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Annual World's Best SF #10
The 1981 Annual World's Best SF
"Introduction" (Donald A. Wollheim)
"Variation on a Theme from Beethoven" (Sharon Webb)
"Beatnik Bayou" (John Varley)
"Elbow Room" (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
"The Ugly Chickens" (Howard Waldrop)
"Prime Time" (Norman Spinrad)
"Nightflyers" (George R. R. Martin)
"A Spaceship Built of Stone" (Lisa Tuttle)
"Window" (Bob Leman)
"The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild" (Michael G. Coney)
"Achronos" (Lee Killough)
"Variation on a Theme from Beethoven" (Sharon Webb)
"Beatnik Bayou" (John Varley)
"Elbow Room" (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
"The Ugly Chickens" (Howard Waldrop)
"Prime Time" (Norman Spinrad)
"Nightflyers" (George R. R. Martin)
"A Spaceship Built of Stone" (Lisa Tuttle)
"Window" (Bob Leman)
"The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild" (Michael G. Coney)
"Achronos" (Lee Killough)
252 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
1 person is currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Donald A. Wollheim
297 books34 followersDonald Allen Wollheim was a science fiction writer, editor, publisher and fan. He published his own works under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell.
A member of the Futurians, he was one of the leading influences on the development of science fiction and science fiction fandom in the 20th century United States.
In 1937, Wollheim founded the Fantasy Amateur Press Association. The first mailing was distributed in July of that year and included this statement from Wollheim: "There are many fans desiring to put out a voice who dare not, for fear of being obliged to keep it up, and for the worry and time taken by subscriptions and advertising. It is for them and for the fan who admits it is his hobby and not his business that we formed the FAPA."
Wollheim was also a member of the New York Science Fiction League, one of the clubs established by Hugo Gernsback to promote science fiction. When Wollheim published a complaint of non-payment for stories against Gernsback, Gernsback dissolved the New York chapter of the club.
Wollheim's first story, "The Man from Ariel," was published in the January 1934 issue of Wonder Stories when Wollheim was nineteen. Wollheim was not paid for the story and when he began to look into the situation, he learned that many other authors had not been paid for their work, publishing his findings in the Bulletin of the Terrestrial Fantascience Guild. Gernsback eventually settled the case with Wollheim and other authors out of court for $75, but when Wollheim submitted another story to Gernsback, under the pseudonym "Millard Verne Gordon," he was again not paid. One of Wollheim's short stories, "Mimic" was made into the feature film of the same name, which was released in 1997.
He left Avon Books in 1952 to work for A. A. Wyn at Ace Books. In 1953 he introduced science fiction to the Ace lineup, and for 20 years edited their renowned sf list. Ace was well known for the Ace Doubles series which consisted of pairs of books, usually by different authors, bound back-to-back with two "front" covers. Because these paired books had to fit a fixed total page-length, one or both were usually heavily abridged to fit, and Wollheim often made many other editorial alterations and title changes — as witness the many differences between Poul Anderson's Ace novel War of the Wing-Men and its definitive revised edition, The Man Who Counts. It was also during the 1950s he bought the book Junk by William S. Burroughs, which, in his inimitable fashion, he retitled Junkie.
In 1965 Wollheim published an unauthorized Ace edition of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien in three volumes — the first mass-market paperback edition of Tolkien's epic. This was done because Wollheim believed the Houghton Mifflin hardcover editions failed to properly assert copyright. In a 2006 interview, Wollheim's daughter claimed that Tolkien had angered her father by saying that his magnum opus would never be published in so ‘degenerate a form’ as the paperback book. However, Tolkien had previously authorized a paperback edition of The Hobbit in 1961, and eventually supported paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings and several of his other texts. In any case, Ace was forced to cease publishing the unauthorized edition and to pay Tolkien for their sales following a grass-roots campaign and boycott by Tolkien's U.S. fans. In 1993 a court found that the copyright loophole suggested by Ace Books was incorrect and their paperback edition found to have been a violation of Tolkien's copyright under US law.
