The SF of Mark Clifton, ed by Maltzberg & Greenberg

[Omphalos]

The plots of Clifton's stories were practically indescribable because they were so complex and multi-faceted. As dense and realistic as his plots were, his characters were orders of magnitude moreso. Even the little one-time-use throw away characters were given some motivation and personality. The reader will encounter excellent characterization, logically complete plots with most of the story lines resolved, and cool ideas devised by an informed and experienced writer who knows how to breath real life into his stories. He or she will also find some radical ideas, for the 1950's anyway, about the basis of scientific knowledge, the experimental method, sources of power and the strengths and abilities of the individual mind. Clifton's fiction has a strong "there are far stranger things then you know" vibe to it, and in every story in this collection he delivers brilliantly on that premise...Please click here, or on the book cover above, to be taken to the complete review..

 

[j d worthington]

With the exception of "Crazy Joey" (which was included in the Carroll & Graf edition of The Immortality Machine/They'd Rather Be Right), and perhaps one other story, I've not read any of Clifton's sf. Sounds like someone else whose work I need to become more familiar with....

 

[Omphalos]

It was better than I expected it to be, JD. I was not the greatest fan of They'd Rather Be Right and I was expecting more of that. This stuff seemed to be much smoother to me and was worth the effort to find an old copy. You may also want to pick up Barry Maltzberg's Breakfast In the Ruins. Maltzberg included a few essays about Clifton in that book.

 

[blacknorth]

Great review, Omphalos, hadn't realised Clifton's work was quite so complex. I've been through Eight Keys To Eden which I enjoyed but read probably too quickly.

 

[Omphalos]

Thank you for the compliment.

He is definitely a better writer of short fiction than long.

 

[Omphalos]

Some of Clifton's works can now be found at The Gutenberg's SF Bookshelf page.

Browse By Author: C - Project Gutenberg

 

[blacknorth]

Thanks for that. Oh, Sense From Thought Divide, happy days.