A review by vraper
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964 by Judith Merril, C.M. Kornbluth, Murray Leinster, Lewis Padgett, Anthony Boucher, Lester del Rey, Jerome Bixby, Cordwainer Smith, Theodore Sturgeon, Fredric Brown, Richard Matheson, James Blish, Fritz Leiber, Isaac Asimov, Daniel Keyes, Clifford D. Simak, Robert Silverberg, John W. Campbell Jr., A.E. van Vogt, Alfred Bester, Damon Knight, Arthur C. Clarke, Tom Godwin, Roger Zelazny, Robert A. Heinlein, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Ray Bradbury
An excellent introduction to the history of science fiction, the Hall of Fame is an anthology of twenty-six classic stories published between 1929 and 1964.
My favourites were:
1. Martian Odyssey - Stanley G. Weinbaum. An explorer teams up with an alien ostrich to investigate the wild and wacky wildlife of Mars.
2. Microcosmic God - Theodore Sturgeon. A genius inventor creates some little helpers for whom design is a life-and-death situation.
3. Nightfall - Isaac Asimov. As a planet with six suns faces its first darkness, a group of intellectuals fears going mad in the darkness.
4. Arena - Fredric Brown. A space soldier faces a large red alien ball in a duel to the death with the existence of humanity as the prize.
5. Scanners live in vain - Cordwainer Smith. A man temporarily coupled to his emotions faces a difficult decision when his inhuman colleagues plan to assassinate a prominent scientist.
6. The Cold Equations - Tom Godwin. The only passenger on a spaceship with enough fuel to carry one person is on a life-and-death mission when, suddenly, he discovers a stowaway.
7. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes. A stupid, but kind, man is given the opportunity to become a genius, but his new-found gift has a terrible price.
My favourites were:
1. Martian Odyssey - Stanley G. Weinbaum. An explorer teams up with an alien ostrich to investigate the wild and wacky wildlife of Mars.
2. Microcosmic God - Theodore Sturgeon. A genius inventor creates some little helpers for whom design is a life-and-death situation.
3. Nightfall - Isaac Asimov. As a planet with six suns faces its first darkness, a group of intellectuals fears going mad in the darkness.
4. Arena - Fredric Brown. A space soldier faces a large red alien ball in a duel to the death with the existence of humanity as the prize.
5. Scanners live in vain - Cordwainer Smith. A man temporarily coupled to his emotions faces a difficult decision when his inhuman colleagues plan to assassinate a prominent scientist.
6. The Cold Equations - Tom Godwin. The only passenger on a spaceship with enough fuel to carry one person is on a life-and-death mission when, suddenly, he discovers a stowaway.
7. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes. A stupid, but kind, man is given the opportunity to become a genius, but his new-found gift has a terrible price.