Looking for older Sci Fi anthology

[OMEGAblack]

Around 97 to 2000 I read a Sci Fi anthology that included Harrison Bergeron, as well as a story where a man wake up in a concrete city and no matter where you are you can see a clock with a count down (I think on it) and if you aren’t inside before it ends you are shot, and another where a spacecraft is descending through the atmosphere of a planet and there are giant jelly fish in the atmosphere. I have searched and searched and I can not find the name of the book. I remember it was hard cover and the jacket was mostly black. Let me know your thoughts.

 

[Hugh]

Could be "Best SF Seven" edited by Edmund Crispin?

Publication: Best SF Seven

www.isfdb.org

Cover isn't black.

 

[Hugh]

All the anthologies with Harrison Bergeron are listed here:

Title: Harrison Bergeron

www.isfdb.org

Under the column titled format you can see which ones are hardback (hc) and if you click on the title you will be able to see the cover and contents. Doing that may ring some bells....

For instance:

or

 

[tinkerdan]

The Golden Age of Science Fiction (anthology) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ravensquawk]

The story of "jellyfish" (Medusae) in the atmosphere matches "A Meeting With Medusa" by Arthur C. Clarke.

It could probably be no other: the deuterium-tritium balloon airship (or rather, gasbag) descends through the atmosphere of Jupiter, and the pilot sees these fantastic lifeforms, giant manta ray creatures, and other lifeforms.

One of the Medusae touches his craft with a tentacle. Now I need to read it again.

Everything is described so richly -- his memories of his past airship crash with altered superchimp crew members, his adjusting his rate of descent, the sights and sounds of the lifeforms, having his ship rocked by the lifeform's contact -- that it is a nonstop page-turner.

A subplot has to do with the pilot having so much reconstructive surgery after the previous airship crash, that it rendered him a bit closer to cyborg, and not relating much to humans.

I have "The World Treasury of Science Fiction" edited by David G. Hartwell, and just checked: both "Harrison Bergeron" and "A Meeting With Medusa" are in it.

 

[BAYLOR]

The story of "jellyfish" (Medusae) in the atmosphere matches "A Meeting With Medusa" by Arthur C. Clarke.

It could probably be no other: the deuterium-tritium balloon airship (or rather, gasbag) descends through the atmosphere of Jupiter, and the pilot sees these fantastic lifeforms, giant manta ray creatures, and other lifeforms.

One of the Medusae touches his craft with a tentacle. Now I need to read it again.

Everything is described so richly -- his memories of his past airship crash with altered superchimp crew members, his adjusting his rate of descent, the sights and sounds of the lifeforms, having his ship rocked by the lifeform's contact -- that it is a nonstop page-turner.

A subplot has to do with the pilot having so much reconstructive surgery after the previous airship crash, that it rendered him a bit closer to cyborg, and not relating much to humans.

I have "The World Treasury of Science Fiction" edited by David G. Hartwell, and just checked: both "Harrison Bergeron" and "A Meeting With Medusa" are in it.

Two old anthologies I reccomend

Before the Golden Age edited by Isaac Asimov It contain some pretty good science classic 1930's Soccer actin by writer known and unknown . One story in particular Born of the Sun by Jack Williamson A comic book adpataion of this wonderful old story was done by Slipstream Adventures in Science Fiction 1976 issues number 3

Galactic Empires volumes 1 and 2 edited by Brain Aldiss. It contains stories by Poul Anderson , R A Lafferty , Cordwainer Smith and others. My favorite story in that Anthology is All The Way Back By Michael Shaara

 

[Ravensquawk]

Two old anthologies I reccomend

Before the Golden Age edited by Isaac Asimov It contain some pretty good science classic 1930's Soccer actin by writer known and unknown . One story in particular Born of the Sun by Jack Williamson A comic book adpataion of this wonderful old story was done by Slipstream Adventures in Science Fiction 1976 issues number 3

Galactic Empires volumes 1 and 2 edited by Brain Aldiss. It contains stories by Poul Anderson , R A Lafferty , Cordwainer Smith and others. My favorite story in that Anthology is All The Way Back By Michael Shaara

Before the Golden Age is... iconic.
Can't quite say I cut my teeth on it, maybe my wisdom teeth; maybe at 19.

Thanks for the memories: I'm looking through its contents on ISFDB. Simak's "The World of the Red Sun" is the favorite of the ones I can remember.

Thank you for the other too. Something about Clifford Simak, Cordwainer Smith, and Poul Anderson... the stories by those three have something in common... maybe not the hard science like Gregory Benford's, but Simak's good-to-the-core people (more than real life would be, I think), and high ethics and principles; their stories are nostalgic, wistful and poetic....

"the thunderous light on Wonderstrands"