It's hard to complain about a $2 electronic book that gives you over 30 novels/stories in it. There's got to be something for every sci-fi fan in a collection like that. I personally bought it for the Skylark series.
Which brings me to why I only gave the collection 3 stars (actually, I'd like to give 3.5, but that is not an option offered by Amazon).
I have had the entire Skylark series and the Lensman series since I first started reading for enjoyment ... some 40 years ago. I still have all the paperback volumes. But I'm older now and it's much easier for me to use my computer and the Kindle for PCs which Amazon was so kind to give me to read my favorite authors. I was sorely disappointed to find that in all my searching only the first two novels from the Skylark series are available on Kindle. I can't find SL of Valeron or SL DeQuesne in any of the collections or as a seperate purchase. And the same is true of the excellent Lensman series. This is very disappointing to me. True, I still have the paperbacks, but would like the electronic versions now.
In an anthology such as this, with so many titles included; it eludes me as to why the publishers cannot include the complete series. Yes, perhaps it is a question of royalties and such, but writer Smith is no longer with us and some of his work is available (all of it in paperback). It puzzles me.
Well, that is the case with this book. That's my beef. Now, for the casual reader who likes science fiction from the golden years. This electronic book is an incredible value. For less than the price of one of today's paperbacks, you get over 30 novels from some of the older names. Truly the material (technical aspects) is dated and sometimes the story is a little campy. But the writings are very enjoyable.
While I'm hoping for a Kindle release of a complete collections version, this is a good temporary solution and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys science fiction. Great enjoyment that won't empty your wallet.
~P~ The Ultimate Science Fiction Collection: Volume Two (30+ Books)
Three great writers from the Golden Age of SF H. Beam Piper, Mack Reynolds, and E.E. Smith
List of books in Ultimate Science Fiction Volume 2
H. Beam Piper
The Answer
The Cosmic Computer
Crossroad of Destiny
Day of the Moran
Dearest
The Edge of the Knife
Flight from Tomorrow
Four Day Planet
Genesis
Graveyard of Dreams
He Walked around the Horses
The Keeper
Last Enemy
Little Fuzzy
The Mercenaries
Ministry of Disturbance
Murder in the Gunroom
Naudsonce
Null-ABC
Oomphel in the Sky
Omnilungual
Operation RSVP
Patrol
Police Operation
Rebel Raider
The Return
A Slave is a Slave
Space Viking
Temple Trouble
Time and Time Again
Time Crime
Ullr Uprising
Mack Reynolds
Adaptation
The Common Man
Gun for Hire
Medal of Honor
Mercenary
Revolution
A Stranger Here Myself
Subversive
Summit
Unborn Tommorrow
E.E. Smith
The Galaxy Primes
Masters of Space
The Skylark of Space
Skylark Three
Spacehounds of IPC
Subspace Survivors
Triplanetary
The Vortex Blaster
The stories are clearly dated, as I've read quite a few that either dealt directly with or had the backdrop of the arms race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and the political systems represented by the two at the time. The stories themselves are bare and simple (character development at times take a backseat) and slowly guide the reader into the their worlds, lending themselves to be easily understood and followed.
This is contrasted with more modern Scifi short stories that tend to throw the reader abruptly into the story and piled on layers of complexity in order to achieve a multidimensional depth. Perhaps with the ages, the scifi aficionados have evolved such that they desire such nuances even from a short story. For folks that like to get back to basics, or for lazy Sundays when you want to lay back and take it easy, these old stories from a simpler time make an enjoyable read.
Fun to read but would have been more fun when I was 10 years old! I am 69 now! Very wordy but the science is close to the mark even remaining far out! And they missed some stuff like computers and robots! - Science Fiction - Anthologies - Classic Sci-fi - Science Thriller'
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