The first in a six-volume series, Volume 1: Threshold contains all of Zelazny's short works from his early years through the mid 1960s--a period of experimentation and growth that flowered into gems such as "A Rose for Ecclesiastes," "The Graveyard Heart," "The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth," and "He Who Shapes." The stories in this series are enriched by editors' notes and Zelazny's own words, taken from his many essays, describing why he wrote the stories and what he thought about them in retrospect.
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Threshold: The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, v.1. By Roger Zelazny. Ed. by David G. Grubbs and others. Apr. 2009. 576p. NESFA, $29 (9781886778719).
After introductory essays from Robert Silverberg and Zelazny's childhood friend Carl Yoke, the range of Zelazny's stories unfolds, from early work first published in a high-school literary magazine to the masterpiece, "A Rose for Ecclesiastes." Everything fascinates, especially for die-hard Zelazny fans, not least because his growth as a storyteller is so apparent between "Youth Eternal" (one of the high-school pieces) and the novella "He Who Shapes," published 10 years later in the standard-setting sf magazine Amazing. The range of Zelazny's literary background becomes evident in the notes accompanying each story, with their citation of influences from Saint-Exupéry to mystical religion. Sf history isn't the main interest here, though, for many of these stories have aged shockingly well. "Circe Has Her Problems" is a space-traveling take on the Homeric sorceress. "Nine Starships Waiting" strangely remains Cyril Tourneur's Jacobean Revenger's Tragedy (the subject of Zelazny's MA thesis). "The Graveyard Heart" tackles immortality among the party set, and in "The Stainless Steel Leech," even robots have their vampires. Poetry is scattered throughout, and some unfinished fragments fill out the volume. Zelazny (1937--95) remains fascinating, not least because the way he tells stories makes them unique. -- Regina Schroeder --American Library Association
After introductory essays from Robert Silverberg and Zelazny's childhood friend Carl Yoke, the range of Zelazny's stories unfolds, from early work first published in a high-school literary magazine to the masterpiece, "A Rose for Ecclesiastes." Everything fascinates, especially for die-hard Zelazny fans, not least because his growth as a storyteller is so apparent between "Youth Eternal" (one of the high-school pieces) and the novella "He Who Shapes," published 10 years later in the standard-setting sf magazine Amazing. The range of Zelazny's literary background becomes evident in the notes accompanying each story, with their citation of influences from Saint-Exupéry to mystical religion. Sf history isn't the main interest here, though, for many of these stories have aged shockingly well. "Circe Has Her Problems" is a space-traveling take on the Homeric sorceress. "Nine Starships Waiting" strangely remains Cyril Tourneur's Jacobean Revenger's Tragedy (the subject of Zelazny's MA thesis). "The Graveyard Heart" tackles immortality among the party set, and in "The Stainless Steel Leech," even robots have their vampires. Poetry is scattered throughout, and some unfinished fragments fill out the volume. Zelazny (1937--95) remains fascinating, not least because the way he tells stories makes them unique. -- Regina Schroeder --American Library Association
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zelazny at his best!,
This review is from: Threshold - Volume 1: The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny (Hardcover)
This is one I have been looking forward to for a long time. I picked up the first volume of The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny and was not disappointed. Roger Zelazny continues to astound me, even though I have already read most of his major works. The true gems in this collection is his poetry, which are otherwise nearly impossible to come by, but are pure pleasure. The book has comments after every story (most of the time made by Zelazny himself) about the piece, which sheds extra light on already amazing stories. This collection is a must for any Zelazny fan or a great place to start if you want to read of the the greatest Sci-fi / Fantasy writers of all time. For only $29 each, these hardcover books are a great read.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful publication,
By Ian Williams "ianw" (Sunderland, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Threshold - Volume 1: The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny (Hardcover)
If you are going to produce a complete collection of the short stories of one of Science Fiction's greatest writers then this is the way to do it. This is the first of four volumes of a 6-book series, with the final two due to be published next year. They are printed on high quality acid-free paper with a cover by Michael Whelan with each volume progressively revealing more of one long painting packed with allusions to Zelazny's work. The spines also match up to appear as one single image which looks great on the bookshelf.
Apart from the stories, there are introductions by other writers, notes by Zelazny on each story (and poem, for they are there too), notes on the stories by the editors explaining various references, essays by Zelazny, plus a variety of other material `-curiosities'-, unclassifiable bit of Zelany writing- original publication details, biographical and autobiographical pieces. It would be churlish to criticise this book for putting too much in, though not everything will be of interest, though that point should be noticed. Although I like the poetry of Zelazny's prose, poetry itself is not something I have much interest in. The stories. They appear in order of publication which is not synonymous with the order in which they were written. I was amazed to learn that the story he wrote first was A Rose for Ecclesiastes but which he held back from submitting due to his being insecure about science already making the story implausible. As if that mattered! Some of the stories have never been collected before but that doesn't mean they are bad stories, rather they are minor ones in the Zelazny canon though this is not synonymous with `without interest'. A few stories in the later volumes are collaborations. I tend to think that Zelazny works best at novelette or novella length and there are many examples of this including the original magazine versions of The Dream Master as He Who Shapes, and This Immortal as And Call Me Conrad, plus the stories which make up the My Name Is Legion sequence, and many more. Some authors improve as they get older. Sadly, this wasn't the case with Roger Zelazny. He exploded into action in the 60's and, I'm afraid, never bettered, or even matched, his initial splendid outpourings. He maintained a high standard, of that there's no doubt, and it's arguable but plausible that his later short fiction did reach a higher level than that of his later novels which were, by the standard of his earlier works, a touch pedestrian. No matter, these stories were, are, and will remain a high watermark of Science Fiction. This is simply an amazing work. NESFA have done the late author very proud indeed and provided a service to his many fans. The editors -David G. Grubbs, Christopher S. Kovacs, and Anne Crimmins- surely deserve some kind of recognition at the 2010 Worldcon for this labour of love. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Definitive Zelazny,
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This review is from: Threshold - Volume 1: The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny (Hardcover)
If you are already a fan of Roger Zelazny, you will want these books for your collection. They are beautiful and all-inclusive. If you don't know Zelazny, there's plenty here to sink your teeth into.
My favorite things about these books, at least in terms of things I hadn't seen before, are the new introductions by people who knew Roger Zelazny. We gain some wonderful insights into the man and the writer through the eyes of his friends and associates. Highly recommended.
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