After leaving Ace he founded DAW Books in 1971, named by his initials, which can claim to be the first mass market specialist science fiction and fantasy fiction publishing house. In later years, when his distributors, New American Library, threatened to withhold distribution of Thomas Burnett Swann's Biblical fantasy How are the Mighty Fallen (1974) because of its homosexual con
A member of the Futurians, he was one of the leading influences on the development of science fiction and science fiction fandom in the 20th century United States.
In 1937, Wollheim founded the Fantasy Amateur Press Association. The first mailing was distributed in July of that year and included this statement from Wollheim: "There are many fans desiring to put out a voice who dare not, for fear of being obliged to keep it up, and for the worry and time taken by subscriptions and advertising. It is for them and for the fan who admits it is his hobby and not his business that we formed the FAPA."
Wollheim was also a member of the New York Science Fiction League, one of the clubs established by Hugo Gernsback to promote science fiction. When Wollheim published a complaint of non-payment for stories against Gernsback, Gernsback dissolved the New York chapter of the club.
Wollheim's first story, "The Man from Ariel," was published in the January 1934 issue of Wonder Stories when Wollheim was nineteen. Wollheim was not paid for the story and when he began to look into the situation, he learned that many other authors had not been paid for their work, publishing his findings in the Bulletin of the Terrestrial Fantascience Guild. Gernsback eventually settled the case with Wollheim and other authors out of court for $75, but when Wollheim submitted another story to Gernsback, under the pseudonym "Millard Verne Gordon," he was again not paid. One of Wollheim's short stories, "Mimic" was made into the feature film of the same name, which was released in 1997.
He left Avon Books in 1952 to work for A. A. Wyn at Ace Books. In 1953 he introduced science fiction to the Ace lineup, and for 20 years edited their renowned sf list. Ace was well known for the Ace Doubles series which consisted of pairs of books, usually by different authors, bound back-to-back with two "front" covers. Because these paired books had to fit a fixed total page-length, one or both were usually heavily abridged to fit, and Wollheim often made many other editorial alterations and title changes — as witness the many differences between Poul Anderson's Ace novel War of the Wing-Men and its definitive revised edition, The Man Who Counts. It was also during the 1950s he bought the book Junk by William S. Burroughs, which, in his inimitable fashion, he retitled Junkie.
In 1965 Wollheim published an unauthorized Ace edition of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien in three volumes — the first mass-market paperback edition of Tolkien's epic. This was done because Wollheim believed the Houghton Mifflin hardcover editions failed to properly assert copyright. In a 2006 interview, Wollheim's daughter claimed that Tolkien had angered her father by saying that his magnum opus would never be published in so ‘degenerate a form’ as the paperback book. However, Tolkien had previously authorized a paperback edition of The Hobbit in 1961, and eventually supported paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings and several of his other texts. In any case, Ace was forced to cease publishing the unauthorized edition and to pay Tolkien for their sales following a grass-roots campaign and boycott by Tolkien's U.S. fans. In 1993 a court found that the copyright loophole suggested by Ace Books was incorrect and their paperback edition found to have been a violation of Tolkien's copyright under US law.
After leaving Ace he founded DAW Books in 1971, named by his initials, which can claim to be the first mass market specialist science fiction and fantasy fiction publishing house. In later years, when his distributors, New American Library, threatened to withhold distribution of Thomas Burnett Swann's Biblical fantasy How are the Mighty Fallen (1974) because of its homosexual con
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 25, 2017
This is another one that I first read many years ago, and some of the stories read very differently to an adult than to a kid.
Variation on a Theme from Beethoven, Sharon Webb – Humans have developed the technology to become immortal, but immortality kills off any artistic ability, so especially talented kids are trained and then given the option to choose a mortal life. I can’t help questioning the premise here, from several different angles, but I basically liked it.
Beatnik Bayou, John Varley – I love a good “the social norms of the far future will be almost incomprehensible and often disturbing to our eyes” story, and this one really pulls it off. You really feel like the world of this story could be the setting for hundreds of other equally fascinating stories. But… and this is kind of a big but… there’s some stuff in here about children having sex with people who are artificially-aged-down adults, and while it didn’t actually bother me within the context of the story, I can see this particular story REALLY REALLY not going over well with many people.
