AN UNBEARABLE CHOICE!
Planet Dilbia is in a crucial location for both humans and their adversaries, the Hemnoids. Therefore making friends with the Dilbians and establishing a human presence there is of the utmost importance, which may be a problem, since the bearlike Dilbians stand some nine feet tall, and have a high regard for physical prowess. They're not impressed by human technology, either. A real man, er, bear doesn't need machines to do his work for him.
But Dilbians are impressed by sharp thinking, and some have expressed a grudging admiration for the logical (and usually sneaky) mental maneuvers that the human "shorties" have used to get themselves out of desperate jams. Just maybe that old human craftiness will win over the Dilbians to the human side. If not, we lose a nexus, and the Dilbians will learn just how unbearable Hemnoids can be....
]]>Dickson creates a complex and convincing political, historical, and social framework inhabited by compelling characters who never lose their blend of humanity and heroism. The Spirit of Dorsai is a smoothly written balance of strategy, tactics, and the individuals behind them that still sets a standard for military science fiction. --Roz Genessee
]]>In the good old days they gave you a suit of armor and a mighty steed to rescue a maiden in distress. But John Tardy didn't know about this battle until he was in it. No suit of armor, no magnificent charger. He'd have been happy just to arrive on his own two feet, or any way other than as a package labeled "Spacial Delivery."
]]>Giles Steel, a member of Earth's master race, assumes responsibility for erupting tempers, the dwindling food supply...and the saboteur whose ugly work has already begun!
]]>The Secret Place by Richard McKenna - "[A} sensitive piece of writing, a perfect example of second generation science fiction, the retelling and reexamination of a theme that originated in the pulp years..."
Light of Other Days by Bob Shaw - The memorable classic featuring "slow glass" through which light takes a very long time to travel.
Who Needs Insurance? by Robin S. Scott - If one can be accident prone, then perhaps one can be "safety-prone" -- but why?
Among the Hairy Earthmen by R.A. Lafferty - Earth is nothing more than a bloody playground for the children of the gods.
The Last Castle by Jack Vance - A prime example of one of Vance's "haunting mood-possessed visions of the distant future, written in a style that stirs the reader to reaction and response."
Day Million by Frederik Pohl - A very short story "jewel-like conciseness" of future love, life, and romance.
When I Was Miss Dow by Sonya Dorman - "[A] sense of strangeness, more than a bit of human warmth, as well as a good strong whiff of alien strangeness."
Call Him Lord by Gordon R. Dickson - Earth proves to be a testing ground for the son of an emperor of a hundred worlds.
In the Imagicon by George Henry Smith - "What good was paradise without something to compare it to? Without a taste of hell from time to time, how could a man appreciate heaven?"
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick - Now better know as the story on which film Total Recall was based, the original is a far more subtle questioning of reality.
Man In His Time by Brian W. Aldiss - The sole survivor of crash landing on Mars returns to Earth, but is 3.3077 minutes ahead of the rest of the world.
Contents
Afterword: The Year in Science Fiction • (1967) • essay by Brian W. Aldiss and Harry Harrison
Among the Hairy Earthmen • (1966) • shortstory by R.A. Lafferty
Call Him Lord • (1966) • shortstory by Gordon R. Dickson
Day Million • (1966) • shortstory by Frederik Pohl
In the Imagicon • (1966) • shortstory by George H. Smith [as by George Henry Smith]
Introduction (Nebula Award Stories 2) • (1967) • essay by Brian W. Aldiss and Harry Harrison
Light of Other Days • [Slow Glass] • (1966) • shortstory by Bob Shaw
Man in His Time • (1965) • shortstory by Brian W. Aldiss
Nebula Awards 1966 and Roll of Honor • (1967) • essay by uncredited
The Last Castle • (1966) • novella by Jack Vance
The Secret Place • (1966) • shortstory by Richard McKenna
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale • (1966) • novelette by Philip K. Dick
When I Was Miss Dow • (1966) • shortstory by Sonya Dorman
Who Needs Insurance? • (1966) • novelette by Robin Scott Wilson [as by Robin S. Scott]