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Science Fiction: The Science Fiction Research Association Anthology

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A solid science fiction anthology designed for the classroom 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

At first glance you would think that "Science Fiction: The Science Fiction Research Association Anthology" is a traditional collection of science fiction short stories. But then you take one look at the prices and realize this could only be a college textbook. This is too bad, because as a science fiction anthology this is certainly a nice little collection, but the price is going to restrict sales to those who can pass the bill along to mater and pater. The 26 stories in this anthology were selected during 1984 and 1985 by the members of the Science Fiction Research Association who nominated and selected novelettes and short stories they wanted to appear in a definitive anthology. The 175 most frequently mentioned stories were but on a final ballot and divided in the name of historical perspective into three chronological eras around the founding in 1926 of Amazing Stories and the death of its influential editor John W. Campbell, Jr. in 1970. Consequently, "Science Fiction" offers three stories each from the periods before and after this period, and 20 from the period itself.

The only real way to decide if you want to invest in this anthology is to look over the list of the 26 stories. Therefore, here is what you get: (1) Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Birthmark"; (2) H. G. Wells, "The Star"; (3) H. G. Wells, "The Country of the Blind"; (4) E. M. Forster, "The Machine Stops"; (5) Stanley G. Weinbaum, "A Martian Odyssey"; (6) John W. Campbell, Jr., "Who Goes There?"; (7) Isaac Asimov, "Nightfall"; (8) C. L. Moore, "No Woman Born"; (9) Theodore Sturgeon, "Thunder and Roses"; (10) Henry Kuttner, "Private Eye"; (11) Ray Bradbury, "There Will Come Soft Rains"; (12) Arthur C. Clarke, "The Sentinel"; (13) James Blish, "Common Time"; (14) Cordwainer Smith, "The Game of Rat and Dragon"; (15) Alfred Bester, "The Men Who Murdered Mohammed"; (16) Daniel Keyes, "Flowers for Algernon"; (17) Roger Zelazny, "A Rose for Ecclesiastes"; (18) Samuel R. Delany, "Driftglass"; (19) Philip K. Dick, "Faith of Our Father"; (20) Harlan Ellison, "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"; (21) Ursula K. Le Guin, "Nine Lives"; (22) Joanna Russ, "When It Changed"; (23) Vonda N. McIntyre, "Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand"; (24) James Tiptree, Jr., "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?"; (25) John Varley, "Options"; and (26) Octavia E. Butler, "Bloodchild."

There is an additional index that rearranges the chronological list by Thematic Contents, broken down into the interest categories of biological, environmental, psychosocial, and technological (with several stories appearing in more than one category). Each story is followed by several paragraphs of editorial commentary (by college professors other than the trio of editors) that explains things about the author and the story's place in the history of science fiction. The list of authors included in this anthology is certainly impressive and while you might be inclined to quibble on some of the choices (e.g., why not Ellison's "Repent, Harlequin...") the editorial comments usually provide a decent rationale for the story's right to be included. So this anthology is geared specifically for college students.

The price still scares me, but I have to admit it is not too far above average for a college class in America today; I am going with a smaller anthology, not just for reasons of price, but also because I want to devote more time to classic science fiction novels (plus one Fifites film). Still, I can easily see developing an entire course around what Warrick, Waugh and Greenberg have collected in this volume.

Future Weapons of War

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent Compilation of Short Stories: Not Typical Military Science Fiction 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Joe Haldeman views writing as a craft, so its no surprise that an anthology of short stories edited by Haldeman would be chosen for their quality and originality. Although Haldeman may be best known for his Science Fiction works such as The Forever War, he has also written about his personal experiences in Vietnam ( War Stories ). The short stories in this collection are not "shoot'em up" stories, but thoughtful discussions of the future and philosophies of war. Haldeman and Greenberg have chosen their authors well and developed an excellent collection of short stories. Well worth reading!

Editorial Review:

A volume of visions of future wars, fought with weapons out of nightmare, by today’s top writers of military science fiction, as well as some writers who are not usually associated with military SF, such as best-selling writer Gregory Benford, and award-winning author Kristine Katherine Rusch. Also present are Michael Z. Williamson, author of the strong selling novels Freehold and The Weapon, award-winning author of Bolo Strike, William H. Keith, and more.

 

Through the centuries, weapons have changed radically, but the soldier has remained much the same. But in the future, soldiers, too, may undergo radical changes. As editor Joe Haldeman puts it, “Weapons are an extension of the soldier, and also an extension of the culture or species that produced the soldier. And they are sometimes more dangerous to the soldier than the enemy. . . .”

