Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the 20th Century

Rating:
Summary: Masterpieces???????????
Review: Don't be fooled by the title. There are very few "masterpieces" in this book. Even the stories by "masterpiece" authors are not their best (Asimov, Heinlein, Silverberg, Ellison, and Aldiss, for example). Where are Bester, Wolfe, Zelazny, and and Robert Reed? -- writers whose genius was at its best in shorter venues. Almost half of this book (which is "The Best Science Fiction of the Century") is from the 80s and 90s, much by unheard of authors. On top of that Card's introductions are very sloppy. In one he uses the phrase "science fiction" three times in one sentence. Quite frankly, I'm not sure that Card actually edited the book. It looks like Ace decided to put together an anthology to boost residual sales, putting the focus on more contemporary work and getting a popular author to put his name on the cover.

Rating:
Summary: How could I be disappointed?
Review: Look at the names on that list. Each is like revisiting an old friend. I recommend this collection for anybody seeking a book to introduce another to really good science fiction.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Anthology of the Century
Review: Masterpieces is the most accessible anthology of great science fiction short stories I have ever read. Every piece was easy to get into, yet not lacking in depth. Only the Niven and Asimov pieces were even vaguely familiar -- well, I've read absolutely ALL of Asimov. Each author was carefully and, in my opinion, well selected. I was especially impressed by George R.R. Martin's menacing "Sandkings", C.J. Cherryh's "Pots", set in yet another invented universe, and by "Dogfight", the most readable Gibson (written with Michael Swanwick) I've ever encountered, but still illuminated by narrative from within cyberspace. I thoroughly enjoyed every story.

Rating:
Summary: Some Outstanding, but not all are true masterpieces
Review: There are some excellent stories in here; some of them are amongst the best science fiction tales ever spun. Unfortunately there is a lot of "fine" and even mediocre examples as well. One could easily rate the individual stories here at between one and five stars. I give it a generous four stars due to a few of the standouts in the collection.

Several key authors are missing entirely from the book (and Card apologizes for this in his Introduction). The "Media Generation" chapter includes a couple of stories ("Bears Discover Fire" by Bisson and "Tourists" by Goldstein), that, while fine stores, are not science fiction under almost anyones' definition. I think Card could have chosen better stories by Asimov and Bradbury.

There are enough good stories to make the book worth purchasing. Of these, I include: "A Saucer of Loneliness," by Theodore Sturgeon, "The Nine Billion Names of God," by Arthur C. Clarke, "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" by Harlan Ellison, "Passengers," by Robert Silverberg, "Inconstant Moon," by Larry Niven, "Sandkings," by George R. R. Martin--and the superlative story "Pots" by C. J. Cherryh.

The net of this is that I think there is some excellent material here, but that it is neither a comprehensive sampling of twentieth century science fiction nor a true set of masterpieces. Of course, Card chose stories that affected him deeply, without turning this into another compilation driven by awards, and one has to respect that as well.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps "Fine Pieces" Rather Than "Masterpieces"
Review: This is a much better than average Ace anthology. Typically Ace, it doesn't quite live up to its hype. The twenty six stories collected here are not the "Best Science Fiction of the Century" by anybody's count, even Orson Scott Card's own. Card himself describes his selection process in the Introduction: these are stories he loved at the first reading, enjoys on repeat readings, and "[a]bove all, these are stories that I cannot forget."

I, however, *can* forget several of these stories - and already have, a mere few days after reading them. Most of the forgettable stories are the more recent ones, which is probably not a coincidence. Early science fiction (pre-1960s, let's say) is almost inherently more worthwhile than most later science fiction, and the stories selected here are cases in point. Terry Bisson's "Bears Discover Fire" is a meandering inanity. "Dog Fight" by William Gibson and Michael Swanwick is a drugs and sex tale, "appealing" only in the way that Trainspotting was "appealing." "Rat" by James Patrick Kelly is similar.

There are, however, some truly, truly great stories here, which more than merit four stars. "The Tunnel Under the World" by Frederick Pohl, for example, ends with a revelation worth the price of admission. "Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven is full of emotional impact as two individuals adjust to the thought of the sun going nova. George R. R. Martin's "Sandkings", despite being relatively recent, is a story that would might expect from Stephen King at the top of his game. Heinlein's "All You Zombies-" is a time-travel story to make the head spin. James Blish's "A Work of Art" puts Richard Strauss into the 22d century. Perhaps the most enjoyable of all is "Tunesmith" by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Biggle, writing in 1957, the dawn of the television age, predicts a society where commercials have subsumed all other forms of art, until a gifted musician appears to save society. A surprisingly moving story, and finely crafted, skilfully bringing the reader full circle without the reader ever suspecting that he was moving.

