suddenly appears in Rim Worlds space. Grimes investigates and it is discovered that the ship was taken over by the human slaves of intelligent rats and then somehow managed to slip from that universe into Grimes' own. Grimes' hatred for slavery is well known and so he and compatriots figure out a way to travel to the alternative universe in order to free the slaves. It is discovered that a single ship taken over by mutated rats is the instantiating event for this universe and so Grimes engages in a bit of time travel (in the alternate universe) in order to prevent its arrival.
Grimes briefly inhabits this alternate, placing it within canon.
The other three stories that can be grouped with this one are the author's seminal tale – Giant Killer, along with a later short – The Pied Potter, and an earlier novel – The Hamilin Plague.
In order of publication (and therefore close to the order of creation) we have: Giant Killer – 1945, The Hamlin Plague – 1963, Contraband From Other Space – 1967 and The Pied Potter – 1971.
In chronological order of historical events, the stories are re-arranged thusly:
The Pied Potter (4) The Hamelin Plague (2) Giant Killer (1) Contraband From Other Space (3)
Neither of the first two titles are considered to be “Rim Worlds” works by anyone who has bothered to catalog (at least up to this point), as they both take place on Earth, pre-Federation.
Giant Killer, while one of Chandler's most highly regarded works (and most anthologized) is also not considered to be a Rim Worlds story, yet Chandler wrote it contemporaneous with several other shorts that are, at least in backgrounding, Rim Worlds stories.
Contraband is, therefore, the unifying element here as not only are Grimes stories canonically Rim Worlds stories, but it also includes a deliberate trip into an alternate universe.
The fictional history unfolds like this:
In The Pied Potter, George Whitley, science fiction author, visits a friend who is experimenting with drugs and rats, operating under the hypothesis that certain biologically based euphorants (in this case, hashish) can alter and enhance intelligence. George witnesses the apparent success of these experiments and the subsequent escape of presumably intelligence-enhanced rats.
In The Hamelin Plague, hordes of intelligent rats attack human civilization. It is ultimately implied that they are beaten back, although they come close to taking over at least in the south pacific.
In Giant Killer, it is some time in the far future. Presumably, intelligent rats have gone underground following their failed revolt in Hamelin. Eventually over time, some manage to get aboard a star ship where the super-genius Skritch takes over the various rat tribes hiding throughout the ship and then leads them in a successful take-over of the ship; upon reaching the bridge, the rats discover that the ship is heading for a sun.
Prior to the events in Contraband, it is presumed that the mutant rats figure out how to pilot the ship and that same ship has managed to make its way to the Rim. Grimes crosses over to this alternate universe, uncovers the cause of the rat take-over, visits Siluria and with the aide of the saurian philosophers there, his psionics officer and running the MD in reverse, manages to turn back time and intercept the ship and prevent it from landing.
The point of this exercise is not to try and artificially add as many stories to the Rim Worlds canon as is possible, but to demonstrate that nearly all of Chandler's stories were so closely related in backgrounding and internal history that they can be.
The Rat's Tale may be too far a stretch for some and all but Contraband can be safely omitted (and probably will be by most) but I've chosen to include it.
Main Course
So now we get to ordering the canonical works. This first listing contains ONLY John Grimes related stories. They are presented in their internal, chronological order:
(Novel titles are capped. Date listed is date of first publication.
