austinbeeman's review
4.0
WORLD'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION 1968 IS RATED 88%.
16 STORIES : 3 GREAT / 9 GOOD / 4 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
This 1968 anthology is a collaboration between Donald Wollheim and Terry Carr. You can definitely perceive two different minds behind the selections with incredible variations in the style of the stories. This is one of the volume’s strengths for there is a buffet of different Science Fiction to suit multiple tastes. Almost all of it is pretty good.
The editors try to make the case that SF is just the extension of other forms of the fantastic from years past. They reference character studies, idea stories, and tales of damnation in the introduction. It isn’t much of a coincidence that those are a few of the themes that show up in my favorite stories from the anthology.
“Driftglass” by Samuel R. Delany. If Hemingway wrote SF, it would read like this. Cal Svenson is one of 750,000 people who have been modified to perform dangerous undersea construction work. Svenson was horribly injured when one of these jobs went wrong. He now walks the beaches looking for Driftglass. A powerful character study. Great stuff.
“The Billiard Ball” by Isaac Asimov. This is what Asimov does best. Smart scientific men. Lots of interesting discussion. An interesting mystery. Believable science. And throw on top the internal politicking of scientific academia. A great little story.
“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison. Ellison has created a vision of scientific Hell. Five people - many the last on the planet - are tortured, transformed, and humiliated by a Computer Intelligence that is built for War and knows only how to hate.
***
WORLD'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION 1968 IS RATED 88%.
16 STORIES : 3 GREAT / 9 GOOD / 4 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
“See Me Not” by Richard Wilson
Good. A fun bit of fluff where a family man wakes up on morning and is invisible. Wackiness ensues.
“Driftglass” by Samuel R. Delany
Great. A masterpiece of character and mood. An older man genetically modified to work on underwater construction projects meets a younger group that are going to reattempt the job that horribly scarred him.
“Ambassador to Verdammt” by Colin Kapp
Good. Military men and the bureaucracy come into conflict as a planet prepares to receive an ambassador to a completely alien mentality.
“The Man Who Never Was” by R. A. Lafferty
Average. A man makes people disappear in what might be an allegory for authors.
“The Billiard Ball” by Isaac Asimov
Great. Did one scientist kill his rival through the creative application of a billiard ball and science?
“Hawksbill Station” by Robert Silverberg
Good. Atmospheric novella about political prisoners stranded in the bleak prehistoric past.
“The Number You Have Reached” by Thomas M. Disch
Good. A man lives alone haunted by guilt in a automated house. He was in space when nuclear war came and he may now be the last man on earth. Then the phone rings.
“The Man Who Loved the Faioli” by Roger Zelazny
Average. Not sure I really understood this story. You have a man who is and isn’t alive and a Faioli who loves men for one month before she dies. They meet in a graveyard and have a relationship.
“Population Implosion” by Andrew J. Offutt
Good. The average age of a human is falling as people are unexpectedly dying - from the oldest to the youngest. In exactly that order.
“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison
Great. The horrific and famous story of the four final humans, tortured and remade by a War Computer that hates them.
“The Sword Swallower” by Ron Goulart
Good. A super-spy, member of the Chameleon Corps, hunts down those ‘evil pacifists’ through a series of comic, satirical, madcap adventures.
“Coranda” by Keith Roberts
Good. To win the favor of the vicious Ice Mother, ships with runner charge forth into a barren and ice covered world to bring back the narwhal’s horn. Violent adventure with only the barest hint of SF.
“Thus We Frustrate Charlemagne” by R. A. Lafferty
Good. They want to use time travel to make a very small change to history. But if you don’t know that a change has been made, what is to stop you from changing it again. And again.
“Handicap” by Larry Niven
Good. A businessman is introduced to a sentient being without hands to manipulate the world around them. Luckily that is exactly what this executive was counting on.
“Full Sun” by Brian W. Aldiss
Average. Machines hunting werwolves with humanity caught in the middle.
“It's Smart to Have an English Address” by D. G. Compton
Average.. Two friends discuss what place - if any - new life extension technology should play in their lives, arts, and legacies.