The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens: First Annual Collection (Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens)

Jane Yolen, Patrick Nielsen Hayden

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

I really wanted to like this 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I think that introducing young people to science fiction and fantasy is something the genres are neglecting. Unfortunately the selection of stories is poor. It is also heavily slanted, very heavily, toward fantasy. There is not one nuts and bolts hard science fiction in the lot. It is also more slanted toward feminine than masculine.

I enjoy fantasy, I also see a need for more stories appealing to young females, but not to such an extent as represented here in the first anthology series aimed at teen readers both male and female.

Of the stories Bradley Denton's "Sergeant Chip," seems best and is the most typically science fiction. "Sleeping Dragons" is the best fantasy. There is a good alternate history thrown into the mix. Several of the other fantasy stories make a good effort but the ratio of dreck to good stories is unfavorable.

For a better anthology of just science fiction try The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction. For better fantasy try The Year's Best Fantasy series by Hartwell and Cramer. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame series is also suitable for young adults and includes some fantasy.

Jane Yolen's Briar Rose is one of my all time favorite books and Patrick Nielsen Hayden is normally a great editor or co-editor of other collections. I don't know how they messed up so badly in this one.

Gary Denton

Editorial Review:

Award-winning anthologists Jane Yolen and Patrick Nielsen Hayden have combed through a year's worth of books and magazines and websites to find the most outstanding fantasy and science fiction stories of 2004--and collected them into a single volume aimed specifically at teens and young adults.

Many of today's most popular authors are represented here, including:
* Garth Nix, author of Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, who presents an unforgettable tale of two swords, two daughters, and two endings....
* S. M. Stirling, author of Island in the Sea of Time, sends a likeable young barbarian across the Channel to Alba, for a confrontation with a wizard from faraway Nantucket that will change his life forever...
* David Gerrold, creator of "The Trouble with Tribbles," who takes you to a remote countryside surrounded by a mysterious darkness, whose secret has yet to be revealed...

WOLF

Dakota Cassidy, Kira Stone, Marteeka Karland, Sierra Dafoe

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Werewolves are tenacious creatures, hunting their prey -- and their lovers -- with deadly accuracy. Rarely do they miss their mark. Give that wolf a human form and he's almost invincible. Except when it comes to matters of the heart. Their lovers aren't the type to submit easily. It will take all their skills -- both human and lupine -- to get what they want. But then, they never settle for anything less...

Werelock by Dakota Cassidy Addison Ross agrees to go on an All Hallows Eve pumpkin picking expedition to appease her niece and nephew. Hoo boy does she ever pick a winner. Beneath her pumpkin lies a talisman that brings the delish Caleb Marsden into her life. Caleb Marsden, the werelock.

Wild Ones by Kira Stone Bitten by a ferocious wolf, Billy's need for solitude leads him to carve out a territory in the Canadian wilderness. Luc's small pack is made up of weres with the ability to control the elements. They need Billy to complete the circle. but first the Wild Ones will have to catch him.

Witching Hour by Marteeka Karland Hazel really wants to be the witch her Grandma always said she could be. Unfortunately, though her spells always work, they never quite work the way they're supposed to. Drake, the hunky werewolf next door, has an appetite for a certain witch. and it's all for her own good. After all, who ever heard of a virgin witch?

Wolfbound by Sierra Dafoe When Jenna's lover strands her on a ski slope in the Canadian Rockies, an enigmatic lone wolf rescues her -- only to transform into a naked, stunningly sexy man! Now Jenna is faced with a bitter dilemma: if she stays, she'll be putting his life at risk. If she leaves, it's his heart she'll be destroying.

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection (Year's Best Science Fiction)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the heart of the new millennium, worlds beyond our imagination have opened up, blurring the line between life and art. Embracing the challenges and possibilities of cyberspace, genetics, the universe, and beyond, the world of science fiction has become a porthole into the realities of tomorrow. In The Year’s Best Science Fiction Twenty-third Annual Collection, our very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world with such compelling stories as:
 
“Beyond the Aquila Rift”: Critically acclaimed author Alastair Reynolds takes readers to the edge of the universe, where no voyager has dared to travel before---or so we think.
 
“Comber”: Our world is an ever-changing one, and award-winning author Gene Wolfe explores the darker side of our planet’s fluidity in his own beautiful and inimitable style.
 
“Audubon in Atlantis”: In a world not quite like our own, bestselling author Harry Turtledove shows us that there are reasons some species have become extinct.
 