Elbow Room, Marion Zimmer Bradley – A woman is stationed by a wormhole in the middle of nowhere, and hardly ever sees her other crewmates… and then, well. Basically, the idea here is that certain kinds of mental instability might wind up being assets as humans move into space and way, way out of our comfort zones. I liked this, though the twist is pretty obvious from a mile away (though I’m not sure it wasn’t supposed to be).
The Ugly Chickens, Howard Waldrop – This is one of my favorite SF stories of all time. An ornithology grad student happens to be reading a book about extinct birds when an old lady on the bus leans over and says, “hey, I haven’t seen one of those ugly chickens since I was a little girl!” She’s talking about a picture of a dodo. And from there… well, I won’t ruin the story, but it’s all completely plausible and surprisingly emotionally affecting.
Prime Time, Norman Spinrad – “What if retirement homes were Matrix-esque virtual reality tanks” is the basic setup here. The story presents three possible responses to this situation: living in the past and pretending it’s real, pursuing ever more outlandish and insane fantasy scenarios, or going insane. This is much more dated than most of the rest of this collection, but you can’t really fault it too much for that.
Nightflyers, George R. R. Martin – A second-tier group of scientists charter a ship to pursue a mysterious object which has been slowly moving through space for aeons. This could easily have been adapted as a movie; GRRM’s screenwriter experience is super visible in this one. I can’t say the ultimate revelation (which I won’t spoil) was exactly mindblowing, but it had some great imagery and genuinely tense moments and it moved along at a good clip.
A Spaceship Built of Stone, Lisa Tuttle – A small group of people have the same mysterious dream about a maze, and then, well… this is as unsettling as a story about nice aliens who mean us no harm can get. (Oddly, this is the second story in this collection where the plot is set in motion by one character noticing a picture in another character’s book on a bus.)
Window, Bob Leman – A mysterious government-funded experiment goes weirdly awry, and suddenly there’s a massive one-way window into the idyllic Victorian past in the middle of a research base. The first time I read this, I was genuinely surprised by the direction it took.
The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild, Michael G. Coney – What if everybody could feel everybody else’s pain, all the time? Probably world peace or something, right? MAYBE NOT. This is the best story from the perspective of a herd of caribou you’ve ever read.
Achronos, Lee Killough – An artist stumbles into a still pool in the time stream, accessible from every point in time, and meets some people who live there full-time. Another one that makes much more sense to me as an adult than when I first read it!
Favorites in this one: The Ugly Chickens; The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild; and because I was really captured by the world it paints I gotta say Beatnik Bayou although, ya know, trigger warning and all that
Variation on a Theme from Beethoven, Sharon Webb – Humans have developed the technology to become immortal, but immortality kills off any artistic ability, so especially talented kids are trained and then given the option to choose a mortal life. I can’t help questioning the premise here, from several different angles, but I basically liked it.
Beatnik Bayou, John Varley – I love a good “the social norms of the far future will be almost incomprehensible and often disturbing to our eyes” story, and this one really pulls it off. You really feel like the world of this story could be the setting for hundreds of other equally fascinating stories. But… and this is kind of a big but… there’s some stuff in here about children having sex with people who are artificially-aged-down adults, and while it didn’t actually bother me within the context of the story, I can see this particular story REALLY REALLY not going over well with many people.
Elbow Room, Marion Zimmer Bradley – A woman is stationed by a wormhole in the middle of nowhere, and hardly ever sees her other crewmates… and then, well. Basically, the idea here is that certain kinds of mental instability might wind up being assets as humans move into space and way, way out of our comfort zones. I liked this, though the twist is pretty obvious from a mile away (though I’m not sure it wasn’t supposed to be).
The Ugly Chickens, Howard Waldrop – This is one of my favorite SF stories of all time. An ornithology grad student happens to be reading a book about extinct birds when an old lady on the bus leans over and says, “hey, I haven’t seen one of those ugly chickens since I was a little girl!” She’s talking about a picture of a dodo. And from there… well, I won’t ruin the story, but it’s all completely plausible and surprisingly emotionally affecting.
Prime Time, Norman Spinrad – “What if retirement homes were Matrix-esque virtual reality tanks” is the basic setup here. The story presents three possible responses to this situation: living in the past and pretending it’s real, pursuing ever more outlandish and insane fantasy scenarios, or going insane. This is much more dated than most of the rest of this collection, but you can’t really fault it too much for that.