Lost Art 1952 (“Andy Grimes” is an FSS Marine Sergeant)
John Grimes: Autobiography 1978 (Details Grimes' early life)
THE ROAD TO THE RIM 1967
TO PRIME THE PUMP 1971
Grimes At Glenrowan 1978 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
With Good Intentions 1972 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
The Subtractor 1969 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
The Tin Messiah 1969 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
The Sleeping Beauty 1970 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
The Mountain Movers 1971 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
Grimes and the Great race 1980 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
What You Know 1971 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
THE BROKEN CYCLE 1975
SPARTAN PLANET 1968 (FSS Seeker is named “Seeker III” in this novel; I've chosen to ignore that)
Grimes Among the Gourmets 1978 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE INHERITORS 1972
THE BIG BLACK MARK 1975
The Far Traveler 1976 (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
The Long Fall 1977 (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
Another Redskin Bit The Dust 1978* (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie 1978* (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
The Sleeping Beast 1978 (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
Journey's End 1979 (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
STAR COURIER 1977
Grimes and the Odd Gods 1983 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
TO KEEP THE SHIP 1978
MATILDA'S STEPCHILDREN 1979
Grimes and the Jail Birds 1984 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
STAR LOOT 1980
THE ANARCH LORDS 1981
THE LAST AMAZON 1984
Grimes and the Gaijin Daimyo 2008** (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE WILD ONES 1984
Chance Encounter 1959
THE RIM OF SPACE 1961***
THE SHIP FROM OUTSIDE 1963***
Rim Ghost 1957
THE WINDS OF IF (Catch the Star Winds) 1963
INTO THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE 1964
CONTRABAND FROM OTHER SPACE 1967
Grimes At Glenrowan 1978 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Great race 1980 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Gaijin Daimyo 2008 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes Among the Gourmets 1978 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Odd Gods 1983 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Jail Birds 1984 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
THE GATEWAY TO NEVER 1972
The Rim Gods 1968 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Bird Brained Navigator 1968 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Tin Fishes 1968 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Last Dreamer 1968 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
Hall of Fame 1969 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Sister Ships 1971 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Man Who Sailed the Sky 1971 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Rub 1970
The Dutchman 1972
The Last Hunt 1973
On the Account 1973
Rim Change 1975
Doggy In the Window 1978
NEBULA ALERT 1967
THE DARK DIMENSIONS 1971
THE WAY BACK 1976
22 novels, 34 short stories, one novelized collection and two short story collections.
Notes:
- the titles for these two short stories, that were originally written as stand-alones and later incorporated without separate title into THE FAR TRAVELER, were ferreted out utilizing information contained in the Marcon XVIII convention book, which contains extensive info for the convention's GoH, Chandler. These titles are not definitive, but as close as you can come without having the author on record.
- GatGD was never published during Chandler's lifetime. Through the efforts of Chandler fans, including myself, rights were eventually obtained and the story was published in Jack Dann's anthology of Australian science fiction, Dreaming Again
- The Derek Calver stories are included here because they directly reference Grimes as the Astronautical Superintendent of Rim Runners and are obviously contemporaneous with Grimes' time on the Rim.
Chance Encounter is, historically, the first published story (1959) in which the character John Grimes appears
Now we begin to stretch a little bit by adding in those stories that take place in alternate Rim Worlds universes visited by Grimes, though not inhabited by a Grimes.
Lost Art 1952 (“Andy Grimes” is an FSS Marine Sergeant)
John Grimes: Autobiography 1978 (Details Grimes' early life)
THE ROAD TO THE RIM 1967
TO PRIME THE PUMP 1971
Grimes At Glenrowan 1978 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