The twenty-nine stories in this collection imaginatively take us far across the universe, into the very core of our beings, to the realm of the gods, and the moment just after now. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including:Neal Asher, Paolo Bacigalupi, Stephen Baxter, Elizabeth Bear, Chris Beckett, Dominic Green, Daryl Gregory, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, James Patrick Kelley, Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold, Ken MacLeod, Ian McDonald, Vonda N. McIntyre, David Moles, Derryl Murphy, Steven Popkes, Hannu Rajaniemi, Alastair Reynolds, Robert Reed, Chris Roberson, Mary Rosenblum, William Sanders, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, Harry Turtledove, Peter Watts, Liz Williams, and Gene Wolfe.

 

Supplementing the stories are the editor’s insightful summation of the year’s events and a lengthy list of honorable mentions, making this book both a valuable resource and the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination and the heart.

Starlady and Fast-Friend

George R. R., Martin

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Editorial Review:

Two novelettes by the award-winning author of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, bound like the Ace Doubles of yesterday.

Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories

Terry Bisson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very diverse reading 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Bears Discover Fire is the classic SF story, using SF/Fantasy themes perfectly to truly explore human emotional struggles. It's my favorite SF story right now, replacing "I have no mouth but I must scream", by Ellison.

Bisson writes with a quirkiness that's quite endearing, and his characters always seem quite real(except on those short short short stories where 2-D characters suffice for getting his 'punchline' across). In short, this is a great book.

Some very good stories 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I'm surprised there are so few reviews here. This book deserves to be wider read.

I first read a Bisson story ten years ago in Omni -- "They're Made of Meat." I loved it. Very short, all dialogue, a great ending line... It's still one of my favorites of all time.

To be honest, all of these stories are not fantastic. Some kind of leave you rubbing your head, like "The Coon Suit." What the heck was that?! But there are about ten very good stories in here that are worth the price of the book. Bisson writes in a way that is easy to read, even if the ideas don't always grab you. His snappier, dialogue-heavy stories are my favorite.

Give this one a try.

Editorial Review:

Bears Discover Fire is the first short story collection by the most acclaimed science fiction author of the decade, author of such brilliant novels as Talking Man and Voyage to the Red Planet. It brings together nineteen of Bisson's finest works for the first time in one volume, among them the darkly comic title story, which garnered the field's highest honors, including the Hugo, Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon, and Locus awards.

The Space Opera Renaissance

David G. Hartwell, Kathryn Cramer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Hartwell & Cramer's best BIG review-anthology yet. 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful.

I'm working my way through the Hartwell & Cramer SPACE OPERA RENAISSANCE anthology, and finding it well-done and to my taste -- I think it's Hartwell's best BIG review-anthology yet. Truly a doorstop: 940+ pages!, with a surprisingly large number of new-to-me stories.

Space Opera, as Hartwell points out in his nicely-done introductory essay and story notes, is a flexible concept. And when you get to New Space Opera, or Widescreen Baroque Space Opera -- well, no one really knows what these are. Really, space opera is what Hartwell (or whoever) points to when he says "space opera"...

Anyway, take a look at this juicy lineup:
(my faves are starred*)

Introduction: *How Shlt became Shinola, Definition & Redefinition of Space Opera, by Hartwell & Cramer

I. Redefined Writers
"The Star Stealers" by Edmond Hamilton
"The Prince of Space" by Jack Williamson
"Enchantress of Venus" by Leigh Brackett
*"The Swordsmen of Varnis" by Clive Jackson

II. Draftees (1960s)
***"The Game of Rat & Dragon" by Cordwainer Smith
"Empire Star" by Samuel R. Delany
"Zirn Left Unguarded, the Jenjik Palace in Flames, Jon Westerly Dead" by Robert Sheckley

III. Transitions/Redefiners (late 1970s to late 1980s)
*"Temptation" by David Brin
"Ranks of Bronze" by David Drake
*"Weatherman" by Lois McMaster Bujold
"A Gift from the Culture" by Iain M. Banks

IV. Volunteers:Revisionaries (early 90s)
*"Orphans of the Helix" by Dan Simmons
"The Well Wishers" by Colin Greenland
*"Escape Route" by Peter Hamilton
"Ms Midshipwoman Harrington" by David Weber
"Aurora in Four Voices" by Catherine Asaro
**"Ring Rats" by R. Garcia y Robertson
*"The Death of Captain Future" by Allen Steele

V. Mixed Signals/ Mixed Categories (to the late 1990s)
*"A Worm in the Well" by Gregory Benford
**"The Survivor" by Donald Kingsbury
"Fools Errand" by Sarah Zettel
"The Shobies Story" by Ursula K. Le Guin
"The Remoras" by Robert Reed
"Recording Angel" by Paul McAuley
"The Great Game" by Steven Baxter
"Lost Sorceress of the Silent Citadel" by Michael Moorcock
"Space Opera" by Michael Kandel

VI. Next Wave (21st Century)
"Grist" by Tony Daniel
"The Movements of her Eyes" by Scott Westerfeld
*"Spirey and the Queen" by Alastair Reynolds
*"Bear Trap" by Charles Stross
"Guest Law" by John C. Wright

Some story comments:

"The Game of Rat & Dragon" (1955) by Cordwainer Smith. My favorite Smith classic, which is to say one of the best SF shorts ever, Hasn't dated one bit in a half-century. Meow!