16 STORIES : 3 GREAT / 9 GOOD / 4 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
This 1968 anthology is a collaboration between Donald Wollheim and Terry Carr. You can definitely perceive two different minds behind the selections with incredible variations in the style of the stories. This is one of the volume’s strengths for there is a buffet of different Science Fiction to suit multiple tastes. Almost all of it is pretty good.
The editors try to make the case that SF is just the extension of other forms of the fantastic from years past. They reference character studies, idea stories, and tales of damnation in the introduction. It isn’t much of a coincidence that those are a few of the themes that show up in my favorite stories from the anthology.
“Driftglass” by Samuel R. Delany. If Hemingway wrote SF, it would read like this. Cal Svenson is one of 750,000 people who have been modified to perform dangerous undersea construction work. Svenson was horribly injured when one of these jobs went wrong. He now walks the beaches looking for Driftglass. A powerful character study. Great stuff.
“The Billiard Ball” by Isaac Asimov. This is what Asimov does best. Smart scientific men. Lots of interesting discussion. An interesting mystery. Believable science. And throw on top the internal politicking of scientific academia. A great little story.
“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison. Ellison has created a vision of scientific Hell. Five people - many the last on the planet - are tortured, transformed, and humiliated by a Computer Intelligence that is built for War and knows only how to hate.
***
WORLD'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION 1968 IS RATED 88%.
16 STORIES : 3 GREAT / 9 GOOD / 4 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
“See Me Not” by Richard Wilson
Good. A fun bit of fluff where a family man wakes up on morning and is invisible. Wackiness ensues.
“Driftglass” by Samuel R. Delany
Great. A masterpiece of character and mood. An older man genetically modified to work on underwater construction projects meets a younger group that are going to reattempt the job that horribly scarred him.
“Ambassador to Verdammt” by Colin Kapp
Good. Military men and the bureaucracy come into conflict as a planet prepares to receive an ambassador to a completely alien mentality.
“The Man Who Never Was” by R. A. Lafferty
Average. A man makes people disappear in what might be an allegory for authors.
“The Billiard Ball” by Isaac Asimov
Great. Did one scientist kill his rival through the creative application of a billiard ball and science?
“Hawksbill Station” by Robert Silverberg
Good. Atmospheric novella about political prisoners stranded in the bleak prehistoric past.
“The Number You Have Reached” by Thomas M. Disch
Good. A man lives alone haunted by guilt in a automated house. He was in space when nuclear war came and he may now be the last man on earth. Then the phone rings.
“The Man Who Loved the Faioli” by Roger Zelazny
Average. Not sure I really understood this story. You have a man who is and isn’t alive and a Faioli who loves men for one month before she dies. They meet in a graveyard and have a relationship.
“Population Implosion” by Andrew J. Offutt
Good. The average age of a human is falling as people are unexpectedly dying - from the oldest to the youngest. In exactly that order.
“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison
Great. The horrific and famous story of the four final humans, tortured and remade by a War Computer that hates them.
“The Sword Swallower” by Ron Goulart
Good. A super-spy, member of the Chameleon Corps, hunts down those ‘evil pacifists’ through a series of comic, satirical, madcap adventures.
“Coranda” by Keith Roberts
Good. To win the favor of the vicious Ice Mother, ships with runner charge forth into a barren and ice covered world to bring back the narwhal’s horn. Violent adventure with only the barest hint of SF.
“Thus We Frustrate Charlemagne” by R. A. Lafferty
Good. They want to use time travel to make a very small change to history. But if you don’t know that a change has been made, what is to stop you from changing it again. And again.
“Handicap” by Larry Niven
Good. A businessman is introduced to a sentient being without hands to manipulate the world around them. Luckily that is exactly what this executive was counting on.
“Full Sun” by Brian W. Aldiss
Average. Machines hunting werwolves with humanity caught in the middle.