With Good Intentions 1972 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
The Subtractor 1969 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
The Tin Messiah 1969 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
The Sleeping Beauty 1970 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
The Wandering Buoy 1970 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
The Mountain Movers 1971 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
Grimes and the Great race 1980 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
What You Know 1971 (Collected in The Hard Way Up)
THE BROKEN CYCLE 1975
SPARTAN PLANET 1968 (FSS Seeker is named “Seeker III” in this novel; I've chosen to ignore that)
Grimes Among the Gourmets 1978 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE INHERITORS 1972
THE BIG BLACK MARK 1975
The Far Traveler 1976 (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
The Long Fall 1977 (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
Another Redskin Bit The Dust 1978* (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie 1978* (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
The Sleeping Beast 1978 (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
Journey's End 1979 (collected in THE FAR TRAVELER)
STAR COURIER 1977
Grimes and the Odd Gods 1983 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
TO KEEP THE SHIP 1978
MATILDA'S STEPCHILDREN 1979
Grimes and the Jail Birds 1984 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE EMPRESS OF OUTER SPACE 1965+
STAR LOOT 1980
SPACE MERCENARIES 1965++
THE ANARCH LORDS 1981
THE LAST AMAZON 1984
Grimes and the Gaijin Daimyo 2008** (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE WILD ONES 1984
Chance Encounter 1959
THE RIM OF SPACE 1961***
THE SHIP FROM OUTSIDE 1963***
Rim Ghost 1957
THE WINDS OF IF (Catch the Star Winds) 1963
INTO THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE 1964
CONTRABAND FROM OTHER SPACE 1967
Grimes At Glenrowan 1978 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Great race 1980 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Gaijin Daimyo 2008 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes Among the Gourmets 1978 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Odd Gods 1983 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Jail Birds 1984 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
THE GATEWAY TO NEVER 1972
The Rim Gods 1968 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Bird Brained Navigator 1968 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Tin Fishes 1968 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Last Dreamer 1968 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
Hall of Fame 1969 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Sister Ships 1971 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Man Who Sailed the Sky 1971 (Collected in THE RIM GODS)
The Rub 1970
The Dutchman 1972
The Last Hunt 1973
On the Account 1973
Rim Change 1975
Doggy In the Window 1978
NEBULA ALERT 1967+
THE DARK DIMENSIONS 1971+
THE WAY BACK 1976
NOTES: + The Empress of Outer Space, Space Mercenaries, Nebula Alert and The Dark Dimensions can be read as their own set of stand-alone adventures featuring “John Grimes in drag”, Irene Trafford, otherwise known as The Empress Irene, the scientifically selected monarch of an Imperial Federation.
Considering that she shows up in Grimes's universe in Nebula Alert, and that Grimes re-visits her universe in The Dark Dimensions, its pretty clear that they are related, with the first two novels developing the main characters and setting the background.
++Star Loot is an almost direct re-telling of Space Mercenaries. These two stories are a perfect example of the same events taking place slightly differently in different universes (though of course it's just the author borrowing one of his own plots...or making a decided effort to bring his Irene stories into the Grimes universe)
The following adds all Rim World's universes that are not “stretches”
Drift 1957
Castaway 1947
Half Pair 1957
THE COILS OF TIME 1964
THE ALTERNATE MARTIANS 1965
Raiders of the Solar Frontier 1950
Terror of the Mist Maidens 1950
The Cage 1957
The Left Hand Way 1967
Sisters Under the Skin1957
How To Win Friends 1957
Lost Art 1952
Tower of Darkness 1946
Viscous Circle 1953
Ghost World 1957
Dark Reflection1957
Fall of Knight 1958
The Ultimate Vice 1958
The Bureaucrats 1958
Flypaper Planet 1958
Planet of Ill Repute 1958
Seeing Eye 1960
The Genie 1961
Hindsight 1990
Female of the Species 1959
Swap Shop 1957
In the Box 1958
Words and Music1958
Dreamboat 1958
SOS, Planet Unknown1958
The Idol 1959
Wet Paint 1959
The Man Who Could Not Stop 1959
Temptress of Eden 1959
