Customer Reviews

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I: The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time, Chosen by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of America

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I first picked up the original printing of this anthology when I was a small child, around ten years old, and the first story in it ("A Martian Oddyssey") was so good that I put the book back down and didn't read the rest of it for another year because I was afraid none of the other stories in there could possibly be as good.

Almost all of them were. That's not the only reason you should read this collection, though. Beyond the stunning quality of the stories in this collection, many of these stories have, by now, what amounts to historical importance within the sci-fi field; these are the best of the best first stories, the bones that the modern great SF writers gnawed on in their childhoods, the building-block stories of the genre. You really haven't read science fiction if you haven't read Asimov's "Nightfall," if you haven't read "The Cold Equations" or "Arena" or "Twilight" or "Flowers for Algernon." Understanding modern sci-fi without a knowledge of these stories would be like trying to understand modern fantasy without having read Tolkien.

I am unaware of a better or even a comparable science fiction anthology (apart, perhaps, from the subsequent volumes in this same series). There couldn't be. These are the stories that built the genre. Any collection that was comparable would have to collect all the same tales.

Edit: I figured it would be good to add a list of all the stories in this anthology.

Stanley G. Weinbaum "A Martian Odyssey" 1934
John W. Campbell "Twilight" 1934
Lester del Rey "Helen O'Loy" 1938
Robert A. Heinlein "The Roads Must Roll" 1940
Theodore Sturgeon "Microcosmic God" 1941
Isaac Asimov "Nightfall" 1941
A. E. van Vogt "The Weapon Shop" 1942
Lewis Padgett "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" 1943
Clifford D. Simak "Huddling Place" 1944
Fredric Brown "Arena" 1944
Murray Leinster "First Contact" 1945
Judith Merril "That Only a Mother" 1948
Cordwainer Smith "Scanners Live in Vain" 1948
Ray Bradbury "Mars is Heaven!" 1948
Cyril M. Kornbluth "The Little Black Bag" 1950
Richard Matheson "Born of Man and Woman" 1950
Fritz Leiber "Coming Attraction" 1950
Anthony Boucher "The Quest for Saint Aquin" 1951
James Blish "Surface Tension" 1952
Arthur C. Clarke "The Nine Billion Names of God" 1953
Jerome Bixby "It's a Good Life" 1953
Tom Godwin "The Cold Equations" 1954
Alfred Bester "Fondly Fahrenheit" 1954
Damon Knight "The Country of the Kind" 1955
Daniel Keyes "Flowers for Algernon" 1959
Roger Zelazny "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" 1963

This book collects short story masterpieces from the genre's first four decades. All of the major sci-fi writers are represented, and quite of few of the stories are simply unforgetable. Never has one volume collected more thoughtful meditations on humanity's relationship to technology. Devotees of more modern science fiction (i.e., cyberpunk, etc...) may not be impressed, but for fans of Old School sci-fi, it doesn't get any better than this.

Of course many devoted fans will already have many of these stories in their collections - how could it be otherwise? The cream always rises to the top. So some might wish to forgo purchasing this volume, and use the table of contents as a reading list instead.

As is typical of the genre during this period, there's little here that will shock the youngsters, and the reading is pretty easy overall. So this is an excellent book for those just discovering the genre, or trying to understand what all the excitement is about. Be forewarned, however, that the volume begins with some of the older and consequently weaker entries, so those for whom this book represents an exploration into unknown territory might be better served by skipping the first 3 to 5 stories and starting with either Heinlein's exciting "The Roads Must Roll" which features next week's travel technology, or Theodore Sturgeon's amazing "Microcosmic God" which looks at creating life, or if you're very picky about what you read, going straight for Isaac Asimov's famed "Nightfall". Another alternative is to start at the back and read forward. There are some very powerful pieces loaded into the back end, including a couple of tear-jerkers, Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations" and Daniel Knight's "Flowers for Algernon".

Regardless of how you read it, these stories, more than any other work, represent what science fiction is really about: the human condition remains the same, even as the world around us changes. Watch and learn. And enjoy!