“It's Smart to Have an English Address” by D. G. Compton
Average.. Two friends discuss what place - if any - new life extension technology should play in their lives, arts, and legacies.
oleksandr's review
3.0
This is a collection of SF, where ‘s’ often means ‘speculative’ fiction published in English-speaking world in 1967. It was a moment of “New Wave” in SF, with a new generation of authors trying new concepts and styles, broadening the field, but as it is often happens with experimental works, they are hit or miss and there are plenty of misses (at least to my subjective tastes) in this book.
"Introduction" by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr general overview that there are fad terms like “The New Wave” and “The Old Wave” (and, in reaction, “The Permanent Wave”) have been thrown about by critics, editors, authors and fans, but they (editors) do not believe that any such revolution is in the offing, either for good or ill.
"See Me Not" by Richard Wilson a humorous light SF story about a bank clerk and pater familia in a small US town, waking up on the first day of his vacation to find that he turned invisible. 4*
"Driftglass" by Samuel R. Delany a story narrated by a heavily damaged amphiman – a changed human able to breathe under the water, possibly a homage to 1920s [b:Человек-амфибия. Amphibian Man|20836870|Человек-амфибия. Amphibian Man|Alexander Belyaev|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|3712414] by [a:Alexander Belyaev|16925529|Alexander Belyaev|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520887298p2/16925529.jpg]. Distinct feature of this story that it is an attempt to show ‘ordinary’ future, were ordinary people just live and do their daily work, in this case - lying cable under water, including near working volcanoes. I admit, I wanted escapist SF, not a general ‘day of life’ story, so 2*
"Ambassador to Verdammt" by Colin Kapp a First Contact story with impossible to understand aliens. There is a conflict between Captain Administrator Lionel Prellen, who represents civilian administration and Space Technician Lieutenant Sinclair from the fleet, who should set beacon equipment for FTL ship that carries the ambassador. Sinclair is angry because he knows that the ambassador is Prellen’s son and moreover, the embassy staff consists of five women and no men. 3*
"The Man Who Never Was" by R. A. Lafferty another lighthearted SF story set on Wild West, where a cattle buyer, known for his pranks, wagers that he’ll make one of the villagers disappear, ‘send a man over the edge’ namely a local simpleton. He succeeds but is accused of murder even as he claims that the man was an illusion from the start. 4*
"The Billiard Ball" by Isaac Asimov the most SF story in the book. Two men, a twice Noble prize-winning physicist and a college dropout turned billionaire, who makes practical items from physics discoveries. He claims that he find a way to create anti-gravity, which the prof thinks impossible. 3*
"Hawksbill Station" by Robert Silverberg a penal colony for political prisoners set 1 billion years ago, on empty Earth, while multicellular life is still in the oceans. Inmates are left-leaning bunch, anarchists and communists, when a new fellow arrives from the future, and he is hiding something. Funny to see them claiming that their opponents ‘syndicalist capitalism’ are accused of favoring big government… “But that system was tried and failed, wasn’t it? It had its day. It led inevitably to total socialism, which produced the compensating backlash of syndicalist capitalism, and then we got a government that pretended to be libertarian while actually stifling all individual liberties in the name of freedom. So if your group simply wanted to turn the clock back to 1955, say, there couldn’t be much to its ideas.” a nice story but I’d shortened it. 3*
"The Number You Have Reached" by Thomas M. Disch an astronaut living alone in a fully automated house, reminding of [a:Ray Bradbury|1630|Ray Bradbury|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1445955959p2/1630.jpg]'s There Will Come Soft Rains, missing his dead wife. Someone calls him on a phone, but he is unsure whether he just imagines it or not. Very gloomy. 2*
"The Man Who Loved the Faioli" by Roger Zelazny there are Faioli, beings that were known to come to a man the month before his death—those rare men who still died—and to live with such a man for that final month of his existence, rendering to him every pleasure that it is possible for a human being to know, so that on the day when the kiss of death is delivered, which sucks the remaining life from his body, that man accepts it—no, seeks it!—with desire and with grace. For such is the power of the Faioli among all creatures that there is nothing more to be desired after such knowledge. a narrator-protagonist comes to one, turning his heart back on and their life together starts. Poetic but not plot-heavy. 3*
