| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One: The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time Chosen by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of (SF Hall of Fame) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This collection of the best science fiction stories between 1929 and 1964 was assembled by the Science Fiction Writers of America and has the high quality that results from an expert-driven selection process. The twenty-six stories are all good and all by name authors, although they weren't all "names" when they wrote them.
My favorite six--and this wasn't easy--are:
Frederic Brown's "Arena" was made into a Star Trek episode which pitted William Shatner against an unknown stunt man in a rubber reptile suit. This original story of a human versus a well-rounded alien in a fight to the death is better.
Murray Leinster's "First Contact" named an entire SF sub-genre. The aliens and humans meet, learn to communicate, and then need to figure out a way to get home without endangering both of their worlds.
C. M. Kornbluth's "The Little Black Bag" hints at a future where many people aren't too bright. One of them loses a bag of medical instruments all the way into the past. And somebody finds it.
Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations" illustrates the danger of taking along just enough of everything--air, fuel, mass--on a space trip. There is always the unexpected.
Damon Knight's "The Country of the Kind" examines the life of a lonely man who keeps reaching out for others. Something always gets in the way. This story may have influenced Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange.
Daniel Keyes' "Flowers for Algernon" introduces Charlie Gordon, a mentally handicapped man whose life changes when he participates in a surgical experiment designed to improve intelligence. The experiment succeeds, and Charlie quickly develops first ordinary, and then extraordinary intelligence. This short story was later expanded into the novel Flowers for Algernon.
Some of the science in these stories is dated, but that doesn't make them harder to read than stories set in unfamiliar cultures or in the past. Some plots have become cliché, but it is still worthwhile to read the originals. Whether your reading voyage is one of discovery or rediscovery, it is worth taking. Highly recommended.
My favorite six--and this wasn't easy--are:
Frederic Brown's "Arena" was made into a Star Trek episode which pitted William Shatner against an unknown stunt man in a rubber reptile suit. This original story of a human versus a well-rounded alien in a fight to the death is better.
Murray Leinster's "First Contact" named an entire SF sub-genre. The aliens and humans meet, learn to communicate, and then need to figure out a way to get home without endangering both of their worlds.
C. M. Kornbluth's "The Little Black Bag" hints at a future where many people aren't too bright. One of them loses a bag of medical instruments all the way into the past. And somebody finds it.
Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations" illustrates the danger of taking along just enough of everything--air, fuel, mass--on a space trip. There is always the unexpected.
Damon Knight's "The Country of the Kind" examines the life of a lonely man who keeps reaching out for others. Something always gets in the way. This story may have influenced Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange.
Daniel Keyes' "Flowers for Algernon" introduces Charlie Gordon, a mentally handicapped man whose life changes when he participates in a surgical experiment designed to improve intelligence. The experiment succeeds, and Charlie quickly develops first ordinary, and then extraordinary intelligence. This short story was later expanded into the novel Flowers for Algernon.
Some of the science in these stories is dated, but that doesn't make them harder to read than stories set in unfamiliar cultures or in the past. Some plots have become cliché, but it is still worthwhile to read the originals. Whether your reading voyage is one of discovery or rediscovery, it is worth taking. Highly recommended.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is truly a collection of great stories from between the years of 1929 and 1964. I am glad they reprinted this book because my older version is yellowing. I hope one day they will reprint a new hard back copy and I will buy it also.
Even though this book is packed from cover to cover with intriguing stories, I bought it for one story in particular "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett. First published in 1943 ("Lewis Padgett" was a pseudonym employed by Henry Kuttner and his wife, C. L. Moore)
My first encounter with this story was a vinyl record recording with William Shatner later it is replaces with a cassette tape. I believe this book is the only surviving form of the story.
Unthahorsten is experimenting with time travel and sends two black boxes back into the past. He had to put something in them so as a last minute thought places his old toys in them. They do not return so he forgets them. It is too late the mischief is done. One is found by children in 1942. The other well look at the title for a clue.
Even though this book is packed from cover to cover with intriguing stories, I bought it for one story in particular "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett. First published in 1943 ("Lewis Padgett" was a pseudonym employed by Henry Kuttner and his wife, C. L. Moore)
My first encounter with this story was a vinyl record recording with William Shatner later it is replaces with a cassette tape. I believe this book is the only surviving form of the story.
