Essential Anthologies

[dask]

I just breezed through this thread and I don't think I saw Isaac Asimov's BEFORE THE GOLDEN AGE: A SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGY OF THE 1930's, or the complementary SCIENCE FICTION OF THE THIRTIES edited by Damon Knight.

 

[j d worthington]

You know, dask, I believe you're right... at least, if they were put in there, I missed 'em, too... and I should have included 'em in my earlier posts, given my fondness for the one and full support for the other.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_the_Golden_Age

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?29124

 

[hitmouse]

Bit of a classic, this one:
Boy in Darkness by Mervyn Peake; The Voices of Time by J.G. Ballard; Danger: Religion! by Brian Aldiss

Harrison is no mean anthologist. My father got this from the library for me when I was 10, and I was utterly hooked. Some well known stories in here (the Asimov is very quaintly dated.):
"Sunjammer" by Arthur C. Clarke
"The Thing Under the Glacier" by Brian W. Aldiss
"Tricky Tonnage" by Malcolm Jameson
"Hi Riddle Riddle!" by Robert Silverberg
"Rock Pilot" by Harry Harrison
"A Pail of Air" by Fritz Leiber
"The Howling Bounders" by Jack Vance
"Moon Wreck" by William F. Temple
"Heavy Planet" by Milton A. Rothman
"Keyhole" by Murray Leinster
"The Wall Around the World" by Theodore R. Cogswell
"Someday" by Isaac Asimov

 

[Bick]

I just found this short Damon Knight Anthology on ebay and got it: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?320492

I'll report back once I've read it.

 

[barlennan]

Nebula Award Stories 8 has more big names and classic stories than you can shake a stick at. The Best Stories From New Worlds 2 is hit-and-miss, but it's got a great sense of its era, and 3 of my favourite short stories ever.

More generally, SF-wise, I'd recommend any compilation of short fiction by John Wyndham, Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon, the hugely under-rated Murray Leinster, Cyril Kornbluth and Mike "the Hugo-hoover" Resnick if we're going to get all modern about it.

...And let's not forget Heinlein, shall we? A Heinlein compendium is worth buying on the strength of All You Zombies alone.

 

[dolphintornsea]

Last year I finished The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction, edited by Arthur B. Evans and others. It was published in 2010 and featured 52 well chosen stories.

On the back cover it says that it's the best SF anthology you can buy and for once, this is pretty accurate. I'd say it's the best SF anthology of the century so far.

 

[nrburnette]

Cool art!

BLADE RUNNER
CARGO LOCK 5
THE THING

 

[dolphintornsea]

There's a forthcoming anthology edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer called The Time Traveller's Almanac that's set to feature an eye-watering 100 time travel stories!

The British publisher is Head of Zeus, and the due date is November 2013. The American edition follows in 2014. The anthology is described as "definitive", and cover designs I've seen feature the names of Wells, Asimov, Le Guin, Martin, and the obligatory "many others". Unfortunately I haven't posted often enough to feature the covers here, but I'm excited!

 

[BigBadBob141]

I cut my SF teeth on the Best SF series published by Faber edited by Edmond Crispin.
I think this went to at least volume 10, the 1st four were my favorites.
The best of F&SF magazine series are good as are Galaxy Reader & the best of If series.
The "New Writings In SF" series had some good stuff in it, think this ran to 30 volumes, think this was published by Corgi.
"The Penguin SF Omnibus" edited by Brian W Aldiss, also very good.
Finally for single writer collections I recommend "The Best OF ....." series published by Ballantine Books , the writers include F.Brown, F.Phol, P.Anderson, H.Kuttner, C.Smith and lots of others.

 

[Jesse412]

One of my favorites is a collection called They Came From Outer Space: 12 Classic Science Fiction Tales That Became Major Motion Pictures which has an introduction by Ray Bradbury. I highly recommend this collection if your a science fiction fan. Bradbury's intro titled The Turkey That Attacked New York describes how his short The Fog Horn was turned into the movie The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, a film which he personally was not too happy with.

A few other short stories included are Who Goes There by John W. Campbell, Jr. which was turned into The Thing from Another World, remade into John Carpenter's The Thing and more recently the 2011 The Thing. Harry Bates' Farewell to the Master which was filmed originally in 1951 as The Day the Earth Stood Still (I actually prefer this short story to either film versions). The Alien Machine by Raymond F. Jones filmed as This Island Earth and A Boy And His Dog by Harlan Ellison are also featured.

A cool feature to this book is that is shows behind the scenes pictures from movie sets like The Fly with Vincent Price and Death Race 2000 with Sylvester Stallone. My favorite picture features a candid moment between one of my favorite science fiction authors and one of my favorite directors. Arthur C. Clarke's The Sentinel was eventually developed into Stanley Kubrick's2001: A Space Odyssey.

