Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring!
Review: 1) PRO: Nice small chapters. Clearly demonstrates the points to be made and uses Sci-fi/fantasy stories as examples.2) CON: Most of the examples used are from the authors own writings. A few times I wanted to shout, "Marketing ploy", but he was honest enough in his sharing that the irritation was short-lived. 3) PRO: This is the book to the art of Writing, that drafting a mission statement is to running a business. You get the insipriation, the vision, for where the writing needs to go in many areas without the speicific checklist on how the logistics need to flow. The logistics is what he encourages me as a writer to discover for myself...as I write. I left this book feeling "empowered" to write. I have my mission statement. 4)PRO: One of the most eye-opening chapters were, Memes and To Be Or Naught To Be. I walked away enlightened to the greater universe of possiblities that are at my fingertips as a writer.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent guide for writing science fiction and fiction
Review: An excellent guide for writing science fiction and fantasy. Gerrold takes you behind the writing of the words to the building of worlds and people that make a story come alive. You
learn to think of your writing as more than the telling of events into creating an experience in a different place and time. He gives you writing from a writers perspective and with a
real respect and love for the genres of science fiction and fantasy. I give this an A+.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome overview on SF&F as well as writing
Review: David covers such topics as what is Science fiction and what is Fantasy, but unlike other similar books (i.e., Orson Scott Card's) these sections are relatively brief, which is good because they are of limited utility. Once he gets those basics out of the way, he discusses how to construct a story, characters, building aliens, how to outline using notecards, and dozens of other useful topics. He even covers the obscure topic of e-prime. Nothing is covered in great detail, but little of it needs to be. If you need more help with plots and how to write in general, I recommend "Techniques of the Selling Writer" by Dwight V. Swain.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful if sometimes self-indulgent
Review: Gerrold is a noted science fiction writer, best known for bursting on the scene with his Star Trek script, "The Trouble With Tribbles," still the favorite classic Trek episode. Here he distills his ideas on good writing and good storytelling into short, punchy chapters, briefly addressing just about every topic one could imagine on the subject, from style, theme, and story to first lines and last lines to love scenes and sex scenes to not using "is" in one's writing. Sometimes a little self-indulgent and overly clever: he writes short sentences on the virtues of short sentences and long sentences on the virtues of long sentences, and too many of the exemplars come from his own efforts. Still, he knows whereof he speaks, and this is definitely a useful book.
Rating:
Summary: Useful book.
Review: Gerrold is noted for his Science Fiction, but he seems to be an even better teacher. This is a good read for writers looking for exposure to info on writing basics. Good chapter on avoiding the passive. And I enjoyed the chapter on metric prose. Helpful book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not that great
Review: I'm glad I bought the book second-hand. It's a collection of loosely related essays dealing with writing. The problem is that they are too short to offer insight that cannot be found elsewhere, and also, as has been pointed out, the examples. I don't mind that they are the author's, but they're overlong, insufficiently dissected, and, quite frankly, unsuited to what the author is recommending. As somebody else mentioned, the sex scenes are not particularly convincing (I skipped the whole passage on the first reading, as it was excruciatingly embarrassing and boring).
Buy something else: How to write science ficion and fantasy, by Orson Scott Card, or Steering the Craft by Le Guin, or any decent book about writing fiction (of which science fiction and fantasy are but sub-categories, after all)
Rating:
Summary: A truly amazing work of art
Review: If you're a writer and wish to know where to get started, or what elements you might be missing, this is the book for you! David Gerrold is clever, and this book is most helpful and amusing. Tricks of the trade and subtle nuances to help any writer and here within the pages of this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Less than great
Review: My main complaint with this book is that the author seems enamoured of his own writing. The chapters on love scenes and sex scenes, for example, essentially consist of nothing but the author's own fiction used as an example--and quite frankly, his sex scenes aren't all that good. In other respects the book is basically mediocre--with nothing you couldn't find in other writing books--and has very little that deals specifically with fantasy and science fiction. That said, some of the advice, particularly the last chapter about not taking yourself seriously until you've written a million words, does ring true.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing I already know.
Review: This book didn't help at all. In fact it was useless. There is nothing in there that I don't know so I returned it two days after I bought the book. Might I suggest "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott or any other writing book not done by some Star Trek author.
Rating:
Summary: Expertly crafted, ingenious, and absorbing.
Review: When did the bright eyed kid from Van Nuys-obsessed with Heinlein, Sturgeon, Van Voght, and the worse B movies of all time-become such a major talent that he has joined his boyhood hero's ranks? Only after 3 decades of writing over 40 books, winning numerous awards, and creating the most beloved televison shows of all time. And David Gerrold has done it again. Worlds of Wonder is an truly exceptional 'how to write' book. Gerrold is at the top of his form in this work, taking the reader through all the gritty details of writing science fiction and fantasy. Except, like his fiction, Gerrold's writing is irresistible, and his instructions and exercises are more of a pleasure than a chore. Each chapter is littered with complex ideas and fascinating tales. Be prepared for detailed tours of Tatooine, the bridge of The Enterprise, and Middle Earth. Gerrold tells aspiring writers what works; and more importantly what doesn't. And what other writer do you know that can make a chapter on 'metric prose' not only entertaining, but desirable. Of course the best thing about this book is the inclusion of some of Gerrold's best fiction. Used to illustrate specific points, it is an extra treat to read how it is done correctly but one of the genre's major talents. In his first book published way back in 1973, Gerrold described how the science fiction writers he worshiped were 'special dreamers', and how he longed to be one of the dreamers. It would be great to hand that teenage boy a copy of WORLDS OF WONDER, written by his future self. WORLDS OF WONDER would be an excellent capstone to Gerrold's career, except if you have read his most recent books, you know he is just getting started.
| 