Nightflyers, George R. R. Martin – A second-tier group of scientists charter a ship to pursue a mysterious object which has been slowly moving through space for aeons. This could easily have been adapted as a movie; GRRM’s screenwriter experience is super visible in this one. I can’t say the ultimate revelation (which I won’t spoil) was exactly mindblowing, but it had some great imagery and genuinely tense moments and it moved along at a good clip.
A Spaceship Built of Stone, Lisa Tuttle – A small group of people have the same mysterious dream about a maze, and then, well… this is as unsettling as a story about nice aliens who mean us no harm can get. (Oddly, this is the second story in this collection where the plot is set in motion by one character noticing a picture in another character’s book on a bus.)
Window, Bob Leman – A mysterious government-funded experiment goes weirdly awry, and suddenly there’s a massive one-way window into the idyllic Victorian past in the middle of a research base. The first time I read this, I was genuinely surprised by the direction it took.
The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild, Michael G. Coney – What if everybody could feel everybody else’s pain, all the time? Probably world peace or something, right? MAYBE NOT. This is the best story from the perspective of a herd of caribou you’ve ever read.
Achronos, Lee Killough – An artist stumbles into a still pool in the time stream, accessible from every point in time, and meets some people who live there full-time. Another one that makes much more sense to me as an adult than when I first read it!
Favorites in this one: The Ugly Chickens; The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild; and because I was really captured by the world it paints I gotta say Beatnik Bayou although, ya know, trigger warning and all that
October 4, 2021
THE 1981 ANNUAL WORLD’S BEST SF.
RATED 95% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 4.30
10 STORIES : 4 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
The more I read from Donald A Wollheim’s Annual World’s Best SF, the more I like them. Not only for the stories within, although my taste seems to gel nicely with Wollheim’s, but also for the principle of a “Best of” that limits itself to only ten stories. I am frequent in agreement of his selections.
The 1981 - stories originally published in 1980 - is an exceptional anthology with only of the highest Positive Percentages and an excellent Average Story Score. The introduction is pretty standard for many anthologies, “SF is changing and maybe declining, but there is still good work.” It lacks the intellectual breadth of a Dozois vintage summary, but the real reason to read this are the stories.
Four Stories received a Great rating:
* Beatnik Bayou • (1980) • novelette by John Varley. A young man comes of age on a lunar colony with easy sex changes, age changes, intimate individualized education, computerized justice, and an artificially recreated southern Bayou. This is a lush and detailed world, whether we are dealing with a confrontation in the bayou, an artificial New Orleans recreation, sexual experimentation, or intricacies of the legal system. Could have easily been a novel. Be aware that Varley is doing some experimentation with perceived age in a sex context and you might find that uncomfortable.
* The Ugly Chickens • (1980) • novelette by Howard Waldrop. Quirky offbeat tale that investigates whether the Dodo Bird lived much more recently than formerly believed. Deeply drenched in rural american poverty - and not the picturesque kind. Full of cutting humor. This is truly science fiction, but not like much SF you’ve read before.
* Nightflyers • (1980) • novella by George R. R. Martin. Riveting spaceship horror. A small group of scientists travel on a transport vessel with an enigmatic captain that they never see. Their telepath starts to get the vibes of a hateful force. People start dying. Suspenseful, full of action, and horrifying.
* The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild • (1980) • short story by Michael G. Coney. A Herd of empathic cattle in the arctic protect themselves by having predators feel their pain, but what does that mean for wolves and Men? A strange story, but definitely though-provoking in the fashion of the best SF.
***
The 1981 Annual World’s Best SF is rated 95% positive
10 Stories : 4 great / 5 good / 1 average / 0 poor / 0 DNF
1. Variation on a Theme from Beethoven • (1980) • novelette by Sharon Webb Good. A young man must decide between immortality or the chance at artistic greatness.
2. Beatnik Bayou • (1980) • novelette by John Varley Great. A young man comes of age on a lunar colony with easy sex changes, age changes, intimate individualized education, computerized justice, and an artificially recreated southern Bayou.
