nicholasbobbitt1997's review
4.0
The first two stories: “Shark” by Edward Bryant and “Direction of the Road” by Ursula K. Le Guin, are stories that I did not enjoy. Shark was told in a way that made it somewhat difficult to follow, featured random and not well conceived sexual scenes (admittedly restricted to a line or two but still not well done at all). “Direction of the Road” suffers from needlessly long sentences and a confusing premise. “The Windows in Dante's Hell” by Michael Bishop is the first solid story in this collection. I enjoyed its portrayals of the main character, his naive but caring companion, the apartment, their work, and how society apparently becomes literally stratified in this future. The first of Brian Aldiss' four stories in this collection is "Serpent Burning on an Altar". It's an oddly non-SF story, for a story within a collection of SF stories. There is only one real indication of this story being impossible for this time, a "flying carpet" made of plastic, in which the four main characters of the story ride. This is probably my favorite story of the four so far in the book. Aldiss' second of four stories contains even less science fiction than his first. "Woman in Sunlight with Mandoline" yet again follows two young men, one of whom attempts to woo a young woman while the other talks with his father about the events of the town. This could have easily been mistaken for a period piece, or contemporary fiction. It is yet another good, solid short story. All four of Aldiss' stories take place with the same main character. They seem to share a universe which takes influence from Italy, show very little sign of being science fiction at all, and have very solid characters and stories. I'm unsure of why these were included in the collection. Perhaps it was due to the author being associated with the genre. In any case, solid work from Aldiss. I enjoyed these four. Kate Wilhelm's "The Red Canary" is an amazingly bleak view of a society where most people seem to be suffering from multiple ailments, ranging from schizophrenia to the flu. The medical system is utterly incapable of keeping up with the demand. The protagonist's wife and child are both suffering from severe illness while he takes care of them both and work his job. This is an amazing short story. Mel Gilden's "What's the Matter with Herbie" fits the most neatly into the SF genre out of the first nine stories in this twelve-story collection. It tells a tale which would not be out of place in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide series. A desire to keep a secret leads to wacky hijinks for a pair of friends who are new to a planet. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would love to read more by this author. Pinup, another story by Edward Bryant, follows Gilden's story. It is a very short story, scarcely five pages long. It, much like many of these stories, has very tenuously been included in this collection of ostensibly SF stories. This could easily be contemporary fiction. I'm not a fan of it, honestly. It leaves a lot to be desired, especially compared to The Windows in Dante's Hell and What's the Matter with Herbie. Vonda N. McIntyre's "The Genius Freaks" is an excellent example of SF writing. The setting is impeccable, its character is motivated by deeply human desires to cope with issues caused by the innovations which the setting created, and this feels like a story worthy of inclusion in the SF anthology this, after all, is. "Burger Creature" by Steve Chapman is perhaps one of the most average quality "boy and his dog"-type stories I've read. Seems a bit like a fever dream of an average fast-food worker, and there's not much that could allow this to be SF. Seems very much geared towards children, additionally. Would not be at all upset if I had not read it. "Half the Kingdom" by Doris Piserchia is an interesting story about a man who gets a lot more than he bargained for. I'm not sure if I enjoy it. It's certainly inventive in its premise. Gene Wolfe's "Continuing Westward" seems to be another story which does not feature science fiction so much as it does period fiction, of the days of biplanes and revolvers. In a collection of stories from 1973, I don't see how this qualifies for the label of SF. It is a nice short story, don't get me wrong, but it's not something I'd consider SF.
rakoerose's review
3.0
It’s always hard to rate anthologies because of the potential variety of enjoyment in the numerous stories. And this book has 29 stories in it. Some of them I really liked, others not so much.
There were some sexist tropes utilized in a handful or so of these stories, which... I guess makes sense for something published in 1976? And containing stories from the 60’s as well? But at the same time it did damper my enjoyment of the stories that there seemed to be so much of it.
My favorites, in the order that they appear in the book, are: “The Doctor,” “I Gave Her Sack and Sherry,” “Continued On Next Rock,” “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories,” and “One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty.” If I ever come back to this book, it’ll probably be to just read these favorites again.
Overall, this book took a lot of time for me to read but it’s still a good enough experience that if you’re interested in seeing what scifi was like back in the 60’s and 70’s, I highly recommend it. There are still some great ideas explored in these pages.
There were some sexist tropes utilized in a handful or so of these stories, which... I guess makes sense for something published in 1976? And containing stories from the 60’s as well? But at the same time it did damper my enjoyment of the stories that there seemed to be so much of it.
My favorites, in the order that they appear in the book, are: “The Doctor,” “I Gave Her Sack and Sherry,” “Continued On Next Rock,” “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories,” and “One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty.” If I ever come back to this book, it’ll probably be to just read these favorites again.
Overall, this book took a lot of time for me to read but it’s still a good enough experience that if you’re interested in seeing what scifi was like back in the 60’s and 70’s, I highly recommend it. There are still some great ideas explored in these pages.
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