Always enjoy these sci-fi short story books. Ideal holiday reading. Also, this particular omnibus doesn't appear to have any weak or poorly written tales. Thanks 😎
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This anthology is an update of the now classic survey of the SF field published originally in 1973 (there were 3 books that made that version up published 1961, 3 and 4). Obviously there has been a *lot* of SF published in the intervening years, so, necessarily, the contents of this book have been updated. Naturally, however, it's hardly definitive, however, I think that it does a reasonable job of showing where SF came from and where it's going. The oldest story in it is Asimov's 1941 story, Nightfall and the most recent stories from Gary Kilworth and Eliza Blair. Something that I did notice reading through it is that while, obviously, the immediate concerns of the stories changed, a lot of the earlier short stories seemed to be concerned with building to a pay-off of some kind (if you know Nightfall, or Fred Pohl's The Tunnel Under the World you'll know what I mean) while some of the later stories seem less concerned with this. I suspect that this has something to do with the market that they were writing for in the 40s, 50s and 60s. It seems, therefore, churlish to criticise the earlier stories for being concerned with politics we don't consider relevant, or to be in some way "one-dimensional" (and, I think, some are) this book does what it sets out to do very well. The other thing that I've found is that, perhaps, some of the stories have been over-anthologised (for example, I think I've seen the Ted Chiang story in several: it is superb and deserves to be there, but if you read a lot of SF anthologies, you may well come accross it a lot - similarly for some of the older ones, the Asimov and Pohl stories have shown up a lot). I suppose, though, that demonstrates that there is, generally, a high standard of quality amongst this stuff. If you like SF and want as decent a survey of the genre as you're likely to find in one volume, this is well worth a try. If you want up to the minute or more innovative stuff, I'd try elsewhere, though. I think that it would probably suit anybody not too familiar with the genre who wanted a decent in - if that's you, you could add an extra star! Furthermore, a couple of the stories should be an in to some excellent longer fiction (for example, Blood Music which became an superb full length novel: Blood Music (Gollancz S.F.)) Sole Solution - Eric Frank Russell (1956) Lot - Ward Moore (1953) Skirmish - Clifford Simak (1950) And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side - James Tiptree, Jr (1971) Poor Little Warrior! - Brian Aldiss (1958) Grandpa - James H. Schmitz (1955) Nightfall - Isaac Asimov (1941) The Snowball Effect - Katherine MacLean (1952) Swarm - Bruce Sterling (1982) Blood Music - Greg Bear (1983) Answer - Frederic Brown (1964) The Liberation of Earth - William Tenn (1953) An Alien Agony - Harry Harrison (1962) Track 12 - J.G. Ballard (1958) Sexual Dimorphism - Kim Stanley Robinson (1999) The Tunnel Under the World - Frederick Pohl (1954) Friends in Need - Eliza Blair (2006) The Store of the Worlds - Robert Sheckley (1959) Jokester - Isaac Asimov (1956) The Short-Short Story of Mankind - John Steinbeck (1958) Night Watch - James Inglis (1964) Ted Chiang - Story of Your Life (1998) Protected Species - H. B. Fyfe (1951) The Rescuer - Arthur Porges (1962) I Made You - Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1954) The Country of the Kind - Damon Knight (1956) The Cage - Bertram Chandler (1957) Fulfilment - A. E. van Vogt (1952) Common Time - James Blish (1960) Alien Embassy - Garry Kilworth (2006) Great Work of Time - John Crowley (1989)
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Great holiday reading
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A bit battered but good enough.
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This was my introduction to science fiction in the mid 1960s. Not every story is a classic, but there are enough gems from the "Golden Age" to make this the best SF anthology I have ever read. It includes my all-time favourite SF short story, Common Time by James Blish. Someone (Penguin themselves?) should have the wit to re-issue and re-promote this collection. Meanwhile, do as I did and get a second-hand copy.
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The short story is the ideal form for science fiction. There is no mucking about. You're plunged straight into an alien world, time or situation. There are thirty one stories in this collection, some by famous authors, some not. They vary in length from two pages to seventy five, and cover a wide variety of styles and topics. There are boy's-own adventures amongst the stars, reflections on the nature of humanity, several different types of apocalypse, and the usual troubles with time travel. The quality, in general, is high. I found a couple of the stories dull, and one struck me as a rather juvenile polemic, but several justify the cover price on their own. For example, Lot, by Ward Moore, in which a middle-class American has his constraints blown away by atom bomb; or Great Work of Time, by John Crowley, a thoughtful, melancholy take on time travel and alternative histories. More please, Penguin. More please, Brian.
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An interesting sample of SF short across the genre. However it's chronologically unbalanced and has some important short story writers missing like Ellison and Delaney.