Dan Simmons' "Orphans of the Helix" (1999, _Far Horizons_), is a tasty, atmospheric and thoroughly space-operatic travel-adventure, set in the Hyperian Cantos universe. Pure travelogue and goshwow, mind --allegedly, this started life as a TV treatment. Would have made a nice show, if the SFX turned out well....

There's a new-to-me David Brin short: "Temptation" (1999), Streaker dolphins in Jijo's ocean. Quite a nice one, and reminds me of the good bits in the Jijo books -- like the sheer audacity of (literally) scraping a technical civilization into the ocean. In theory, anyway . Those tricky Buyurs!

Donald Kingsbury's long novella "The Survivor" (1991) is set in Larry Niven's Known Space universe, during the Man/Kzin wars, and is a proxy for Niven, a Space Opera King who's notably absent. It's the first half of his Lt. Nora Argamentine saga, set just after the Fall of Wunderland. John Clute thought it one of the best stories of 1991, and so do I.

"Ring Rats" (2002) by R. Garcia y Robertson: Space pirates! --pure adrenaline rush, with some nasty bits. Strong stuff, one of his best yet.

"Spirey and the Queen" (1996) by Alastair Reynolds: which has "some of that space-war sizzle and true weirdness that we see as a primary appeal of late-model space opera" -- Hartwell

Anyway, there's a ton of good stories here, most of which you'll be happy to add to your permanent library. Check it out.

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman
Review first published at SF Site

Editorial Review:

“Space opera”, once a derisive term for cheap pulp adventure, has come to mean something more in modern SF: compelling adventure stories told against a broad canvas, and written to the highest level of skill. Indeed, it can be argued that the “new space opera” is one of the defining streams of modern SF. World Fantasy Award-winning anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer have compiled a definitive overview of this subgenre, both as it was in the days of the pulp magazines, and as it has become since. Included are major works from genre progenitors like Jack Williamson and Leigh Brackett, stylish mid-century voices like Cordwainer Smith and Samuel R. Delany, popular favorites like David Drake, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Ursula K. Le Guin, and modern-day pioneers such as Iain M. Banks, Steven Baxter, Scott Westerfeld, and Charles Stross.

The Salmon of Doubt

Douglas Adams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The last act!...posthumours (sic) though 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I bought this as a tribute to the great writer. I have read most (if not all) of his works and I did not want to miss this one last thing. I am still reading it. Perhaps I may have to agree with what one of the reviewers said ..

"Adams deconstruction of the little black box joke on page 123 applies to this book as a whole. There are few small glimmers of Grand Fishhood but this salmon is just not worth the bait on the hook. Those die hard Adams fans will surely buy it but then again they would buy a book of compiled Adam's shopping lists."

Editorial Review:

Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time...Edited and with an introduction by Christopher Cerf, The Salmon of Doubt & Other Writings comprises 50 pages of the late Douglas Adams' unfinished novel, The Salmon of Doubt, along with writings from 3,000 unpublished files stored on his computer harddrive. This collection is the unique last word from one of the world's most successful and best loved science fiction writers and represents an important, fascinating and characteristically hilarious legacy. Other potential inclusions are transcripts of the radio series Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future and Adams' essays, articles, and lectures.

N-Space

Larry Niven

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Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Arthur C. Clarke was once asked to name his favorite writer. His answer was "Larry Niven." Countless others agree. The Baltimore Sun and Kirkus Reviews have both dubbed Niven "the premier writer of hard SF," and Gregory Benford has hailed him as "the paradigm of SF personality of the last several decades."

Now Larry Niven presents us with his undisputed masterwork. N-Space contains, very simply, the best SF of his career--marvelous fiction, a wealth of anecdotes and gossip, plus Niven's own special brand of wit and excitement. N-Space includes: *Excerpts from some of Niven's most loved novels, including The World of Ptavvs, a Gift from Earth, Ringworld, and The Mote in God's Eye *His bets short fiction, including "Bordered in Black," "The Fourth Profession," "Madness Has Its Place," and many others  *Quips like the ever growing list of "Niven's Laws" *Notes from Niven describing his inspirations and building blocks for his writing. *And an introduction by Tom Clancy, one of Niven's biggest fans.