3. Elbow Room • (1980) • novelette by Marion Zimmer Bradley Good. A woman working a solitary and essential job at the edge of the Vortex, starts to slowly come apart following a liaison with a starship captain.
4. The Ugly Chickens • (1980) • novelette by Howard Waldrop Great. Quirky offbeat tale that investigates whether the Dodo Bird lived much more recently than formerly believed.
5. Prime Time • (1980) • short story by Norman Spinrad Average. A husband and wife live within their own immersive ‘tape-based’ virtual realities, unable to really connect with each other.
6. Nightflyers • (1980) • novella by George R. R. Martin Great. Riveting spaceship horror. A small group of scientists travel on a transport vessel with an enigmatic captain that they never see. Their telepath starts to get the vibes of a hateful force. People start dying.
7. A Spaceship Built of Stone • (1980) • short story by Lisa Tuttle Good. Quietly haunting story about dreams of a strange hidden city and its inhabitants. Dreams that peacefully become reality.
8. Window • (1980) • short story by Bob Leman Good. Experiments into telekinesis lead to a lab building disappearing and being replaced by a quaint house and family from what appears to be the past.
9. The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild • (1980) • short story by Michael G. Coney Great. A Herd of empathic cattle in the arctic protect themselves by having predators feel their pain, but what does that mean for wolves and Men?
10. Achronos • (1980) • short story by Lee Killough Good. A bored artist stumbles across far future humans living in a time bubble on the beach.
RATED 95% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 4.30
10 STORIES : 4 GREAT / 5 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
The more I read from Donald A Wollheim’s Annual World’s Best SF, the more I like them. Not only for the stories within, although my taste seems to gel nicely with Wollheim’s, but also for the principle of a “Best of” that limits itself to only ten stories. I am frequent in agreement of his selections.
The 1981 - stories originally published in 1980 - is an exceptional anthology with only of the highest Positive Percentages and an excellent Average Story Score. The introduction is pretty standard for many anthologies, “SF is changing and maybe declining, but there is still good work.” It lacks the intellectual breadth of a Dozois vintage summary, but the real reason to read this are the stories.
Four Stories received a Great rating:
* Beatnik Bayou • (1980) • novelette by John Varley. A young man comes of age on a lunar colony with easy sex changes, age changes, intimate individualized education, computerized justice, and an artificially recreated southern Bayou. This is a lush and detailed world, whether we are dealing with a confrontation in the bayou, an artificial New Orleans recreation, sexual experimentation, or intricacies of the legal system. Could have easily been a novel. Be aware that Varley is doing some experimentation with perceived age in a sex context and you might find that uncomfortable.
* The Ugly Chickens • (1980) • novelette by Howard Waldrop. Quirky offbeat tale that investigates whether the Dodo Bird lived much more recently than formerly believed. Deeply drenched in rural american poverty - and not the picturesque kind. Full of cutting humor. This is truly science fiction, but not like much SF you’ve read before.
* Nightflyers • (1980) • novella by George R. R. Martin. Riveting spaceship horror. A small group of scientists travel on a transport vessel with an enigmatic captain that they never see. Their telepath starts to get the vibes of a hateful force. People start dying. Suspenseful, full of action, and horrifying.
* The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild • (1980) • short story by Michael G. Coney. A Herd of empathic cattle in the arctic protect themselves by having predators feel their pain, but what does that mean for wolves and Men? A strange story, but definitely though-provoking in the fashion of the best SF.
***
The 1981 Annual World’s Best SF is rated 95% positive
10 Stories : 4 great / 5 good / 1 average / 0 poor / 0 DNF
1. Variation on a Theme from Beethoven • (1980) • novelette by Sharon Webb Good. A young man must decide between immortality or the chance at artistic greatness.
2. Beatnik Bayou • (1980) • novelette by John Varley Great. A young man comes of age on a lunar colony with easy sex changes, age changes, intimate individualized education, computerized justice, and an artificially recreated southern Bayou.
3. Elbow Room • (1980) • novelette by Marion Zimmer Bradley Good. A woman working a solitary and essential job at the edge of the Vortex, starts to slowly come apart following a liaison with a starship captain.