John Grimes: Autobiography 1978
THE ROAD TO THE RIM 1967
TO PRIME THE PUMP 1971
Grimes At Glenrowan 1978 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
With Good Intentions 1972
The Subtractor 1969
The Tin Messiah1969
The Sleeping Beauty1970
The Wandering Buoy 1970
The Mountain Movers 1971
Grimes and the Great Race 1980 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
What You Know 1971
THE BROKEN CYCLE 1975
SPARTAN PLANET 1968
Grimes Among the Gourmets 1978 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE INHERITORS 1972
THE BIG BLACK MARK 1975
The Far Traveler 1976
The Long Fall 1977
Another Redskin Bit The Dust 1978*
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie 1978*
The Sleeping Beast 1978
Journey's End 1979
STAR COURIER 1977
Grimes and the Odd Gods 1983 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
TO KEEP THE SHIP 1978
MATILDA'S STEPCHILDREN 1979
Grimes and the Jail Birds 1984 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE EMPRESS OF OUTER SPACE 1965
STAR LOOT 1980
SPACE MERCENARIES 1965
THE ANARCH LORDS 1981
THE LAST AMAZON 1984
Grimes and the Gaijin Daimyo 2008 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE WILD ONES 1984
Chance Encounter 1959
Motivation 1958
The Converts 1958
The Key 1959
THE RIM OF SPACE 1961
THE SHIP FROM OUTSIDE 1963
BRING BACK YESTERDAY 1961
Gift Horse 1958
Forbidden Planet 1959
Rim Ghost 1957
THE WINDS OF IF 1963
INTO THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE 1964
CONTRABAND FROM OTHER SPACE 1967
Grimes At Glenrowan 1978 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Great race 1980 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Gaijin Daimyo 2008 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes Among the Gourmets 1978 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Odd Gods 1983 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Jail Birds 1984 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
THE GATEWAY TO NEVER 1972
The Rim Gods 1968
The Bird Brained Navigator 1968
The Tin Fishes 1968
The Last Dreamer 1968
Hall of Fame 1969
The Sister Ships 1971
The Man Who Sailed the Sky 1971
The Rub 1970
The Dutchman 1972
The Last Hunt 1973
On the Account 1973
Rim Change 1975
Doggy In the Window 1978
NEBULA ALERT 1967
THE DARK DIMENSIONS 1971
THE WAY BACK 1976
NOTES:
The stories that have been added are largely pre-Grimes Rim Worlds stories. They take place in a recognizably Rim Worlds universe – same inhabited worlds, same technologies, consistent historical facts, but generally are earlier in time.
Notable among these additions are:
The Christopher Wilkinson stories Coils and Alternate Martians; given that Wilkinson utilizes a Manschenn-like device to travel to alternate realities, I think they belong, though there are no direct or even secondary or tertiary references in the works that would tie them more deeply.
Swap Shop and In the Box that, based on the evidence, take place in the Empress Irene's universe.
Bring Back Yesterday, Chandler's hand at an SF mystery tale that is clearly set in the Rim, but also uses a Manschenn-like device to engage in time travel and/or alternate world hopping.
Female of the Species, which introduces the concept of psionic “radio” communications
Wet Paint, where we first encounter Kinsolving's planet
Gift Horse, an historical event that is referenced in at least two later Grimes stories
The stories collected in Beyond the Galactic Rim – Wet Paint, The Man Who Could Not Stop, Forbidden Planet – are all clearly Rim World's tales with glancing references to Grimes. The Key is a humorous tale with Rim World's backgrounding but with a conclusion that runs counter to most of what we know about the Rim Worlds universe. Chandler having a bit of fun at his own expense, something he was wont to do fairly frequently, including the time (Hall of Fame) when Grimes confronts the author and objects to Chandler contemplating killing him off.
And, finally, the whole kit and caboodle, adding in the outliers, the stories that feature recognizable Rim World's trappings but obviously take place in alternate realities far removed from the ones we are most familiar with:
Drift 1957
The Pied Potter 1971^
THE HAMELIN PLAGUE 1963^
Castaway 1947
All Laced Up 1961
Half Pair 1957
THE COILS OF TIME 1964
THE ALTERNATE MARTIANS 1965
Raiders of the Solar Frontier 1950
Preview of Peril 1948
The Habit 1967
Homing Tantalus 1960
No Return 1960
Terror of the Mist Maidens 1950
The Cage 1957
The Left Hand Way 1967
Sisters Under the Skin1957
How To Win Friends 1957
Lost Art 1952
Tower of Darkness 1946
Bad Patch 1947
Frontier of the Dark 1952 (expanded and novelized 1984)
Viscous Circle 1953
Farewell to the Lottos 1953
I'll Take Over 1957
