Customer Reviews

The World Treasury of Science Fiction

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

 

 

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.

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.

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

A real gem of a book for science fiction readers. 50 of the best stories of all time in one BIG book 1083 pages. Writers who can be found in this book are: Kurt Vonnegut Jr___John Campbell___Arthir C Clarke___Gene Wolf___Larry Nieven___Robert Sheckley___Boris Vian__Walter Miller__Isaac Asimov__Fredrick Pohl and so may others. Wonderful stories that and reader will enjoy.

With over 50 stories, this collection is sure to give you a good helping of stories you'll like(provided that you are a science fiction fan, of course). No, there's not any order to them, and yes, the introductions to the stories are stale, but how can these possibly detract from the quality of the stories themselves? I've read approximately half of them since I started reading a week or so again, and so far have disliked only three, and only two of those I skipped over(I couldn't stand the Italo Calvino stories).

It's a good deal, that's for sure. Pick this up if you're a scifi fan looking for some fun reading material.

The table of contents for this book reads like a who's who of great science fiction. From the provoking anger of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "Harrison Bergeron" and the forsight of Arthur C. Clark's "A Meeting With Medusa" to the eerie "Dead Past" by Isaac Asimov this volume has something for everyone. Weather hardcore devotee or casual reader this is a must own book.

This collection of fifty stories stretches from 1989 back to the 1930's. It includes stories from great names in science fiction and lesser-known authors from non-English markets. It's worth picking up at the library or your local used book store. Five of my favorites are described below.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "Harrison Bergeron" is possibly the best political commentary disguised as science fiction I have ever read. It takes legally enforced "equality" to its ridiculous extreme. How far can we go down the path of handicapping those who might be smarter or stronger than average?

In Avram Davidson's "The Golem" a newly-created robot confronts the superstitious past of the human beings it is destined to replace.

Robert Heinlein's "The Green Hills of Earth" is the story of Rhysling, the Blind Singer of the Spaceways--but not the official version. It captures the feel of the author's future history series perfectly. And has the odd distinction of being a science fiction musical.

Larry Niven's "Inconstant Moon" paces through the long, sleepless night after its protagonist figures out the puzzle of the evening sky's too-bright moon. One of his very best tales, it is not connected to Larry Niven's Known Space, nor to any of his other sets of related stories.

Theodore Sturgeon's "The Man Who Lost the Sea" is a rambling, hard-to-follow story that comes eventually and finally to its end.

Dated, but highly recommended.

This is a collection of science fiction short stories, some of which are outstanding and brilliant. If you love science fiction, you must have this book in your collection.

I was extremely disappointed by this SF anthology.

I put the blame on the editor. The introductions to each short story are sterile. For example, "his work was first published in S.F. magazine." Who cares? The general editor touts how "rich" and "ambitious" the book is in his general introduction. Each introduction says something like "the author did most of his work in the 40's and 50's" without mentioning when the _selected_ work was written. You have to thumb through the acknowledgements to figure our whether you're reading a 40's or 70's story.

Besides that, I found most of the stories uninspiring anyway. I do not understand the arrangement of stories. They appear to be in random order. Not alphabetical, chronological, temporal, or even cultural.

If you're new to SF, I recommend starting with Hugo and Nebula winners. If those are exhausted, try "The Year's Best SF" series.