4. The Ugly Chickens • (1980) • novelette by Howard Waldrop Great. Quirky offbeat tale that investigates whether the Dodo Bird lived much more recently than formerly believed.
5. Prime Time • (1980) • short story by Norman Spinrad Average. A husband and wife live within their own immersive ‘tape-based’ virtual realities, unable to really connect with each other.
6. Nightflyers • (1980) • novella by George R. R. Martin Great. Riveting spaceship horror. A small group of scientists travel on a transport vessel with an enigmatic captain that they never see. Their telepath starts to get the vibes of a hateful force. People start dying.
7. A Spaceship Built of Stone • (1980) • short story by Lisa Tuttle Good. Quietly haunting story about dreams of a strange hidden city and its inhabitants. Dreams that peacefully become reality.
8. Window • (1980) • short story by Bob Leman Good. Experiments into telekinesis lead to a lab building disappearing and being replaced by a quaint house and family from what appears to be the past.
9. The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild • (1980) • short story by Michael G. Coney Great. A Herd of empathic cattle in the arctic protect themselves by having predators feel their pain, but what does that mean for wolves and Men?
10. Achronos • (1980) • short story by Lee Killough Good. A bored artist stumbles across far future humans living in a time bubble on the beach.
August 10, 2020
In Variation on a Theme by Beethoven by Sharon Webb humans have developed an immortality treatment but it comes at the expense of their creativity. A reluctant David, who is musically gifted, is plucked from his boyhood life on Vesta to be taken to Renascence, on Earth, to be trained for sixty lunar months before deciding if he wants to be immortal or creative.
Beatnik Bayou by John Varley is set in his future where medical modification of the human body is commonplace and sex changes unremarkable – even desirable. This one deals with what growing up in such a society might entail and the problems with having age-altered personal tutors as constant companions. Tonally the narration is not consistent.
Elbow Room by Marion Zimmer Bradley is one of those confessional stories within which the narrator becomes riddled with self-doubt. She is the director of a Vortex station, institutions which oversee wormholes and had a history of their operators committing suicide or else murdering one another. So a system was evolved in which only a few people would inhabit the stations meeting only occasionally so as they have elbow room. The narrator therefore has her own cook, her own gardener, her technician, her personal priest; even perhaps her own male whore. The crisis comes when a malfunctioning ship arrives at the Vortex and she has to board it, thereby encountering strangers.
The Ugly Chickens by Howard Waldrop finds Paul Lindberl, biology assistant at the University of Texas, setting out on a wild bird chase after a woman on the bus refers to seeing in her childhood the “ugly chickens” he was looking at in his book of Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World.
Prime Time by Norman Spinrad is a take on the future of entertainment where people retire to Total Television Heaven able to access tapes (how soon the future becomes obsolete!) containg their favourite programming and real-time-share them with their nearest and dearest or not-so-dearest as the case may be. The story also has a rather conventional view of the lineaments of male and female desire.
Though typically well written George R R Martin throws a lot of SF tropes into Nightflyers - cloning, telepathy, ancient star travellers, holograms, telekinesis, a backdrop of an extended time-line, the mad woman in the attic (or in this case, a spaceship’s control systems.) Karoly d’Branin has assembled a crew of xenobiologists, linguists, a xenotechnologist, a telepath, a cyberneticist and an ‘improved model’ human to find the almost mythical volcryn, said to have cruised the galaxy at sublight speed for millenia. The ship’s captain, Royd Eris, is secretive though, never emerging from his quarters, appearing only as a hologram. Things begin to go wrong when the telepath feels a stange presence before dying violently.
The first sentence of A Spaceship Built of Stone by Lisa Tuttle is reminiscent of Shelley’s poem Ozymandias but the scene it describes is occurring in a dream. The dreams, apparently of the stone-built city of the ancient Anasazi culture, are being experienced simultaneously by many people round the world. Narrator Rick comes to suspect they are a softening up exercise for a quiet alien invasion.
In Window by Bob Leman, an experimenter on telekinesis has disappeared, along with his work cabin, and been replaced by a transparent cube one hundred feet to a side. The scene it shows, of another reality, looks idyllic. Then, during the brief time there is an interface, one of the obsevers steps through.