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It's a bbok what more can one say
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Editing is a much more difficult job than writing, especially when it comes to authors. Almost all the famous authors are notorious for choosing inferior to bad stories, whenever they are given an opportunity to make a "best of" selection from their works. It proves, that making a selection requires an altogether different perspective, and a connect with the hoi-polloi readers, which most of our authors lack. A classic example would be this book, as well. This selection, widely respected by critics, turned out to be a disappointingly depressing one, where the author has selected stories that might be elevating, from a philosophical point of view, but are dashed poor reads. Also, his selections seem to be influenced by a Biblical worldview, which is NOT shared by readers like me. I had read a majority of these stories in different collections, and while several of them have had a lasting impact, the others were soporific and simply boring. To such pile, Aldiss had added several more dark, drab, dull stories, which the critics would lap-up. As far as I'm concerned, they only succeeded in souring the day. There are MUCH MUCH better anthologies available. The modern selections made by Paula Guran, while the older classic anthologies edited by Asimov et.al. are books that you might actually enjoy, and treasure.
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An amazing collection of stories that vary widely in range and subject matter but all add a sense of wonder...I read the middle anthology and went back to amazon to buy this omnibus for the other 2 anthologies and was not disappointed... 15 • Sole Solution • (1956) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell 18 • Lot • [David Jimmon] • (1953) • novelette by Ward Moore 46 • The Short-Short Story of Mankind • (1958) • shortstory by John Steinbeck 52 • Skirmish • (1950) • shortstory by Clifford D. Simak 72 • Poor Little Warrior! • (1958) • shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss 79 • Grandpa • (1955) • novelette by James H. Schmitz 102 • The Half Pair • (1957) • shortstory by A. Bertram Chandler [as by Bertram Chandler ] 107 • Command Performance • (1952) • novelette by Walter M. Miller, Jr. [as by Walter M. Miller ] 126 • Nightfall • (1941) • novelette by Isaac Asimov 156 • The Snowball Effect • (1952) • shortstory by Katherine MacLean 170 • The End of Summer • (1954) • novelette by Algis Budrys 197 • Track 12 • (1958) • shortstory by J. G. Ballard 203 • The Monkey Wrench • (1951) • shortstory by Gordon R. Dickson 215 • The First Men • (1960) • novelette by Howard Fast 245 • Counterfeit • (1952) • novelette by Alan E. Nourse 268 • The Greater Thing • (1954) • novelette by Tom Godwin 292 • Build Up Logically • (1949) • shortstory by Howard Schoenfeld (variant of Built Up Logically) 303 • The Liberation of Earth • (1953) • shortstory by William Tenn 321 • An Alien Agony • (1962) • shortstory by Harry Harrison (variant of The Streets of Ashkelon) 337 • The Tunnel Under the World • (1955) • novelette by Frederik Pohl 370 • The Store of the Worlds • (1959) • shortstory by Robert Sheckley 377 • Jokester • (1956) • shortstory by Isaac Asimov 391 • Pyramid • (1954) • novelette by Robert Abernathy 419 • The Forgotten Enemy • (1948) • shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke 426 • The Wall Around the World • (1953) • novelette by Theodore R. Cogswell [as by Theodore Cogswell ] 453 • Protected Species • (1951) • shortstory by H. B. Fyfe 466 • Before Eden • (1961) • shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke 478 • The Rescuer • (1962) • shortstory by Arthur Porges 485 • I Made You • (1954) • shortstory by Walter M. Miller, Jr. 497 • The Country of the Kind • (1956) • shortstory by Damon Knight 511 • MS. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie • (1957) • shortstory by C. M. Kornbluth 523 • The Cage • (1957) • shortstory by A. Bertram Chandler [as by Bertram Chandler ] 536 • Eastward Ho! • (1958) • shortstory by William Tenn 553 • The Windows of Heaven • (1956) • shortstory by John Brunner 566 • Common Time • (1953) • novelette by James Blish 588 • Fulfilment • (1964) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt (variant of Fulfillment 1951)
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This is a well chosen collection and I know I shall go back and re-read many of the stories. Some famous stories and famous authors and some delightful surprises. Maximus the ginger cat and the heptapods were my all time favourites.
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This anthology is an old favourite of mine; I first bought it long ago. Unfortunately, it's no longer the same anthology! For this new edition, Aldiss has deleted fifteen stories that the old edition contained (including at least five that I'm fond of), and inserted ten newer stories in their place. This is not what I wanted when I bought the Kindle edition: I wanted a Kindle version of my old favourite. So far, I don't consider the new stories adequate compensation for the lost ones. How could he delete the wonderful 'Build up logically' and the memorable 'Pyramid' from this collection? Furthermore, I've noticed at least one serious fault in the Kindle edition: in the story 'Fulfilment', someone turned two pages instead of one when scanning the book, so exactly two pages of text are missing, after the sentence, "I open it and gaze at the human male who stands on the threshold." I can deduce from this that the scanned edition of the book was the same 1973 paperback edition that I have. I give this disappointing volume as many as three stars because there are still some good stories left in it. But it's not what it was.
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This is a major anthology of science fiction. I have the old PB edition and I think that this updated ebook volume is worth every penny. The collection, edited by Brian Aldiss ranges from the great "Golden Age" authors such as Asimov, Simak and A.E.Van Vogt to contemporary writers. I think it is comparable in quality to the great Golden Age anthology, "Adventures in Time and Space" edited by Healy and McComas. No science fiction fan should be without either of these books.
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