A review by lordofthemoon
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
4.0
I've not read much Leiber before but I'm really glad I picked up this volume (another of the many that I got from Jonathan). It presents Leiber's pick of his short stories from when he started writing in the '40s to the book's publication in the '70s, with the bulk of the selection being from the '50s.
Some of the writing reminded me heavily (and in a good way) of Ray Bradbury. He has the same fun with language and the stories tend to linger in the mind. His dystopian visions of future America's are both insightful and disturbing, while his more playful stories are fun, even when you do figure out the twist beforehand. Particular gems are 'The Ship Sails at Midnight', 'A Pail of Air' (which I've read anthologised several times), 'Space-Time for Springers', 'Little Old Miss Macbeth', and 'Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-Tah-Tee'.
Some of the writing reminded me heavily (and in a good way) of Ray Bradbury. He has the same fun with language and the stories tend to linger in the mind. His dystopian visions of future America's are both insightful and disturbing, while his more playful stories are fun, even when you do figure out the twist beforehand. Particular gems are 'The Ship Sails at Midnight', 'A Pail of Air' (which I've read anthologised several times), 'Space-Time for Springers', 'Little Old Miss Macbeth', and 'Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-Tah-Tee'.