The Summer Sweet, The Winter Wild by Michael G Coney is one of the very few pieces of fiction to be written in the first person plural. (Another is my own This is the Road.) Here the We of the narrator(s) is a herd of caribou, some of whose members a while ago developed the telepathic ability to make the Herd and other animals feel their pain when they were injured or attacked. Wolves then back off, also humans (thought of by the Herd as ‘You’,) hence the weak and ill of the Herd do not die, therefore go on to breed.
A disillusioned artist wanders a beach in Achronous by Lee Killough and finds he has stepped into a bubble in time, with people from the far future taking refuge from the end of their world. It gives him new inspiration.
Beatnik Bayou by John Varley is set in his future where medical modification of the human body is commonplace and sex changes unremarkable – even desirable. This one deals with what growing up in such a society might entail and the problems with having age-altered personal tutors as constant companions. Tonally the narration is not consistent.
Elbow Room by Marion Zimmer Bradley is one of those confessional stories within which the narrator becomes riddled with self-doubt. She is the director of a Vortex station, institutions which oversee wormholes and had a history of their operators committing suicide or else murdering one another. So a system was evolved in which only a few people would inhabit the stations meeting only occasionally so as they have elbow room. The narrator therefore has her own cook, her own gardener, her technician, her personal priest; even perhaps her own male whore. The crisis comes when a malfunctioning ship arrives at the Vortex and she has to board it, thereby encountering strangers.
The Ugly Chickens by Howard Waldrop finds Paul Lindberl, biology assistant at the University of Texas, setting out on a wild bird chase after a woman on the bus refers to seeing in her childhood the “ugly chickens” he was looking at in his book of Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World.
Prime Time by Norman Spinrad is a take on the future of entertainment where people retire to Total Television Heaven able to access tapes (how soon the future becomes obsolete!) containg their favourite programming and real-time-share them with their nearest and dearest or not-so-dearest as the case may be. The story also has a rather conventional view of the lineaments of male and female desire.
Though typically well written George R R Martin throws a lot of SF tropes into Nightflyers - cloning, telepathy, ancient star travellers, holograms, telekinesis, a backdrop of an extended time-line, the mad woman in the attic (or in this case, a spaceship’s control systems.) Karoly d’Branin has assembled a crew of xenobiologists, linguists, a xenotechnologist, a telepath, a cyberneticist and an ‘improved model’ human to find the almost mythical volcryn, said to have cruised the galaxy at sublight speed for millenia. The ship’s captain, Royd Eris, is secretive though, never emerging from his quarters, appearing only as a hologram. Things begin to go wrong when the telepath feels a stange presence before dying violently.
The first sentence of A Spaceship Built of Stone by Lisa Tuttle is reminiscent of Shelley’s poem Ozymandias but the scene it describes is occurring in a dream. The dreams, apparently of the stone-built city of the ancient Anasazi culture, are being experienced simultaneously by many people round the world. Narrator Rick comes to suspect they are a softening up exercise for a quiet alien invasion.
In Window by Bob Leman, an experimenter on telekinesis has disappeared, along with his work cabin, and been replaced by a transparent cube one hundred feet to a side. The scene it shows, of another reality, looks idyllic. Then, during the brief time there is an interface, one of the obsevers steps through.
The Summer Sweet, The Winter Wild by Michael G Coney is one of the very few pieces of fiction to be written in the first person plural. (Another is my own This is the Road.) Here the We of the narrator(s) is a herd of caribou, some of whose members a while ago developed the telepathic ability to make the Herd and other animals feel their pain when they were injured or attacked. Wolves then back off, also humans (thought of by the Herd as ‘You’,) hence the weak and ill of the Herd do not die, therefore go on to breed.
A disillusioned artist wanders a beach in Achronous by Lee Killough and finds he has stepped into a bubble in time, with people from the far future taking refuge from the end of their world. It gives him new inspiration.
