New Arrivals, Old Encounters [Paperback]

Brian Wilson Aldiss (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Well written, evocative and disturbing…….Aldiss is a magician" -- – Sunday Times

About the Author

Brian Wilson Aldiss was born in East Dareham, Norfolk, in 1925 and has written over 40 novels and over 300 short stories, making him one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He worked as a Bookseller in Oxford between 1947 and 1956 during which he wrote his first novel The Brightfount Diaries. His first work of science fiction was Non-Stop (1958) and he won the Most Promising New Author award at the SF convention the following year. At this time his work was characterised by innovative literary techniques and a high sexual content.

In 1962 Hothouse won a Hugo award given by the World Science Fiction Society and in the seventies he explored the experiences of a young soldier in The Horatio Stubbs Saga novels. With Frankenstein Unbound and Moreau’s Other Island he paid tribute to two founders of SF - Mary Shelley and H.G. Wells. By the time of the release of the well received Hellinconia sequence he had become one of the most prominent British SF writers rivalling such fellow authors as J.G.Ballard and Michael Moorcock

Since 1961 Aldiss has edited anthologies including SF Horizons and has regularly reviewed for the TLS as well as numerous newspapers. Other works include a history of SF, Billion Year Spree, an autobiography Twinkling of an Eye and some poetry. In 1999 he became A Grand Master at the Nebula awards given by the SF and Fantasy Writers Guild for his lifetime achievements in SF writing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: House of Stratus Ltd (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755100808
• ISBN-13: 978-0755100804
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,250,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars God, Machines, and Thought make for Mind-Blowing Fiction, January 15, 2010

By 

Therese L. Arkenberg (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Arrivals, Old Encounters (Paperback)

This short story collection from the late 70's is made up of...well, it's hard to explain. When I described a few of the stories to my sister, she suggested "bizzaro" fiction as its closest modern relative. Perhaps people who have read a lot of classic science fiction wouldn't be as lost as I am. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it; every so once in a while I enjoy having my head explode. Aldiss deals with heavy stuff here, usually God (machines that are gods, people looking through cracks in reality to see the face of God, even a story that might be narrated by God himself) and thought (the question of whether or not people actually think, telepathic races and what happens to them when they encounter humans, humans who make machines or immortals do all their thinking for them). Since I happen to like both God and Thought, I did enjoy most of these stories. I skipped two which just didn't grab me, and though it's unusual for me to skip stories in a collection, I think it's largely symptomatic of my general rush during the new year's season. I think this is a collection that would hold up to plenty of re-reading, though I usually don't reread books either.