The Mammoth Book of Science Fiction [Paperback]

Mike Ashley (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Mammoth Books | Publication Date: May 10, 2002

Twenty leading science fiction authors, including Stephen Baxter, Brian W. Aldiss, Philip K. Dick, and Connie Willis, chronicle the changes and surprises that might befall humanity in the centuries to come. Is the ultimate Utopia heaven or hell? asks Robert Sheckley in his "A Ticket to Tranai." In "The Infinite Assassin," Greg Egan polices the multiverse for murderers of their alternate selves. Geoffrey A. Landis plumbs the depths of a black hole in "Approaching Perimelasma." These and other stories by James White, Eric Frank Russell, Robert Reed, H. Beam Piper, H. Chandler Elliott, and many others make this one of the most entertaining and thought-provoking science fiction anthologies in light-years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans who prefer their SF heavy on ideas will enjoy prolific British editor Ashley's latest anthology, comprising 22 tales, mostly reprints, which focus on the question, "what if?" Stories range in tone from deadly serious, as a colonist on an alien planet avenges the desecration of his wife's grave (Peter Hamilton's "Deathday"), to a romp featuring clone private eyes (John Morressy's "Except My Life3"). Several takes on time travel foreground its danger: Connie Willis's "Firewatch" follows a time traveler sent back to 1940 to snuff out fires at St. Paul's Cathedral during WWII; and in Damon Knight's "Anachron," brothers feud over a time-travel device that allows access to unlimited treasures. Several stories explore sentience: Eric Frank Russell, in "Into Your Tent I'll Creep," asks what would happen if dogs were the real masters of humanity. What if electricity were sentient and hostile? Keith Roberts provides a chilling scenario in "High Eight." What if Io was an alien machine? Michael Swanwick presents an arresting view of the Jovian moon in the powerful "The Very Pulse of the Machine." The stories from the 1980s and 1990s are particularly strong; the ones from the 1950s haven't aged well but have intriguing ideas. The historical depth is sketchy, and two stories by Stephen Baxter and Eric Brown were commissioned just for this anthology. Despite these gaps and drawbacks, the juxtaposition of old and new sheds new light on some old classics and vice versa.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The mammoths roll on, this time into short sf, with quite respectable results, though some eyebrows may be raised because the work of only one woman is included. Editor Ashley seems to have been looking for demonstrations of major themes, such as time travel (Connie Willis' "Fire Watch"), alien invasion (Eric Frank Russell's "Into Your Tent I'll Creep"), and cloning (John Morressy's "Except My Life3"). In addition, there is satire by RobertSheckley, Philip K. Dick, and Mark Clifton, questioning of technology in Keith Roberts' fine early story "High Eight," two Victorian end-of-the-world stories, and a goodly array of other approaches to some of the themes noted so far. One brand-new story, Eric Brown's "Ulla, Ulla," opens the collection by revisiting a trail blazed by H. G. Wells, while the other debutant, Stephen Baxter's "Refugium," comes from his Manifold Universe (see Manifold: Origin [BKL Ja 1 & 15 02]). Both new pieces resemble the others in being well constructed and occasionally rather offbeat. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (May 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786710047
• ISBN-13: 978-0786710041
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,539,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A whole lot of very little, November 21, 2006

By 

J. Hatch "KermieD" (Oshkosh, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Science Fiction (Paperback)

The stories chosen for this book are average at best. The new stories do nothing to grab the imagination and the stories from established authors just give the feeling of being chosen more for their obscurity (cheap royalties?) than the quality of the stories. The whole thing just seems to have a feel of "let's get as many words into a book as cheaply as possible".

If you're looking for something to while away the time, you've come to the right place. If you're looking for a collection of stories that either defines the genre or challenges the imagination, you'll want to look somewhere else.

21 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars real science fiction, December 25, 2002

By A Customer

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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Science Fiction (Paperback)

In the Introduction Mike Ashley writes that science fiction is a literature of ideas. Many authors and editors who claim to work on the field these days seem to have forgotten this. (or maybe they never knew) But Mr.Ashley delivers in the grand tradition. This is an awsome collection of original ideas. The stories are varied, interesting, deep, funny, spooky - but all are good.

If you think that SF should be about original ideas and not tired cliches then this book is for you. Mr.Ashley appears to be a slightly better editor then Hartwell, and way way better then Dozois.

5.0 out of 5 stars a good book, November 8, 2010

By 

AB - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Science Fiction (Paperback)

I enjoy those Mammoth Books, as they give the readers an overview of good contemporary science fiction, at a cheap rate too! I even discovered a novel by Ph. K. Dick I didn't know. The book doesn't fit in your pocket, though.