 

[JaimeRetief]

I would like to mention The Rediscovery of Man and We the Underpeople by Cordwiner Smith.

I think that Smith is one of the greatest and most influential Golden Age science fiction writers that most science fiction fans have never heard about, his fiction and world building are really unique.

 

[BAYLOR]

Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison.

 

[SilentRoamer]

I had a look last night and the ones I own but didn't see on the thread are:

Strange Dreams - Edited by Stephen Donaldson (Works from Greg Bear, Theodore Sturgeon, Harlan Ellison, C.J. Cherryh, Jack Vance, Walter Jon Williams, M. John Harrison, Orson Scott Card, Franz Kafka among others)

Stephen Donaldson: Daughters of Regals and other tales

Far Horizons - Edited by Robert Silverberg (Works from Ursula K. Le. Guin, Joe Halderman, Orson Scott Card, David Brin, Robert Silverberg among others)

I plan on reading at least a number of the short stories from Far Horizons this year. Anyone read the above? Any recommendations?

 

[Randy M.]

I dipped into Strange Dreams years ago. All the stories I read I would recommend, though I may not recall exactly why:

• The Aleph • (1970) • shortstory by Jorge Luís Borges (trans. of El Aleph 1945)

No longer recall details, but it's Borges and I've read very little by Borges that didn't impress me. I really should reread some Borges.

• Lady of the Skulls • shortstory by Patricia A. McKillip

Original to this anthology and quite lovely. A fairy tale.

• Eumenides in the Fourth-Floor Lavatory • (1979) • novelette by Orson Scott Card

Disturbing, and maybe the best thing I've read by Card, an author I'm not generally in tune with. Given my memory of my reaction to it, not sure I'm in a hurry to reread.

• The Storming of Annie Kinsale • (1984) • shortstory by Lucius Shepard

Recall enjoying it, don't recall why.

• The Mark of the Beast • (1890) • shortstory by Rudyard Kipling

One of Kipling's more famous short stories. Good fun.

• The Big Dream • (1984) • novelette by John Kessel

A critique of the works of Raymond Chandler, and rather critical of Chandler. Perceptive and enjoyable, and in spite of that I still like Chandler's work, but I also like this story.

• Longtooth • (1970) • novelette by Edgar Pangborn

Just reread this in another book about two years ago. Older now, I think I was more prepared to empathize with the protagonists and enjoyed it even more than in my earlier readings. Contemplation on aging and love.

• In the Penal Colony • (1948) • novelette by Franz Kafka (trans. of In der Strafkolonie 1919)

Weird. Also strange and disturbing. Great story I would find difficult to describe.

• Air Raid • (1977) • shortstory by John Varley

One of the stories that established Varley's preeminence as a short story writer. Strong, strange s.f.

The anthology as a whole disdains genre in that Donaldson didn't care what genre the story was, he only cared what the effect of the story was.
(List filched from ISFDB.)


Randy M.

 

[Classic_SF]

I liked "The Ruins of Earth" by Disch 1975

Sci Fi short stories from the 60's with some interesting takes on earth's immediate future.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

anything you can get your hand on by Groff Conklin
There's a thread on his anthos

you'd do well to get your hands on the Wollheim and Carr series World' s best SF
they contain Great interior art by Gaughan

Don Wollheim on his own is a good anthologist as well
August Derleth,Damon Knight,Fred Pohl

 

[johnnyjet]

I loved the Judith Merril Best of the Year anthologies. Of course, this one was the Best of the Best. Lots of classics here.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

Tell me about it.
I've got all of her best SF of the year anthologies.
Groundbreaking stuff

 

[johnnyjet]

And the Judith Merril anthology of English "New Wave" SF had many fascinating & unique stories.

 

[johnnyjet]

The last Best of the Year anthology Judith Merril edited was one of the very best, simply called SF 12. 30 short stories, including: When I Was Miss Dow, by Sonya Dorman (1995 James Tiptree, Jr. Award winner); An Ornament to His Profession, by Charles L. Harness (Hugo and Nebula nominee); The Star-Pit, by Samuel R. Delany; The Primary Education of the Camiroi, by R. A. Lafferty; The Cloud-Sculptors of Coral D, by J. G. Ballard; Light of Other Days, by Bob Shaw; The Food Farm, by Kit Reed; Confluence, by Brian W. Aldiss; They Do Not Always Remember, by William S. Burroughs; The Winter Flies, by Fritz Leiber; Chicken Icarus, by Carol Emshwiller; The Other, by Katherine MacLean; In the Egg, by Gunter Grass; During the Jurassic, by John Updike; and others.