"Population Implosion" by Andrew J. Offutt people over 75 start to die without an apparent cause and it turns out that there are only 4,999,999,999 souls, so when a new baby is born someone has to die. 3*
"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison maybe the earliest story about humans living in virtual reality set by a computer. In this case – five last people on Earth and computer turn their existence into hell. 3*
"The Sword Swallower" by Ron Goulart one of a series of stories about Ben Jolson, a member of the interstellar Chameleon Corps, who can turn into anyone. Someone kidnaps important people and he is sent to investigate… James Bond inspired space opera. 2.5*
"Coranda" by Keith Roberts a strange story, set on a far-future Earth frozen back into semi-barbarity by a new ice age, which was created by [a:Michael Moorcock|16939|Michael Moorcock|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1424079041p2/16939.jpg] in [b:The Ice Schooner|60157|The Ice Schooner|Michael Moorcock|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1260840307l/60157._SX50_.jpg|1712162], which was serialized in the British magazine Science Fantasy, of which Keith Roberts was Managing Editor. A long story about a heroic hunt for a unicorn. 2*
"Thus We Frustrate Charlemagne" by R. A. Lafferty another humorous piece, where a group gathered to change the past and observe the difference, but each time changing themselves as well. 3.5*
"Handicap" by Larry Niven a great SF story about an entrepreneur seeking for Handicapped species, for he deals with is sentient beings who evolved with minds but with nothing that would serve as hands, selling them waldos/exoskeletons, e.g. to dolphins. On this planet there are hairy semi-globes with giant brains, but not moving or having arms… 5*
"Full Sun" by Brian W. Aldiss in the far future a man and machine hunt for the anachronistic figure of a werewolf. At the same time the man sees possible futures that have only machines… 3.5*
"It's Smart to Have an English Address" by D. G. Compton an old pianist asked to share his emotions (via a special recording device) while he plays. 2.5*
"Introduction" by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr general overview that there are fad terms like “The New Wave” and “The Old Wave” (and, in reaction, “The Permanent Wave”) have been thrown about by critics, editors, authors and fans, but they (editors) do not believe that any such revolution is in the offing, either for good or ill.
"See Me Not" by Richard Wilson a humorous light SF story about a bank clerk and pater familia in a small US town, waking up on the first day of his vacation to find that he turned invisible. 4*
"Driftglass" by Samuel R. Delany a story narrated by a heavily damaged amphiman – a changed human able to breathe under the water, possibly a homage to 1920s [b:Человек-амфибия. Amphibian Man|20836870|Человек-амфибия. Amphibian Man|Alexander Belyaev|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|3712414] by [a:Alexander Belyaev|16925529|Alexander Belyaev|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520887298p2/16925529.jpg]. Distinct feature of this story that it is an attempt to show ‘ordinary’ future, were ordinary people just live and do their daily work, in this case - lying cable under water, including near working volcanoes. I admit, I wanted escapist SF, not a general ‘day of life’ story, so 2*
"Ambassador to Verdammt" by Colin Kapp a First Contact story with impossible to understand aliens. There is a conflict between Captain Administrator Lionel Prellen, who represents civilian administration and Space Technician Lieutenant Sinclair from the fleet, who should set beacon equipment for FTL ship that carries the ambassador. Sinclair is angry because he knows that the ambassador is Prellen’s son and moreover, the embassy staff consists of five women and no men. 3*
"The Man Who Never Was" by R. A. Lafferty another lighthearted SF story set on Wild West, where a cattle buyer, known for his pranks, wagers that he’ll make one of the villagers disappear, ‘send a man over the edge’ namely a local simpleton. He succeeds but is accused of murder even as he claims that the man was an illusion from the start. 4*
"The Billiard Ball" by Isaac Asimov the most SF story in the book. Two men, a twice Noble prize-winning physicist and a college dropout turned billionaire, who makes practical items from physics discoveries. He claims that he find a way to create anti-gravity, which the prof thinks impossible. 3*