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame is an essential for any science fiction fan. Each of the twenty-six stories in it are all consitered classics in the field, by classic authors such as Arthur C. Clark, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and many more.
Some of the stories stand out more than the rest. Nightfall, Surface Tension, Microcosmic God, The Nine Billion Names of God, Flowers for Algernon, and The Roads must roll are just a few of these.
The period that the stories cover is consitered the Golden Age of Science Fiction, when the field was the most popular. These stories are the best that there are in the field. It is like having a small library on your book shelf.

I've checked it out of the library more than once, but this is such a good book to own. If you want to see how science fiction is done, or learn how to write it yourself, this is the collection for you. It's a who's who of the grandmasters at the top of their game. There isn't a single story here that won't provoke or haunt you in some way shape or form.

I was about seven years old when this collection was first published. I had the paperback edition and I kept it so long it was battered into oblivion; it's that good.

Now it's available in a hardcover reprint that will presumably stand up under much greater battering. That's good, because this one is absolutely a keeper.

This volume collects the absolute cream of short SF from 1929 to 1964 and it is, to this day, still THE single finest such collection extant. There's still nothing to touch, e.g., the bone-chilling mojo of Tom Godwin's 'The Cold Equations' or the majestic hubris of the title character in Ted Sturgeon's 'Microcosmic God'.

If you have any interest in classic SF, this book undoubtedly deserves a prominent place on your shelf. Consider the hardcover an investment; it will pay off.

Long out of print, these 26 stories include classics from the big names of the second third of the 20th century - Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Roger Zelazny. Playful, speculative or cautionary, they home in on the futuristic preoccupations of their day. Robert Heinlein?s ?The Roads Must Roll? explores the flaws inherent in a perfectly mechanized society, Theodore Sturgeon?s ?Microcosmic God,? posits a scientist who creates a new life form for his own edification and the only woman represented, Judith Merrill, has a cautionary tale about radiation, ?That Only A Mother.?

Isaac Asimov?s ?Nightfall,? imagines a dire fate for a planet that plunges into night only once every 2,500 years, Ray Bradbury?s ?Mars Is Heaven!? describes a fateful first contact for hapless Americans, and Roger Bixby?s ?It?s a GOOD Life? gives us the mortal fear of powerful children.

The earliest stories are mostly of historical interest ? their encounters with aliens and thinking robots are a bit heavy handed in the prose department ? but most are still fresh and timeless. These are stories that inspired a generation of writers and readers, spawning imitations and movies and Twilight Zone episodes. A must for genuine sci-fi fans.

I've purchased this book in paperback and hardcover many times over because I keep giving copies away. This is an indespensible introduction to the art of writing short fiction, sci-fi style. Character studies, logic puzzles, future societies, deaths of civilizations, it's all in here. Emphatically recommended.

I have the Avon paperback first edition from 1971, it's falling apart from re-readings over the years. While not all the styles may be to all tastes, there are no duds in this collection. It's great to see it's available again. Highly recommended. By the way, if you don't mind paying a small fortune, I think this and the two companion volumes (edited by Ben Bova and out of print elsewhere) are available as a leather-bound set from Easton Press.

I bought this book when it first came out in 1970 when I joined the Science Fiction Book Club, and it is my favorite collection to this day. Sure the stories are dated, some of them, and the style is old fashioned sometimes, but they are all excellent stories. Even re-reading them is a joy. If you are serious about sci-fi this is truly a must-have volume. There were several volumes that followed (2a and 2b for example) but this book remains my favorite. I am grateful for the chance to get it in a better hardback quality than the book club version. BUY THIS BOOK!

This is a reprint of a classic 1970 work in which The Science Fiction Writers of America members voted on what selections should be included in The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time anthologies. The first volume includes twenty-six tales from 1929 through 1964 from some of the genre?s greatest authors, a who?s who. The criteria used were not the author?s fame but instead, the most important and influential stories and that, in spite of the votes, an author would appear only once.

Though three decades have passed, most of the contributors remain highly renowned even outside the genre, but a few are less famous except among long time purists. Thus the lack of a one-page biography hurts when a virtually unrecognizable name has authored a famous work especially when other media mainstreamed the tale. Still each story is well written and affirms why the ASFWA selected them thirty years ago. This is a winner mostly for science fiction buffs and the nostalgic amongst the boomers.

Harriet Klausner