A Science Fiction Omnibus
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Product Description
Product Description
This new edition of Brian Aldiss’s classic anthology brings together a diverse selection of science fiction spanning over sixty years, from Isaac Asimov’s ‘Nightfall’, first published in 1941, to the 2006 story ‘Friends in Need’ by Eliza Blair. Including authors such as Clifford Simak, Harry Harrison, Bruce Sterling, A. E. Van Vogt and Brian Aldiss himself, these stories portray struggles against machines, epic journeys, genetic experiments, time travellers and alien races. From stories set on Earth, to uncanny far distant worlds and ancient burnt-out suns, the one constant is humanity itself, compelled by an often fatal curiosity to explore the boundless frontiers of time, space and probability.
About the Author
Poet, playwright, critic, fiction and science-fiction writer Brian Aldiss was born in 1925 in Dereham, Norfolk, and is the author of more than seventy-five books. He lives in Oxford and was awarded an OBE in 2005 for Services to Literature.
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First Sentence
He brooded in darkness and there was no one else. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
He brooded in darkness and there was no one else. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This anthology is an update of the now classic survey of the SF field published originally in 1973 (there were 3 books that made that version up published 1961, 3 and 4). Obviously there has been a *lot* of SF published in the intervening years, so, necessarily, the contents of this book have been updated. Naturally, however, it's hardly definitive, however, I think that it does a reasonable job of showing where SF came from and where it's going.
The oldest story in it is Asimov's 1941 story, Nightfall and the most recent stories from Gary Kilworth and Eliza Blair. Something that I did notice reading through it is that while, obviously, the immediate concerns of the stories changed, a lot of the earlier short stories seemed to be concerned with building to a pay-off of some kind (if you know Nightfall, or Fred Pohl's The Tunnel Under the World you'll know what I mean) while some of the later stories seem less concerned with this. I suspect that this has something to do with the market that they were writing for in the 40s, 50s and 60s.
It seems, therefore, churlish to criticise the earlier stories for being concerned with politics we don't consider relevant, or to be in some way "one-dimensional" (and, I think, some are) this book does what it sets out to do very well. The other thing that I've found is that, perhaps, some of the stories have been over-anthologised (for example, I think I've seen the Ted Chiang story in several: it is superb and deserves to be there, but if you read a lot of SF anthologies, you may well come accross it a lot - similarly for some of the older ones, the Asimov and Pohl stories have shown up a lot). I suppose, though, that demonstrates that there is, generally, a high standard of quality amongst this stuff.
If you like SF and want as decent a survey of the genre as you're likely to find in one volume, this is well worth a try. If you want up to the minute or more innovative stuff, I'd try elsewhere, though. I think that it would probably suit anybody not too familiar with the genre who wanted a decent in - if that's you, you could add an extra star! Furthermore, a couple of the stories should be an in to some excellent longer fiction (for example, Blood Music which became an superb full length novel: Blood Music (Gollancz S.F.))
Sole Solution - Eric Frank Russell (1956)
Lot - Ward Moore (1953)
Skirmish - Clifford Simak (1950)
And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side - James Tiptree, Jr (1971)
Poor Little Warrior! - Brian Aldiss (1958)
Grandpa - James H. Schmitz (1955)
Nightfall - Isaac Asimov (1941)
The Snowball Effect - Katherine MacLean (1952)
Swarm - Bruce Sterling (1982)
Blood Music - Greg Bear (1983)
Answer - Frederic Brown (1964)
The Liberation of Earth - William Tenn (1953)
An Alien Agony - Harry Harrison (1962)
Track 12 - J.G. Ballard (1958)
Sexual Dimorphism - Kim Stanley Robinson (1999)
The Tunnel Under the World - Frederick Pohl (1954)
Friends in Need - Eliza Blair (2006)
The Store of the Worlds - Robert Sheckley (1959)
Jokester - Isaac Asimov (1956)
The Short-Short Story of Mankind - John Steinbeck (1958)
Night Watch - James Inglis (1964)
Ted Chiang - Story of Your Life (1998)
Protected Species - H. B. Fyfe (1951)
The Rescuer - Arthur Porges (1962)
I Made You - Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1954)
The Country of the Kind - Damon Knight (1956)
The Cage - Bertram Chandler (1957)
Fulfilment - A. E. van Vogt (1952)
Common Time - James Blish (1960)
Alien Embassy - Garry Kilworth (2006)
Great Work of Time - John Crowley (1989)
The oldest story in it is Asimov's 1941 story, Nightfall and the most recent stories from Gary Kilworth and Eliza Blair. Something that I did notice reading through it is that while, obviously, the immediate concerns of the stories changed, a lot of the earlier short stories seemed to be concerned with building to a pay-off of some kind (if you know Nightfall, or Fred Pohl's The Tunnel Under the World you'll know what I mean) while some of the later stories seem less concerned with this. I suspect that this has something to do with the market that they were writing for in the 40s, 50s and 60s.
