Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Real science fiction -- and great nonfiction!, March 24, 2002
Disclaimer up front: I've had three novels serialized in ANALOG (Nebula winner THE TERMINAL EXPERIMENT; Hugo and Nebula nominee STARPLEX; and the just-completed HOMINIDS). But I'm also a long-time reader of the magazine (28 years now), and I love it. The fiction is real SF -- stories in which the science is accurate and the speculation credible. But I also love the editorials by Stanley Schmidt; the "Alternate View" columns by Jeff Kooistra and John Cramer (some of the best science writing available anywhere these days), the spirited letters-to-the-editors section, and Tom Easton's book reviews. This is the number-one bestselling science-fiction magazine in the world, and justly so.
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hard Science SF, December 1, 2003
Analog brings a dependable collection of hard-science fiction stories, novellas, and frequently, a serialized novel. Almost all of them are worth reading; I'm having trouble thinking of an Analog story that made me give up before reaching the end. While its sister publication Asimov's tends more to the social-SF or more literary forms, Analog sticks to a formula of hard-SF with some recurring features: one factual science article, one speculative science article, and a short SF humor piece (Probability Zero). Analog also has a lively letters column, where editor Stanley Schmidt or the story authors often reply. And Schmidt's editorials are always a good read.Some of the factual science articles well-compliment the stories, some just don't have any relation (and if I skip anything in Analog, it's some of the drier fact pieces). Some excellent write-ups such as a comparison between long-term weather data and historical regime changes could lead to several future stories in the magazine. Dependable, high-quality, and enjoyable. One change in publication not mentioned here: both Analog and Asimov's have gone to 10 issues a year from 11, with 2 "double issues" instead of one per year. The double issue is always a treat but then one must wait 2 months for the next regular issue!
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The proving ground for science fiction writers, October 26, 2001
I can't tell you how many great science fiction writers I discovered through reading Analog. My first Larry Niven story was in Analog, as well as my first Spider Robinson story. Most of the greats got their start here, and many of them continue writing a story for Analog now and then.
The short story is a good friend to science fiction. It allows for the exploring of an idea without the need to "fill it out" to novel length. This magazine has a nice blend of stories, articles and comic strips. Novel length stories are serialized, and arrive in chapter form. The letter column is often as much fun to read as the stories.
As with any anthology, Analog contains it's share of "misses." The good far outweighs the bad, and I strongly recommend it as a subscription.
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