The stories in this book were voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America as the best short science fiction written between 1929 and 1964 and every one is a gem. Some of these stories are reasonably well known and often reprinted, but most of them are difficult to find anywhere else, making this an essential collection for a true fan of the genre. In response to an earlier request for a list of its contents, here are the story titles and authors. I was going to indulge myself by placing an asterisk next to my personal favorites, but I found myself marking almost all of them. The collection is that good.
A Martian Odyssey -- Stanley G. Weinbaum
Twilight -- John W. Campbell
Helen O'Loy -- Lester del Rey
The Roads Must Roll -- Robert A. Heinlein
Microcosmic God -- Theodore Sturgeon
Nightfall -- Isaac Asimov
The Weapon Shop -- A. E. van Vogt
Mimsy Were the Borogoves -- Lewis Padgett
Huddling Place -- Clifford D. Simak
Arena -- Fredric Brown
First Contact -- Murray Leinster
That Only a Mother -- Judith Merril
Scanners Live in Vain -- Cordwainer Smith
Mars is Heaven -- Ray Bradbury
The Little Black Bag -- C. M. Kornbluth
Born of Man and Woman -- Richard Matheson
Coming Attraction -- Fritz Leiber
The Quest for Saint Aquin -- Anthony Boucher
Surface Tension -- James Blish
The Nine Billion Names of God -- Arthur C. Clarke
It's a Good Life -- Jerome Bixby
The Cold Equations -- Tom Godwin
Fondly Fahrenheit -- Alfred Bester
The Country of the Kind -- Damon Knight
Flowers for Algernon -- Daniel Keyes
A Rose for Ecclesiastes -- Roger Zelazny The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1: 1929-1964
I picked this collection up on a whim at my local used book store, mostly to get an idea of which other Sci-fi writers I might be interested in collecting from. This collection turned out to be a goldmine of Science Fiction. In fact, this is one of the only books I will not lend out to friends; and I own an old, ratty-looking paperback Copyright 1970! There are many great stories here, but there are a few I must mention as bona-fide masterpieces. "Microcosmic God" by Theodore Sturgeon is fantastic; the plotting for this story reminded me of the 1995 cable pilot episode for the film "The Outer Limits: Sandkings." Even the creators of South Park use similar ideas in one of their episodes. This collection also contains the sparkling jewel "Nightfall" from Issac Asimov. "Surface Tension" from James Blish is superb in every way. "The Nine Billion Names of God" finds Arthur C. Clarke is fine form. "The Cold Equations" from Tom Godwin is arguably the most intense and sad of all the stories here, packing an emotional wallop not ordinarily seen in Sci-fi. And of course, "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. I believe that last one is my favorite here, showing a retarded man's ascension to genius, 'childhood' to a wise and intellectual human being. This story was later expanded into a novel which, in fact, I am reading right now. However, I prefer the original short story version, if only slightly. There are so many stories here ranging from good to marvellous that I simply had to write a review praising this incredible collection. This book is easy to recommend.
The old purple and blue version of this book - the purple was on the edge of the pages, the way some older books have velvety green sides - was my first introduction to the Golden Age of science fiction. The inventiveness and the creative audacity of these stories was always enough to overcome what I felt would have been a cripplingly antiquated "Gee golly" 1950s vernacular... except that the writing almost never has that black and white Leave it to Beaver sitcomish feel that, for some reason, was always attached to the Golden Age in my mind. Stylistically the collection is all over the place. The Connecticut Yankee anachronism of Roger Zelazny in "Lord of Light" is nowhere to be found in "A Rose for Ecclesiastices". Clarke's famous "The Nine Billion Names of God" isn't even a science fiction story until, basically, the last sentence. And describing anything written by Cordwainer Smith with "genre", "usual" or even "describable" is not applicable. I love this collection and, impossibly, every story in it - though some more than others.
I won't dwell on the weakest. Instead I'll highlight what I consider to be the best:
Sturgeon's "Microcosmic God" has the creepy, jealousy tinged atmosphere of nerds watching another nerd who is better at being a nerd than anyone else. This is what I would've been doing with my adolescent years if only mind and matter would've allowed, so reading it brings the distinct pleasure of reliving childhood fantasies. I'm also pretty sure it's the inspiration for a Simpsons Halloween episode involving Lisa and her tooth, which became a South Park nod to both the story and the Simpsons.
Asimov's "Nightfall" is rightly considered one of the best science fiction short stories ever. I've read the longer form and this is superior in pretty much every way: it's already one of the longer stories in this collection but it still benefits from the shorter form with its building stress and, yes, horror during the final pages. Many would disagree but I think "Nightfall" is one of the least creative stories in the collection in terms of sheer inventiveness. Despite that it's still incredible.
Cordwainer Smith is just amazing. As prosaic as that sounds it's about all I can say. "Scanners Live in Vain" is one of the weirdest stories in the collection and it might arguably be one of Smith's most "mundane". Reading a Smith story is like opening the pages of the Book of Revelations as interpreted by the grandson of cartoonist Gary Larson, the painter Francis Bacon, a very wise female clown and Joan of Arc - and you're on acid. This is all an endorsement, by the way.
James Blish's "Surface Tension" is as good an "adventure" story as you'll find here. It's got a fairly linear plot and isn't hard to follow. It isn't simplistic, per se, but it hasn't got the style of some of the other pieces in this collection. It's one of my sentimental favorites, though, for its ability to impart - at least somewhat - a finer sense of proportion than pretty much any description of the vastness of the universe, including Doug Adams'.
And, finally, my absolutely favorite: "Mimsy Were the Borogroves". I'm not doing to describe it. I'm going to simply agree with another commentator that purchasing this book is worth it if only for this one story. - Adventure - Intelligent Sf - Classic Science Fiction - Book'
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