1984 Annual World's Best Science Fiction [Mass Market Paperback]

Donald A. Wollheim (Editor)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: DAW (June 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879979348
• ISBN-13: 978-0879979348
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,466,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Anthology, December 31, 2004

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Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1984 Annual World's Best Science Fiction (Mass Market Paperback)

The title may be a bit inaccurate, but this is a good collection of short speculative fiction. This is a collection of 10 stories, which were originally published in 1983, and it is the collection itself which was published in June of 1984. Six of these stories have won awards or been recognized in the SF community.

'Blood Music' by Greg Bear was first published in Analog in June of 1983. It is the story of a scientist who crates "smart" cells using biotechnology and then injects them into himself. Greg Bear would eventually publish a novel with this name in 1985. This story won both the Nebula and Hugo awards for best novelette, and it also finished 4th for the Locus Award and 3rd on the SF Chronicle poll for novelettes. It was recognized again in the 1999 Locus All-Time poll for novelettes where it tied for 13th.

'Potential' by Isaac Asimov was first published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in February of 1983. It is one of Asimov's Multivac stories, where they are looking for humans with the potential for telepathy. I have read some criticism of this story where it was called "meaningless", but I would have to disagree. It is only 8 pages long, and even though it is a story of such short length it does have a message. It was ranked 16th on the 1984 Locus Awards for short stories.

`Knight of Shallows' by Rand B. Lee was first published in Amazing Science Fiction in July of 1983. This is a Multiverse scenario where a man learns that another universe's version of him is traveling to different universes and murdering that universe's version of him. This novelette did not receive any awards, but I thought it held up fairly well with the other stories in this collection.

`Spending a Day at the Lottery Fair' by Frederik Pohl was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October of 1983. This story deals with the subject of overpopulation. Any further discussion of it would act as a spoiler, so it will suffice it to say that it is worth reading. This story finished 3rd for the 1984 Locus Award for short stories.

`In The Face of My Enemy' by Joseph H. Delaney was first published in Analog in April of 1983. An investigator tries to determine whether a planet is suitable to be colonized or exploited, but the company that holds the rights is less than helpful in the process. This novella was nominated for the Hugo, and finished 10th for the 1984 Locus Award for novellas.

`The Nanny' by Thomas Wylde was first published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in July of 1983. In this end of Earth scenario a man is sent to try to plant the seed of humanity on a planet around Alpha Centauri. This novella does not have the most original story plot, but it reads well.

`The Leaves of October' by Don Sakers was first published by Analog in August of 1983. In this story a tree is brought back to Earth from another planet, and it tries to make humans aware that his kind is sentient. This story was rate 3rd for Novellas/Novelettes by the Analog Analytical Laboratory (annual reader's poll). A novel length version of this story was published in 1988.

`As Time Goes By' by Tanith Lee was first published in Chrysalis 10 in April of 1983. This is a time paradox story involving faster than light space travel. It isn't clear why this particular novelette was included in the collection. It is not a bad story, but I found it to be the weakest in the collection.

`The Harvest of Wolves' by Mary Gentle was first published in December of 1983. Of the stories in this collection this would be the closest to a "1984" story. A woman tries to defend her welfare status and avoid being declared unfit to live. This short story (8 pages) may not have won any awards, but definitely holds its own.

`Homefaring' by Robert Silverberg was first published in Phantasia in 1983. This is one of the best stories in the collection. A man's consciousness is sent forward in time, where he finds himself sharing the body of a future resident of Earth. This story was nominated for a Nebula Award for novellas, and finished 3rd on the SF Chronicle for 1984 and 4th for the Locus Award.