Ghost World 1957
Dark Reflection1957
Fall of Knight 1958
The Ultimate Vice 1958
The Bureaucrats 1958
Flypaper Planet 1958
Planet of Ill Repute 1958
Seeing Eye 1960
The Genie 1961
Hindsight 1990
THE DEEP REACHES OF SPACE 1964
Female of the Species 1959
Swap Shop 1957
In the Box 1958
Words and Music1958
Dreamboat 1958
SOS, Planet Unknown1958
The Idol 1959
Wet Paint 1959
The Man Who Could Not Stop 1959
Temptress of Eden 1959
John Grimes: Autobiography 1978
THE ROAD TO THE RIM 1967
TO PRIME THE PUMP 1971
Grimes At Glenrowan 1978 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
With Good Intentions 1972
The Subtractor 1969
The Tin Messiah1969
The Sleeping Beauty1970
The Wandering Buoy 1970
The Mountain Movers 1971
Grimes and the Great Race 1980 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
What You Know 1971
THE BROKEN CYCLE 1975
SPARTAN PLANET 1968
Grimes Among the Gourmets 1978 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE INHERITORS 1972
THE BIG BLACK MARK 1975
The Far Traveler 1976
The Long Fall 1977
Another Redskin Bit The Dust 1978*
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie 1978*
Operation Starquest 1969^^
Lost Thing Found 1960
The Sleeping Beast 1978
Journey's End 1979
STAR COURIER 1977
Grimes and the Odd Gods 1983 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
TO KEEP THE SHIP 1978
MATILDA'S STEPCHILDREN 1979
Grimes and the Jail Birds 1984 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE EMPRESS OF OUTER SPACE 1965
STAR LOOT 1980
SPACE MERCENARIES 1965
THE ANARCH LORDS 1981
THE LAST AMAZON 1984
Grimes and the Gaijin Daimyo 2008 (events in this tale, told to a reporter much later in his career, take place here)
THE WILD ONES 1984
Man Alone 1990
Chance Encounter 1959
Motivation 1958
The Converts 1958
The Key 1959
RENDEZVOUS ON A LOST WORLD 1961
THE RIM OF SPACE 1961
THE SHIP FROM OUTSIDE 1963
BRING BACK YESTERDAY 1961
Gift Horse 1958
Forbidden Planet 1959
Rim Ghost 1957
THE WINDS OF IF 1963
INTO THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE 1964
Giant Killer 1945
CONTRABAND FROM OTHER SPACE 1967
Grimes At Glenrowan 1978 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Great race 1980 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Gaijin Daimyo 2008 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes Among the Gourmets 1978 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Odd Gods 1983 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
Grimes and the Jail Birds 1984 (Told to Kitty Kelly at this time, relating past adventures)
THE GATEWAY TO NEVER 1972
The Rim Gods 1968
The Bird Brained Navigator 1968
The Tin Fishes 1968
The Last Dreamer 1968
Hall of Fame 1969
The Sister Ships 1971
The Man Who Sailed the Sky 1971
The Rub 1970
The Dutchman 1972
The Last Hunt 1973
On the Account 1973
Rim Change 1975
Doggy In the Window 1978
NEBULA ALERT 1967
THE DARK DIMENSIONS 1971
THE WAY BACK 1976
122 entries, 116 individual stories/novels. Novel Count: 31 Shorter Lengths: 86 Discrepancies owing to short that was novelized, double entries for the Kitty Kelly stories.
Notes: ^Stories of The Rat's Tale
^^ And Another Redskin Bit the Dust is a Grimes-based re-telling of Operation Starquest, one of Chandler's not infrequent shaggy dog stories
So there it is. With one exception, I've read every single story and novel written by Chandler and have divided them into two camps – those with a Rim World's like background and those without. (The exception being True Believers, held by the Ellison estate; attempts to catalog it years ago were rebuffed by Ellision - his perogative. Inquiries have been made again and are awaiting the "proper time" for resolution.)
I've then placed them all into groups (alternate universes) based on chronology derived from the texts and how closely or remotely they fit into the mainline, defined as those two universes that prominently feature John Grimes (those two being the Grimes stories with or without inertial drive present).
Finally, all of the stories were placed onto a grid with Alternate Universes along the horizontal axis and Time along the vertical axis.
The individual lists (representing greater and greater departure from the main lines) were created by restricting how many of the alternate universes were included or excluded from the list, generally representing a strict-canon to full-capture progression.
If you read all of these stories in the sequence laid out, you will not run into any historical inconsistencies, Grimes (and his fellow characters) will progress from young to old and the history of the Rim Worlds will expand from a solar-system centric one to an intergalactic one.
Of course, your greatest adventure may not lie in the reading, it may lie in the acquiring.