...if you truly want "masterpieces," you should pick up Silverberg's Science Fiction Hall of Fame, volume one, or even the Best of the Nebulas edited by Ben Bova. But if you want several excellent stories by talented writers, you would do much worse than this collection of Card's favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps "Fine Pieces" Rather Than "Masterpieces"
Review: This is a much better than average Ace anthology. Typically Ace, it doesn't quite live up to its hype. The twenty six stories collected here are not the "Best Science Fiction of the Century" by anybody's count, even Orson Scott Card's own. Card himself describes his selection process in the Introduction: these are stories he loved at the first reading, enjoys on repeat readings, and "[a]bove all, these are stories that I cannot forget."

I, however, *can* forget several of these stories - and already have, a mere few days after reading them. Most of the forgettable stories are the more recent ones, which is probably not a coincidence. Early science fiction (pre-1960s, let's say) is almost inherently more worthwhile than most later science fiction, and the stories selected here are cases in point. Terry Bisson's "Bears Discover Fire" is a meandering inanity. "Dog Fight" by William Gibson and Michael Swanwick is a drugs and sex tale, "appealing" only in the way that Trainspotting was "appealing." "Rat" by James Patrick Kelly is similar.

There are, however, some truly, truly great stories here, which more than merit four stars. "The Tunnel Under the World" by Frederick Pohl, for example, ends with a revelation worth the price of admission. "Inconstant Moon" by Larry Niven is full of emotional impact as two individuals adjust to the thought of the sun going nova. George R. R. Martin's "Sandkings", despite being relatively recent, is a story that would might expect from Stephen King at the top of his game. Heinlein's "All You Zombies-" is a time-travel story to make the head spin. James Blish's "A Work of Art" puts Richard Strauss into the 22d century. Perhaps the most enjoyable of all is "Tunesmith" by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Biggle, writing in 1957, the dawn of the television age, predicts a society where commercials have subsumed all other forms of art, until a gifted musician appears to save society. A surprisingly moving story, and finely crafted, skilfully bringing the reader full circle without the reader ever suspecting that he was moving.

...if you truly want "masterpieces," you should pick up Silverberg's Science Fiction Hall of Fame, volume one, or even the Best of the Nebulas edited by Ben Bova. But if you want several excellent stories by talented writers, you would do much worse than this collection of Card's favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Card plays his favorites
Review: This latest "best ... of the century" actually consists of twenty-six tales from the second half of the twentieth century and one story from the 1940s. Either that means science fiction matured considerably after World War II, the editor is too young to appreciate the early years, or the anthology should be labeled differently. In either case, the contributions are all aces and represent the wide gamut of the genre divided into three classifications: "The Golden Age, "The New Wave", and "The Media Generation". Though I enjoyed the other two periods, my favorite stories are from "The New Wave" because I cut my molars on several of these including having read some while working on a masters thesis involving science fiction. Regardless of nostalgia or other reasons for personal taste, each entry is powerful and shows how enlightening the genre can be when written by masters like those who rendered entries to MASTERPIECES: THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION OF THE CENTURY.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A few masterpieces.
Review: This title of the book is wrongly chosen, which I don't believe, or some people wanted to betray other people.
It's of course a tricky business to choose _the_ masterpieces of the century. I think that Card could/should have invested more time in seeking pieces that actually deserve the title best.
I have nothing against Card, but I hope that some editor will soon make a defining best of anthology.
Still three stars. Why? Let me explain. This isn't all mediocre.
The good: Call me Joe, All You Zombies, Nine Billion Names, Repent, Eurema's Dam, Passengers, Who Can Replace, Le Guin story, Niven story, SANDKINGS, dogfight and Snow of Crowley.
That's a lot of good stories. I didn't like the recent ones.
Most others were very readable. If this anthology wouldn't have featured such a title it would get four stars.
If somebody would lower the price and remove some stories from this book it would get five stars.
Now, if I would create an anthology bearing this name your eyes would roll out of their sockets. It would include Cordwainer Smith, Henry Kuttner, Kornbluth, brown etc. My reference book will therefore remain The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, vol. one, ed. by Silverberg. For now.
If you really want to own these stories then by all means buy this book. But remember its setup. The editor and publisher lured you to buy this book. Don't stink into it. Look beyond the sausage and go hunt some other best of....
Just my thoughts. Hey, just to keep things straight: I didn't buy this book. I know its contents.