Gateways [Kindle Edition]

Elizabeth Anne. Hull (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First professionally published over 70 years ago, Hugo and Nebula Award winner Frederik Pohl has excelled as a writer, editor, and agent. In the course of this long career, Pohl has influenced many of the premier authors in the field of science fiction; this anthology, edited by Pohl's wife Hull, is an expression of respect and affection from his peers. More than two dozen writers have contributed, from Brian Aldiss to Connie Willis and even (thanks to a reprinted chapter) the late Isaac Asimov. The tributes and stories are as diverse as their authors; Hull's introduction illustrates the warm and loving relationship she shares with Pohl, while grand-daughter Emily Pohl-Weary's contribution demonstrates a laudable familial piety. Though not all of the stories are hits, this anthology conveys Pohl as an iconic figure who is clearly respected and liked by his colleagues, friends, and family. (Sept.) (c)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“This is a substantial anthology, good value for the money, 17 stories from top authors, the bulk of them original. The stories are solidly entertaining. The best story in the book and the one that gives the strongest impression of having been centrally influenced by and in dialog with Pohl’s own work, is Cory Doctorow’s novella ‘Chicken Little.’ Doctorow’s updated high-tech take on creatures who have immortality but not eternal youth, continuing to age through their extended lives, is particularly ingenious. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one show up on an award ballot next year.” —Locus

“This is truly a smashing volume, a testament to the impact that Pohl has had on several generations of SF writers and readers.” — Cory Doctorow, boingboing.com on Gateways

“Pohl has influenced many of the premier authors in the field of science fiction. More than two dozen writers have contributed, from Brian Aldiss to Connie Willis and even (thanks to a reprinted chapter) the late Isaac Asimov. This anthology conveys Pohl as an iconic figure.” —Publishers Weekly

“There are more than a dozen stories and a raft of appreciations. As a series of gateways into the individual writers here, they work well; as gateways into appreciation of Pohl’s work, they work even better: David Brin has a long and shiny story toward the front of the book, ‘Shoresteading’; Cory Doctorow has the thought-provoking ‘Chicken Little’ toward the end; and almost every story, poem, and appreciation in between is well worth your time…and the time it’ll take you to find any of the Pohl works you’ve missed.” —San Diego Union-Tribune

“Each author has written a story that he or she feels reflects the effect Pohl has had on the field—in the style of writing, the narrative tone, or the subject matter. It says a lot about Pohl's career that the authors represented here themselves span many decades and styles. Every story here is uniquely nuanced; all of them as entertaining and thought provoking as Pohl's fiction.” —SFF Chat

“Fred Pohl was, at the dawn of time. Is, today. And will always be with us, at the top.” —Harlan Ellison

“There is something in Gateways for every sci-fi reader. If it isn’t just the fannish pleasure of seeing some of your favorite authors having a bit of fun, it might be discovering some old or new sci-fi star telling their favorite Fred Pohl story, or maybe just the delight of finding a little genre gem tucked away in there.” —New York Journal of Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 790 KB
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (July 6, 2010)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003P8QS8M
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,256 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #17 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Science Fiction > Anthologies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Not What I Expected, January 6, 2012

By 

Neodoering - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gateways (Hardcover)

I thought this was a collection of stories in the style of the Gateways books, which remain one of my all-time favorite sci-fi stories. Part treasure-hunt, part roulette wheel, the original Gateway stories have you biting your nails all the way along as you worry about the characters in their very dangerous profession of exploring ancient space routes left behind by an advanced, ancient race.

This collection is an appreciation of the Gateway stories, not more Gateway stories. People talk about Fred Pohl and what his stories meant to them and heap praise on him, which he deserves, but this gets dull after fifty pages. This work had one positive side effect, which is that it reminded me of the original books and made me run to the library and check them out and re-read them, which was hugely enjoyable.

Overall, this book is a bore. It's for industry insiders who were friends of Pohl's and readers who were big fans and want to hear little details of other people's relationship to him and his work. It's not what I really wanted, and in my disappointment I have given this work only two stars.

5 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pohl Shock: Authors Eagerly Support Honourarium For Master Author & Editor, December 18, 2010

By 

Nate Stokes "Nate" (South West, Western Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gateways (Hardcover)

This very cool collection of stories inspired by and recollections about Frederik Pohl by some of the premier SF authors in the field today was put together by his wife, Elizabeth 'Betty' Hull, for Freds 90th (I think..) birthday. As many of my regular (hahahahahaharofl) readers will know, I consider Frederik Pohl to be THE Grand Master of SF. There has never been an author as visionary or as multifaceted as Fred, and there probably never will be.

As an aside, to anyone who wants to challange this with 'Issac Asimov', I say (redacted) off. Asimov was a brilliant feller, no doubt about it, but he couldn't write for (redacted again). Heinlein doesn't even come close either. Maybe Cordwainer Smith might be up there, or at a stretch you could chuck in Doc Smith if you're into that kind of thing, but Fred is the clear master to my mind. Gene Wolfe is as good, but not for as long, so far. For evidence to support this claim, see Platinum Pohl, the collected short stories from a year or two back - 100% brilliant.

Anyway, this book collects all sorts of stories by authors basically 'doing' Fred Pohl, mostly pretty successfully. I enjoyed spotting the secret Pohlgeek references and the stories were pretty good on their own anyway. Standouts for me were the work by David Brin, who I am not usually a fan of, and Cory Doctorow. And a massive bonus is that many of the old timers have contributed real life stories about Fred, which gives a real sense of the man beyond just his printed fiction.

If you like Fred Pohl, get this book. He deserves the honour, and the book certainly does him justice. If you don't like Fred Pohl, what the heck are you reading this for? Go get a John Grisham or something, you barbarian.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A big disappointment, March 1, 2011

By 

Just another reviewer "Just another Chicago fan" (Waco, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gateways (Hardcover)

This collection contains one good long story by David Brin that one might have wished would have blossomed into a novel to encompass all of the pages of this book, a couple of slightly below average short stories, and several really bad stories. Overall, it is one of the weakest collection of any genre that I have ever purchased. It is really the case that the dedications to Pohl are generally better than most of the fiction. If you are a great fan of Pohl, you will enjoy these. But otherwise there is just not much here. I threw my copy away rather than have it waste useful shelf space.