Customer Reviews

The Playboy Book of Science Fiction

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Playboy is world renown for their displays of superior female flesh, eye candy for those who indulge themselves in the finer (or seedier, however you want to view it) vices that our short lives have to offer. However, the age-old phrase "I just buy it for the articles" has long been as well deserved as their reputation for fleshy treats.

Aside from foldouts and photo shoots, Playboy has consistently offered up some of the best journalism available, in their interviews, articles, and fiction contributions. So when the Playboy publishers decide it is time to offer up, in book form, collections of the fictional material available from their magazine publication, it is well worth your while to sit up, take notice, and buy the book.

In this 1998 collection, you will find such sci-fi treats as Ray Bradbury's `Lost City Of Mars', where you are taken by yacht through the Martian canals to an abandoned city, designed to deliver whatever you wish for. Ursula K. LeGuin's `Nine Lives' takes a brand new look at cloning, and puts you inside one's mind. Kurt Vonnegut's `Welcome To The Monkey House', is a wonderful story of a bizarre underground faction that is ready to buck the system of removing overpopulation. Walter Tevis writes an ethereal and haunting love story in `The Apotheosis Of Myra', a tale of ever-waking and undying love.

Philip K. Dick's `Frozen Journey', is about a long bout of consciousness during space travel, and a computer's efforts to stay off a human's insanity. Joe Haldeman takes a personal and terrifyingly psychological look into the mind of a cyborg in `More Than The Sum Of His Parts', and there is even Stephen King's `The Word Processor', originally published long ago in his collection called The Skeleton Crew.

These tantalizing teasers are just the beginning of Playboy's collection of twenty-five superb science fiction stories, some merely skirting the edges of possibility and some plunging right off the cliffs of sanity into the endless pool of imaginary fantasy and delusion. With such authors as Arthur C. Clark, Frederick Pohl, Damon Knight, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Larry Niven, Chet Williamson, and even one short written by none other than Billy Crystal (yes, the comedian).

I cut my teeth on Sci-Fi reading Playboy's 1966 collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, still far superior to any other collection I have encountered, and after tasting such sweet science fiction, it was inevitable that I grow fonder of the genre as time passed. If you find a copy of the rare and out of print 1966 collection, by all means grab it up as quick as you can. In the meantime, make sure to pick up this 1998 collection before it becomes as rare as the '66 version. Oh, and Enjoy!

Not everything works in this anthology, but it has more good than bad between its covers.

The Lost City of Mars by Ray Bradbury - 1/5 - What an awful way to start off this anthology! Now, certainly my intense hatred of this story is not shared by everyone, but there are far more accessible and quality stories included in this collection than this one. Why not start with those? Anyway, this nigh incoherent and plodding story starts mildly interesting, becomes quickly boring, and descends into incomprehensibility until it mercifully ends. Not recommended at all.

Nine Lives by Ursula K. Le Guin - 5/5 - As if in repentance for including the first story, easily the worst, in this collection, they followed it up with one of the best. Nine Lives, although admittedly somewhat slow, is a thoughtful and haunting exploration of the implications of human cloning. The writing is gorgeous and the story is profound. Absolutely recommended to anyone who likes intelligent and thought-provoking fiction.

Deathwatch by Norman Spinrad - 3/5 - This definitely isn't a bad story. It's a short and concept-heavy piece with a clever and memorable ending and some good writing. My problem is with the concept itself: the complex biological processes leading to humans being ageless in this story is not something that could have come about by a mutation. Not at all. The concept is just so outrageous and unbelievable that it almost spoiled the story for me. Say that humans somehow mysteriously started becoming ageless if you want, but don't postulate some ridiculous mutation in order to lend your work conceptual credibility. Also, this work is too short to be anything but extremely shallow in its approach to the subject. So this is merely an average offering, overall.

Masks by Damon Knight - 2/5 - Boring and unremarkable. Had the Bradbury story not provided some perspective on how bad writing can really get, this would have been a 1/5. But, alas, it seems to follow a single narrative thread closely enough, and it isn't too badly written, and, more than anything, it isn't the Bradbury story, so this gets a 2/5.

Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - 3/5 - A wacky and, until the end, somewhat sexy futuristic tale by the esteemed Kurt Vonnegut. It is written in his characteristic satirical style, and honestly comes off as kind of a cartoon. I enjoyed it well enough until the end. Now, I'm not some crazy-eyed feminist, but I have issues with a story that tries to justify what amounts to rape. That the author seems to take the rapist's side on this is even worse. Apparently, if a society conditions its young women to be sexually repressed, then it is alright to free them from this bondage by... raping them. Don't believe Vonnegut could possibly be supporting this viewpoint? Read the story!

The Dead Astronaut by J.G. Ballard - 4/5 - This story, about missing astronauts returning to Earth in wrecked vessels, is, while a bit odd, also atmospheric and compelling. The author is also very good at portraying realistic male/female relationships. The ending is a bit anti-climatic, but this was overall a great piece.

The Schematic Man by Frederik Pohl - 3/5 - The problem with older hard science fiction is that often it simply becomes obsolete. Who wants to read yesterday's newspaper. Now, certainly, this early work focusing on computer technology isn't bad, by any stretch of the imagination. It is simply uninteresting in our thoroughly computerized age. A decent story that hasn't aged well (or, perhaps, has aged too well).