"Hawksbill Station" by Robert Silverberg a penal colony for political prisoners set 1 billion years ago, on empty Earth, while multicellular life is still in the oceans. Inmates are left-leaning bunch, anarchists and communists, when a new fellow arrives from the future, and he is hiding something. Funny to see them claiming that their opponents ‘syndicalist capitalism’ are accused of favoring big government… “But that system was tried and failed, wasn’t it? It had its day. It led inevitably to total socialism, which produced the compensating backlash of syndicalist capitalism, and then we got a government that pretended to be libertarian while actually stifling all individual liberties in the name of freedom. So if your group simply wanted to turn the clock back to 1955, say, there couldn’t be much to its ideas.” a nice story but I’d shortened it. 3*
"The Number You Have Reached" by Thomas M. Disch an astronaut living alone in a fully automated house, reminding of [a:Ray Bradbury|1630|Ray Bradbury|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1445955959p2/1630.jpg]'s There Will Come Soft Rains, missing his dead wife. Someone calls him on a phone, but he is unsure whether he just imagines it or not. Very gloomy. 2*
"The Man Who Loved the Faioli" by Roger Zelazny there are Faioli, beings that were known to come to a man the month before his death—those rare men who still died—and to live with such a man for that final month of his existence, rendering to him every pleasure that it is possible for a human being to know, so that on the day when the kiss of death is delivered, which sucks the remaining life from his body, that man accepts it—no, seeks it!—with desire and with grace. For such is the power of the Faioli among all creatures that there is nothing more to be desired after such knowledge. a narrator-protagonist comes to one, turning his heart back on and their life together starts. Poetic but not plot-heavy. 3*
"Population Implosion" by Andrew J. Offutt people over 75 start to die without an apparent cause and it turns out that there are only 4,999,999,999 souls, so when a new baby is born someone has to die. 3*
"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison maybe the earliest story about humans living in virtual reality set by a computer. In this case – five last people on Earth and computer turn their existence into hell. 3*
"The Sword Swallower" by Ron Goulart one of a series of stories about Ben Jolson, a member of the interstellar Chameleon Corps, who can turn into anyone. Someone kidnaps important people and he is sent to investigate… James Bond inspired space opera. 2.5*
"Coranda" by Keith Roberts a strange story, set on a far-future Earth frozen back into semi-barbarity by a new ice age, which was created by [a:Michael Moorcock|16939|Michael Moorcock|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1424079041p2/16939.jpg] in [b:The Ice Schooner|60157|The Ice Schooner|Michael Moorcock|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1260840307l/60157._SX50_.jpg|1712162], which was serialized in the British magazine Science Fantasy, of which Keith Roberts was Managing Editor. A long story about a heroic hunt for a unicorn. 2*
"Thus We Frustrate Charlemagne" by R. A. Lafferty another humorous piece, where a group gathered to change the past and observe the difference, but each time changing themselves as well. 3.5*
"Handicap" by Larry Niven a great SF story about an entrepreneur seeking for Handicapped species, for he deals with is sentient beings who evolved with minds but with nothing that would serve as hands, selling them waldos/exoskeletons, e.g. to dolphins. On this planet there are hairy semi-globes with giant brains, but not moving or having arms… 5*
"Full Sun" by Brian W. Aldiss in the far future a man and machine hunt for the anachronistic figure of a werewolf. At the same time the man sees possible futures that have only machines… 3.5*
"It's Smart to Have an English Address" by D. G. Compton an old pianist asked to share his emotions (via a special recording device) while he plays. 2.5*
smartflutist661's review
medium-paced
4.5
I was not impressed by some of the first few stories in this collection, but they steadily increased in quality, with most of the back half being quite excellent (and perhaps not so coincidentally, especially given this collection is over 50 years old, mostly written by more well-known names). Particular highlights: "The Billiard Ball", "Hawksbill Station", "Population Implosion", "Thus We Frustrate Charlemagne", "Handicap", "Full Sun".
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