Unthahorsten is experimenting with time travel and sends two black boxes back into the past. He had to put something in them so as a last minute thought places his old toys in them. They do not return so he forgets them. It is too late the mischief is done. One is found by children in 1942. The other well look at the title for a clue.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
46 reviews
98 of 99 people found the following review helpful
A must have for your permanent collection
27 Aug 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The stories in this book were voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America as the best short science fiction written between 1929 and 1964 and every one is a gem. Some of these stories are reasonably well known and often reprinted, but most of them are difficult to find anywhere else, making this an essential collection for a true fan of the genre. In response to an earlier request for a list of its contents, here are the story titles and authors. I was going to indulge myself by placing an asterisk next to my personal favorites, but I found myself marking almost all of them. The collection is that good.
A Martian Odyssey -- Stanley G. Weinbaum
Twilight -- John W. Campbell
Helen O'Loy -- Lester del Rey
The Roads Must Roll -- Robert A. Heinlein
Microcosmic God -- Theodore Sturgeon
Nightfall -- Isaac Asimov
The Weapon Shop -- A. E. van Vogt
Mimsy Were the Borogoves -- Lewis Padgett
Huddling Place -- Clifford D. Simak
Arena -- Fredric Brown
First Contact -- Murray Leinster
That Only a Mother -- Judith Merril
Scanners Live in Vain -- Cordwainer Smith
Mars is Heaven -- Ray Bradbury
The Little Black Bag -- C. M. Kornbluth
Born of Man and Woman -- Richard Matheson
Coming Attraction -- Fritz Leiber
The Quest for Saint Aquin -- Anthony Boucher
Surface Tension -- James Blish
The Nine Billion Names of God -- Arthur C. Clarke
It's a Good Life -- Jerome Bixby
The Cold Equations -- Tom Godwin
Fondly Fahrenheit -- Alfred Bester
The Country of the Kind -- Damon Knight
Flowers for Algernon -- Daniel Keyes
A Rose for Ecclesiastes -- Roger Zelazny
A Martian Odyssey -- Stanley G. Weinbaum
Twilight -- John W. Campbell
Helen O'Loy -- Lester del Rey
The Roads Must Roll -- Robert A. Heinlein
Microcosmic God -- Theodore Sturgeon
Nightfall -- Isaac Asimov
The Weapon Shop -- A. E. van Vogt
Mimsy Were the Borogoves -- Lewis Padgett
Huddling Place -- Clifford D. Simak
Arena -- Fredric Brown
First Contact -- Murray Leinster
That Only a Mother -- Judith Merril
Scanners Live in Vain -- Cordwainer Smith
Mars is Heaven -- Ray Bradbury
The Little Black Bag -- C. M. Kornbluth
Born of Man and Woman -- Richard Matheson
Coming Attraction -- Fritz Leiber
The Quest for Saint Aquin -- Anthony Boucher
Surface Tension -- James Blish
The Nine Billion Names of God -- Arthur C. Clarke
It's a Good Life -- Jerome Bixby
The Cold Equations -- Tom Godwin
Fondly Fahrenheit -- Alfred Bester
The Country of the Kind -- Damon Knight
Flowers for Algernon -- Daniel Keyes
A Rose for Ecclesiastes -- Roger Zelazny
47 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Many fine stories from Grandmasters of Science Fiction.
7 April 2005
Format:Paperback
I picked this collection up on a whim at my local used book store, mostly to get an idea of which other Sci-fi writers I might be interested in collecting from. This collection turned out to be a goldmine of Science Fiction. In fact, this is one of the only books I will not lend out to friends; and I own an old, ratty-looking paperback Copyright 1970! There are many great stories here, but there are a few I must mention as bona-fide masterpieces. "Microcosmic God" by Theodore Sturgeon is fantastic; the plotting for this story reminded me of the 1995 cable pilot episode for the film "The Outer Limits: Sandkings." Even the creators of South Park use similar ideas in one of their episodes. This collection also contains the sparkling jewel "Nightfall" from Issac Asimov. "Surface Tension" from James Blish is superb in every way. "The Nine Billion Names of God" finds Arthur C. Clarke is fine form. "The Cold Equations" from Tom Godwin is arguably the most intense and sad of all the stories here, packing an emotional wallop not ordinarily seen in Sci-fi. And of course, "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. I believe that last one is my favorite here, showing a retarded man's ascension to genius, 'childhood' to a wise and intellectual human being. This story was later expanded into a novel which, in fact, I am reading right now. However, I prefer the original short story version, if only slightly. There are so many stories here ranging from good to marvellous that I simply had to write a review praising this incredible collection. This book is easy to recommend.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Some great memories
14 Feb 2007
Format:Paperback
The old purple and blue version of this book - the purple was on the edge of the pages, the way some older books have velvety green sides - was my first introduction to the Golden Age of science fiction. The inventiveness and the creative audacity of these stories was always enough to overcome what I felt would have been a cripplingly antiquated "Gee golly" 1950s vernacular... except that the writing almost never has that black and white Leave it to Beaver sitcomish feel that, for some reason, was always attached to the Golden Age in my mind. Stylistically the collection is all over the place. The Connecticut Yankee anachronism of Roger Zelazny in "Lord of Light" is nowhere to be found in "A Rose for Ecclesiastices". Clarke's famous "The Nine Billion Names of God" isn't even a science fiction story until, basically, the last sentence. And describing anything written by Cordwainer Smith with "genre", "usual" or even "describable" is not applicable. I love this collection and, impossibly, every story in it - though some more than others.
