The World Treasury of Science Fiction [Hardcover]

David Hartwell (Editor), Clifton Fadiman (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

SF historian and editor Hartwell, who in little more than a year has produced massive anthologies of horror ( The Dark Descent ) and fantasy ( Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment ), now performs a similar service for SF readers with this chest-denting, 1100-page volume. He has brought together 53 selections, virtually every one of high quality, fully a third from Europe, Asia or Latin America. Among the best stories in this first-rate collection are J. G. Ballard's "Chronopolis," about a future in which time pieces are outlawed; Robert Sheckley's "Ghost V," set on a paradise planet haunted by monsters from the subconscious, a story that expertly mixes suspense and humor; Philip K. Dick's chilling future war scenario, "Second Variety"; Larry Niven's tale of night of apocalyptic change, "Inconstant Moon"; and "Vintage Season," about decadent time tourists who travel to historical tragedies to enjoy them as theater, by Henry Kuttner and his wife, C. L. Moore. There are also fine tales by Gene Wolfe, Arthur C. Clarke, Stanislaw Lem, Fritz Leiber, C. M. Kornbluth, Ursula LeGuin, Robert Heinlein, Italo Calvino, Thomas Disch and John Updike. The editor has contributed a scholarly, engaging introduction to each story.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T); 1st edition (January 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316349410
• ISBN-13: 978-0316349413
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Exhaustive (and Exhausting) Collection, February 26, 2002

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World Treasury of Science Fiction (Hardcover)

With over 50 stories and over 1050 pages of text, "The World Treasury of Science Fiction" is quite a heavy read. The book contains shorts from almost all of the major science fiction writers of the 20th Century (at least up until 1989, when it was published). Some of the tales are among the best I've ever read, like Phillip K. Dick's chilling military piece "Second Variety," Kurt Vonnegot's angry satire "Harrison Bergeron,' Larry Niven's apocalyptic "Inconstant Moon" and Rene Rebetez-Cortes's evolutionary horror story "The New Prehistory." Others I didn't like so much, but some of that was a matter of taste not quality.

The book is not presented in any kind of recognizable order, but there is a brief introdutory blurb for each author. I would recommend it with the caveat that most readers are likely to skip over some of the less appealing entries.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Collection, August 4, 2001

By 

A. K. Berger "filburt_girl" (Nebraska, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World Treasury of Science Fiction (Hardcover)

Without a doubt, its title alone (The World Treasury of Science Fiction) does not deceive. Contemporary scifi from tons of cultures are represented in this book. Many of the stories are translated from other languages, and are rare (and wonderful) finds indeed. The commentary before each story is expertly written, with references to similar stories in the same book. The World Treasury covers a wide spectrum: from the traditional appeal of John W. Campbell to the surrealist (and very creepy) mood of French writer Boris Vian.

The World Treasury of Science Fiction is a superior examination of scifi in other cultures; it really suprised me how vastly different eastern European and Asian sf is from our traditional American and British works. This collection is for any devout science fiction fan, especailly if you want to learn the true diversity of modern science fiction.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining mix, October 8, 2007

By 

Scott Walker (Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World Treasury of Science Fiction (Hardcover)

A wonderful collection of short stories and novella from around the world. For each story, the editor gives us a well written introduction on the author and also his comparisons to other authors. Some of the stories go back to the 30's and 40's where science fiction began to take off, then on into the 50's and 60's where it really established itself; a few are taken out of the 70's and 80's.

We think of science fiction as flying around in outer-space searching for other life forms. We do have countless books written on this theme; science fiction is much more complicated than that, it is not always what we think it to be, or where we think we might find it. And these 49 short stories in a thick book represent a diverse combination. The ones that stood out for me are from:

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
J. G. Ballard
Theodore Stergeon
Rene Rebetez-Cortes
Gene Wolfe
Alfred Bester
C. M. Kornbluth
Larry Niven
Frederik Pohl
Boris Vian
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Tor Age Bringsvaerd
Philip K. Dick
Stanislaw Lem
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore

Wish you well
Scott