It seems, therefore, churlish to criticise the earlier stories for being concerned with politics we don't consider relevant, or to be in some way "one-dimensional" (and, I think, some are) this book does what it sets out to do very well. The other thing that I've found is that, perhaps, some of the stories have been over-anthologised (for example, I think I've seen the Ted Chiang story in several: it is superb and deserves to be there, but if you read a lot of SF anthologies, you may well come accross it a lot - similarly for some of the older ones, the Asimov and Pohl stories have shown up a lot). I suppose, though, that demonstrates that there is, generally, a high standard of quality amongst this stuff.
If you like SF and want as decent a survey of the genre as you're likely to find in one volume, this is well worth a try. If you want up to the minute or more innovative stuff, I'd try elsewhere, though. I think that it would probably suit anybody not too familiar with the genre who wanted a decent in - if that's you, you could add an extra star! Furthermore, a couple of the stories should be an in to some excellent longer fiction (for example, Blood Music which became an superb full length novel: Blood Music (Gollancz S.F.))
Sole Solution - Eric Frank Russell (1956)
Lot - Ward Moore (1953)
Skirmish - Clifford Simak (1950)
And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side - James Tiptree, Jr (1971)
Poor Little Warrior! - Brian Aldiss (1958)
Grandpa - James H. Schmitz (1955)
Nightfall - Isaac Asimov (1941)
The Snowball Effect - Katherine MacLean (1952)
Swarm - Bruce Sterling (1982)
Blood Music - Greg Bear (1983)
Answer - Frederic Brown (1964)
The Liberation of Earth - William Tenn (1953)
An Alien Agony - Harry Harrison (1962)
Track 12 - J.G. Ballard (1958)
Sexual Dimorphism - Kim Stanley Robinson (1999)
The Tunnel Under the World - Frederick Pohl (1954)
Friends in Need - Eliza Blair (2006)
The Store of the Worlds - Robert Sheckley (1959)
Jokester - Isaac Asimov (1956)
The Short-Short Story of Mankind - John Steinbeck (1958)
Night Watch - James Inglis (1964)
Ted Chiang - Story of Your Life (1998)
Protected Species - H. B. Fyfe (1951)
The Rescuer - Arthur Porges (1962)
I Made You - Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1954)
The Country of the Kind - Damon Knight (1956)
The Cage - Bertram Chandler (1957)
Fulfilment - A. E. van Vogt (1952)
Common Time - James Blish (1960)
Alien Embassy - Garry Kilworth (2006)
Great Work of Time - John Crowley (1989)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read this anthology in its earlier incarnation in the 70s. There were several stories in the original which had created such a strong impression that their landscapes and events were etched into my mental archive. I was really excited to see it back in print and thoroughly enjoyed returning to some vividly rendered planets and plot lines. A couple of the new additions similarly impressed.
True, some stories seem dated in their imagery but in a rather charming sort of way.
A good book to escape into.
True, some stories seem dated in their imagery but in a rather charming sort of way.
A good book to escape into.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
An excellent selection of memorable tales. They are patchy in content, but all well written and my complaints are more to do with the "message" contained in a number of them - too obvious and not enough surprise. Nevertheless, not a bad read - but read with plenty of salt, your eyes open and your pre-conceptions left behind. Be aware that the ideological content is a sometimes quite childish. There is not much depth to the intellectual ideas.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
brilliant collection of classic science fiction
A brilliant collection of classic science fiction short stories, all of them well written irrespective of the genre. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Marsh Rambler
A lot of potential
It's always hard to say something about an anthology, this one in particular is quite good in most of its short stories and novelettes, except in its last one. Read more
Published 18 months ago by ManInsideTheHelm
Does so much more than it says on the tin.
This collection is by far the best collection of short stories I have ever come across, as well as some of the best writing (in science fiction and across all writing). Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2010 by Dorothy Shaw
Tears in the eyes science fiction
I think this book suffers from old age. Long gone are what you might call the "Isaac Asimov Days" when fantastic machines were so well described, as were the depictions of their... Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2009 by Donald Keith Smith
Cracking collection
This omnibus is a great collection for anyone who wants some quick fixes of some classic sci fi. Some of the short stories contained within move along with great pace, and have... Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2009 by Tommy Lawlor
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