I won't dwell on the weakest. Instead I'll highlight what I consider to be the best:
Sturgeon's "Microcosmic God" has the creepy, jealousy tinged atmosphere of nerds watching another nerd who is better at being a nerd than anyone else. This is what I would've been doing with my adolescent years if only mind and matter would've allowed, so reading it brings the distinct pleasure of reliving childhood fantasies. I'm also pretty sure it's the inspiration for a Simpsons Halloween episode involving Lisa and her tooth, which became a South Park nod to both the story and the Simpsons.
Asimov's "Nightfall" is rightly considered one of the best science fiction short stories ever. I've read the longer form and this is superior in pretty much every way: it's already one of the longer stories in this collection but it still benefits from the shorter form with its building stress and, yes, horror during the final pages. Many would disagree but I think "Nightfall" is one of the least creative stories in the collection in terms of sheer inventiveness. Despite that it's still incredible.
Cordwainer Smith is just amazing. As prosaic as that sounds it's about all I can say. "Scanners Live in Vain" is one of the weirdest stories in the collection and it might arguably be one of Smith's most "mundane". Reading a Smith story is like opening the pages of the Book of Revelations as interpreted by the grandson of cartoonist Gary Larson, the painter Francis Bacon, a very wise female clown and Joan of Arc - and you're on acid. This is all an endorsement, by the way.
James Blish's "Surface Tension" is as good an "adventure" story as you'll find here. It's got a fairly linear plot and isn't hard to follow. It isn't simplistic, per se, but it hasn't got the style of some of the other pieces in this collection. It's one of my sentimental favorites, though, for its ability to impart - at least somewhat - a finer sense of proportion than pretty much any description of the vastness of the universe, including Doug Adams'.
And, finally, my absolutely favorite: "Mimsy Were the Borogroves". I'm not doing to describe it. I'm going to simply agree with another commentator that purchasing this book is worth it if only for this one story.
I won't dwell on the weakest. Instead I'll highlight what I consider to be the best:
Sturgeon's "Microcosmic God" has the creepy, jealousy tinged atmosphere of nerds watching another nerd who is better at being a nerd than anyone else. This is what I would've been doing with my adolescent years if only mind and matter would've allowed, so reading it brings the distinct pleasure of reliving childhood fantasies. I'm also pretty sure it's the inspiration for a Simpsons Halloween episode involving Lisa and her tooth, which became a South Park nod to both the story and the Simpsons.
Asimov's "Nightfall" is rightly considered one of the best science fiction short stories ever. I've read the longer form and this is superior in pretty much every way: it's already one of the longer stories in this collection but it still benefits from the shorter form with its building stress and, yes, horror during the final pages. Many would disagree but I think "Nightfall" is one of the least creative stories in the collection in terms of sheer inventiveness. Despite that it's still incredible.
Cordwainer Smith is just amazing. As prosaic as that sounds it's about all I can say. "Scanners Live in Vain" is one of the weirdest stories in the collection and it might arguably be one of Smith's most "mundane". Reading a Smith story is like opening the pages of the Book of Revelations as interpreted by the grandson of cartoonist Gary Larson, the painter Francis Bacon, a very wise female clown and Joan of Arc - and you're on acid. This is all an endorsement, by the way.
James Blish's "Surface Tension" is as good an "adventure" story as you'll find here. It's got a fairly linear plot and isn't hard to follow. It isn't simplistic, per se, but it hasn't got the style of some of the other pieces in this collection. It's one of my sentimental favorites, though, for its ability to impart - at least somewhat - a finer sense of proportion than pretty much any description of the vastness of the universe, including Doug Adams'.
And, finally, my absolutely favorite: "Mimsy Were the Borogroves". I'm not doing to describe it. I'm going to simply agree with another commentator that purchasing this book is worth it if only for this one story.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
