Minireview: The Great SF Stories 11 (1949), edited by Isaac Asimov & Martin Greenberg
Great SF Stories 11 is the last book I have in this series, the series itself being a one-book-per-year look at “classic SF”, as picked by Asimov & Greenberg. The quality of the stories has varied among the books, but I’ve usually found at least a few stories to really like in each. Sure, these are old stories, but many of these “later” (1950-ish) stories are actually ones that I’ve read before, in lots of other anthologies. In fact, I grew up reading a lot of these, so there’s quite a bit of nostalgia factor – and of course it’s interesting to read these now as an adult, I’m pretty sure I’m interpreting many of them differently now. Or at least I hope I am.
Anyway, this is one of the better books in this series (of the limited number I have and have read). Theodore Sturgeon, Lewis Padgett (i.e. Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore), James H. Schmitz’s classic romp “The Witches of Karres”, Clifford D. Simak… all the stories here are at least enjoyable, some are excellent. Asimov’s editorial “voice” is still as self-centered and annoying as ever, but Greenberg compensates for that.
For people interested in classic SF stories, this anthology series is a good bet. Not all of the stories are brilliant (the “SF” field was still developing and “pulpy” at the time) and the cultural mores of the times can lend bizarre extra weirdness at times… but that’s part of the charm. Out of print now, though, so used-book stores or eBay is the way to go. […]
Minireview: The Great SF Stories 9 (1947), edited by Isaac Asimov & Martin Greenberg
The last book I read in this series (#5, 1943) wasn’t too good, to be honest. I’m sure the editors did their best, but apparently the state of the art was pretty poor that year – possibly due to that “war” thingy that was grinding down around that time. Who knows. In any case, Great SF Stories 9 is much better. Much better.
This series is edited by Isaac Asimov (who gets star billing) and Martin Greenberg (who actually seems to do the work). Asimov mainly provides extremely annoying and self-centered intros to stories, most of which are along the vein of “this story reminds me of my own story Y, which of course is more famous…”. Well, not always, but he does come off (again) as a bit of a pompous jerk. Greenberg actually talks about the stories in question and provides some small amount of background. In any case, the editorializing doesn’t matter all that much, it’s the stories that carry the weight (or don’t). Here, they do.
Lots of stories here that I remember reading when I was younger, I think this is starting to be representative of the SF short stories I read a lot when growing up. Clarke, Sturgeon, Tenn, etc. I practically grew up reading Clarke and Heinlein. Explains a lot, I suppose. Almost too many standout stories here to mention, but let’s see… especially memorable were Thodore Sturgeon’s “Tiny and the Monster”, Ray Bradbury’s “Zero Hour” and Arthur C. Clarke’s “The Fires Within”, but all of the stories here were at the very least in the “good” category.
Nice compilation of classic science fiction stories. Some are a bit dated, of course, but they still work very well. […]
Minireview: The Great SF Stories 5 (1943), edited by Isaac Asimov & Martin Greenberg
The Great SF Stories 5 is the fifth in a long-running anthology collected by Isaac Asimov and Martin Greenberg, attempting to gather what they considered to be the best science fiction stories of a given year – 1943 in this case. Yes, these are old stories.
It’s interesting to read old (or “classic”) science fiction stories. The customs and mores of the age can’t help but shine through, even though the writers are usually trying to write about the future and to be “radical”. It almost always comes off as quaint and old-fashioned, of course. Women still are mostly in the background, or in the “damsel in distress” role, though there are refreshing exceptions to this. The stories seem very… well, clean. Compared to modern stuff, the characters tend to be quite straight-laced, even when they are obviously not meant to be. There’s no sex to speak of, and the violence is mostly quite sterile. Most importantly, the stories just aren’t all that sophisticated and complex (though exceptions exist). Simpler tales from a largely simpler age… or at least one which wished that the future would be clean, happy and simple. No such luck, of course.
The stories here are quite readable, but only a few stand out. Lewis Padgett’s “Mimsy Were the Borogoves” is easily the best of the bunch, with Lawrence O’Donnell’s “Clash By Night” and Leigh Brackett’s “The Halfling” also being worth a mention. As a “best of year” collection, this one would indicate that 1943 wasn’t the best year in general for SF. Of course, it was in the middle of WW2 – so maybe there was a general demand for lightweight, optimistic stories. I guess people had enough of the “grim & gritty” in their lives without stories enforcing that… and of course, “classic” SF tends to be idea-driven and quite optimistic, in general. […]