Can You Feel Anything When I Do This? by Robert Sheckley - 3/5 - A woman who wants to be a pinball is seduced by a sentient vacuum-cleaner that is sent to her through the mail. If you think that sounds like the funniest thing you've ever read, then you'll probably like this story, because that is a relatively spoiler-free synopsis of this exceedingly odd little piece. It is written well-enough, I suppose... perhaps my sense of humor is such that I can't appreciate the true beauty of this tale, but I... I have NO CLUE what to make of this.

Transit of Earth by Arthur C. Clarke - 4/5 - A unique and non-linear story of one man who dies watching something unseen by all men before him. Gorgeous.

Report on the Threatened City by Doris Lessing - 4/5 - While indebted to Heinlein's earlier masterpiece, "Stranger in a Strange Land," Nobel prize-winning author Lessing still manages to produce a meditation on the absurdity of human conduct strong enough to stand on its own two feet.

Leviathan by Larry Niven - 2/5 - Here's a moderately amusing time-travel concept ruined by poor storytelling. All I can really say in favor of this is that it isn't Bradbury's story.

All the Birds Come Home to Roost by Harlan Ellison - 3/5 - This paranoid weird tale is engaging enough, but what gives with this being included in a sci-fi anthology. NOTHING ABOUT THIS STORY IS EVEN REMOTELY SCIENCE-FICTIONAL IN NATURE. Ultimately it is all style and no substance, but I enjoyed it enough.

The Apotheosis of Myra by Walter Tevis - 4/5 - It reads like a literary version of a Twilight Zone episode. While there are no 'deep insights' to be gleaned from this piece, it is beautifully written, expertly plotted, interesting, and just plain enjoyable.

Frozen Journey by Philip K. Dick - 5/5 - A serious contender for the 'Best Darn Story' award I've just fabricated for this collection. An almost unimaginably horrifying premise sets up this dark character study. Very well-written, profound, and utterly memorable. Read it, then read it again.

Gianni by Robert Silverberg - 4/5 - Reads like a darker literary version of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (which, of course, was written years before that guilty pleasure of a film). This is perhaps simultaneously the most amusing as well as the most depressing time-travel tale I've ever read.

The Word Processor by Stephen King - 4/5 - This engaging weird tale only reinforces my initial impression of Stephen King: here is an excellent writer whose work ultimately suffers from a lack of ideas. Great writing, but he never explores the implications of his ideas. So, this one is enjoyable reading, but don't expect any new insights from it.

Interstellar Pigeon - 3/5 - Either I have a demanding sense of humor, or people simply can't seem to mix science fiction and comedy well too often. The truth is that both probably play into the equation. Either way, it's a Star Trek spoof without very many laughs.

Heirs of the Perisphere by Howard Walldrop - 3/5 - Hey, you ever wonder what it would be like to take robotic replicas of beloved Disney cartoon characters and drop them into a desolate and brutal post-apocalyptic landscape?
...
Me either.
It is well-written, though, and you can't dock points for lack of originality.

Earth Station Charley by Billy Crystal - 2/5 - Would this EVER have been republished if it wasn't written by Billy Crystal? What the heck was he smoking when he wrote this? Weaker stuff than what the editor must have been smoking to include this story in an anthology, I'm sure.

Slow, Slow Burn by George Alex Effinger - 3/5 - A very unique post-cyberpunk tale that is ultimately little more than a snapshot of this utterly transformed futuristic society from the POV of a virtual porn star.

More Than the Sum of His Parts by Joe Haldeman - 3/5 - Guy gets injured, is turned into an android, goes nuts with power. Been done before. Still a good read, though.

Sen Yen Babbo and the Heavenly Host by Chet Williamson - 3/5 - Fundamentalist Christian Pro Wrestling between upgraded humans in the future. Almost weirder than the 'Vaccuum Cleaner Seducing Pinball-Girl' one. Almost.

Fire Zone Emerald by Lucius Shepard - 3/5 - Decent military sf with a healthy dose of hallucination and weirdness included. Good, but not great.

The Ghost Standard by William Tenn - 4/5 - A human and a humanoid lobster adrift in space compete in a game to decide who lives and who gets eaten with a computer as referee. But is the referee really as impartial as it claims to be? Short and amusing, and very well-done.

An Office Romance by Terry Bisson - 3/5 - Unique premise that ultimately fails as storytelling. Interesting enough while it lasts, though.

I read a lot of these when they first came out, but it was nice to have them all together in one book. Plus there were a couple I missed. I also recommend the AREA 51 series and THE ROCK by Robert Doherty if you're looking for some fun, current sci-fi novels.

Forget this was published by Playboy, if you need to, these are stories by geniuses of this genre. One of the top science fiction anthologies ever published. Maybe the best. Certainly the best I've ever read.

If you positively prick with perspiration at the possibility of perusing popular pablum previously published in close propinquity with the plentifully pulchritudinous pussycats of Playboy, please procure this book presently. If, on the other hand, you just want to read some damned good stories, then pass on this also ran and get instead: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever. Triptree will blow you away.