The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I: The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time, Chosen by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of America

Rating:
Summary: A return of a classic
Review: The Science Fiction Hall of Fame is an essential for any science fiction fan. Each of the twenty-six stories in it are all consitered classics in the field, by classic authors such as Arthur C. Clark, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and many more.
Some of the stories stand out more than the rest. Nightfall, Surface Tension, Microcosmic God, The Nine Billion Names of God, Flowers for Algernon, and The Roads must roll are just a few of these.
The period that the stories cover is consitered the Golden Age of Science Fiction, when the field was the most popular. These stories are the best that there are in the field. It is like having a small library on your book shelf.

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Introduction to Science Fiction
Review: This book collects short story masterpieces from the genre's first four decades. All of the major sci-fi writers are represented, and quite of few of the stories are simply unforgetable. Never has one volume collected more thoughtful meditations on humanity's relationship to technology. Devotees of more modern science fiction (i.e., cyberpunk, etc...) may not be impressed, but for fans of Old School sci-fi, it doesn't get any better than this.

Of course many devoted fans will already have many of these stories in their collections - how could it be otherwise? The cream always rises to the top. So some might wish to forgo purchasing this volume, and use the table of contents as a reading list instead.

As is typical of the genre during this period, there's little here that will shock the youngsters, and the reading is pretty easy overall. So this is an excellent book for those just discovering the genre, or trying to understand what all the excitement is about. Be forewarned, however, that the volume begins with some of the older and consequently weaker entries, so those for whom this book represents an exploration into unknown territory might be better served by skipping the first 3 to 5 stories and starting with either Heinlein's exciting "The Roads Must Roll" which features next week's travel technology, or Theodore Sturgeon's amazing "Microcosmic God" which looks at creating life, or if you're very picky about what you read, going straight for Isaac Asimov's famed "Nightfall". Another alternative is to start at the back and read forward. There are some very powerful pieces loaded into the back end, including a couple of tear-jerkers, Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations" and Daniel Knight's "Flowers for Algernon".

Regardless of how you read it, these stories, more than any other work, represent what science fiction is really about: the human condition remains the same, even as the world around us changes. Watch and learn. And enjoy!


Rating:
Summary: Bought for ¿Mimsy Were the Borogoves¿
Review: This book is truly a collection of great stories from between the years of 1929 and 1964. I am glad they reprinted this book because my older version is yellowing. I hope one day they will reprint a new hard back copy and I will buy it also.
Even though this book is packed from cover to cover with intriguing stories, I bought it for one story in particular "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett. First published in 1943 ("Lewis Padgett" was a pseudonym employed by Henry Kuttner and his wife, C. L. Moore)
My first encounter with this story was a vinyl record recording with William Shatner later it is replaces with a cassette tape. I believe this book is the only surviving form of the story.
Unthahorsten is experimenting with time travel and sends two black boxes back into the past. He had to put something in them so as a last minute thought places his old toys in them. They do not return so he forgets them. It is too late the mischief is done. One is found by children in 1942. The other well look at the title for a clue.

Rating:
Summary: a nostalgic winner for science fiction buffs
Review: This is a reprint of a classic 1970 work in which The Science Fiction Writers of America members voted on what selections should be included in The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time anthologies. The first volume includes twenty-six tales from 1929 through 1964 from some of the genre's greatest authors, a who's who. The criteria used were not the author's fame but instead, the most important and influential stories and that, in spite of the votes, an author would appear only once.

Though three decades have passed, most of the contributors remain highly renowned even outside the genre, but a few are less famous except among long time purists. Thus the lack of a one-page biography hurts when a virtually unrecognizable name has authored a famous work especially when other media mainstreamed the tale. Still each story is well written and affirms why the ASFWA selected them thirty years ago. This is a winner mostly for science fiction buffs and the nostalgic amongst the boomers.

Harriet Klausner