March 1, 2025
These DAW World's Best SF collections vary a lot in quality, with most of them being unexceptional and certainly not living up to the description "World's Best." Every one has several quite ordinary stories and at least one to two outright stinkers that detract from the overall value of the books. So overall I'd give them around 2.5 to 3 stars. But THIS one has Howard Waldrop's great story "The Ugly Chickens," a story that I've loved for 40 years and that is only barely recognizable as science fiction. For including that story, I've added another star to my review. George R. R. Martin's novella "Nightflyers," one of his excursions into SF horror -- or is it horror SF? -- is another highlight, and the delightfully nasty "Window" by Bob Leman adds some more spice to otherwise fair to middling collection. But read "The Ugly Chickens" and anything else you can find by Waldrop. Not everyone gets him, but if you do -- lucky you.
October 11, 2020
This is the last of this series that I had to read. Warning: There's "horror" science fiction here. By that I mean a horror movie moved from a cabin in the woods to a spaceship. A quarter of the book is taken up by a George Martin novella called "Nightflyers" which was the basis for the terrible 1987 movie of the same name. Most of the rest of stories had interesting concepts but I don't think they were well executed.
December 4, 2025
A truly solid collection with only 1 story that was a miss for me. The standout for sure here is Nighflyers, with Prime Time being a close second. A collection that focused on future and other worlds with a fair bit of social commentary and satire that really landed; and never felt heavy handed. The is another great example of the power short sf can have, and if your a fan this is an easy recommendation.
August 7, 2018
Great collection. A lot of 'lost innocence', 'painful knowledge gained' type stories.
Beethoven, Ugly Chickens, Window, Achronos, all great. Not a bad story in the bunch, though Nightflyers is a little slow.
Beethoven, Ugly Chickens, Window, Achronos, all great. Not a bad story in the bunch, though Nightflyers is a little slow.
March 18, 2020
See my review for the 1973 issue - ditto
July 13, 2021
Some strong stories- especially the dodo themed "Ugly Chickens" and GRRM night flyers, but pretty hit or miss.
February 1, 2015
This is the book that started my love for short fiction. I still love to read almost anything else I can find interesting to me, but I know I read a lot of short stories now because of this book. I read this as a kid & probably ten or eleven times since. Thinking about it, this was also the book that made me search out the world of science fiction literature like a marooned man in the desert looking for water...
I know this isn't the greatest collection of short stories of all time. Still, it has some exceptional stories in it, from some of the greatest authors in the fields of science fiction & fantasy. Which is a subjective issue, I know, but if your into these genres, then you know names like John Varley & Marion Zimmer Bradley. Names aside, these stories are highly entertaining. I like finding books now edited by people like Donald A. Wollheim, Terry Carr & Arthur W. Saha (to name a few), because I was lucky in finding this book in my house as a kid.
Now I bet your wondering, why give this book five out of five, for any other reason than being one of my favorite books? Well, it's the quality of the work. A lot of people who don't read science fiction or fantasy, might not like this book. There are some stories that push the envelope (even 34 years later), which some people might find personally offensive, or distasteful. Then again, the concept of progression usually is. In one way or another. Especially stories like "Beatnik Bayou" by John Varley, or "Achronos" by Lee Killough. Still, this book holds a lot of intriguing views. I recommend this book to anyone who loves science fiction. I'm still trying to find the whole series. I hope you at least give it a shot.
I know this isn't the greatest collection of short stories of all time. Still, it has some exceptional stories in it, from some of the greatest authors in the fields of science fiction & fantasy. Which is a subjective issue, I know, but if your into these genres, then you know names like John Varley & Marion Zimmer Bradley. Names aside, these stories are highly entertaining. I like finding books now edited by people like Donald A. Wollheim, Terry Carr & Arthur W. Saha (to name a few), because I was lucky in finding this book in my house as a kid.
Now I bet your wondering, why give this book five out of five, for any other reason than being one of my favorite books? Well, it's the quality of the work. A lot of people who don't read science fiction or fantasy, might not like this book. There are some stories that push the envelope (even 34 years later), which some people might find personally offensive, or distasteful. Then again, the concept of progression usually is. In one way or another. Especially stories like "Beatnik Bayou" by John Varley, or "Achronos" by Lee Killough. Still, this book holds a lot of intriguing views. I recommend this book to anyone who loves science fiction. I'm still trying to find the whole series. I hope you at least give it a shot.
July 5, 2016
The theme of this anthology is a little hard to make out but my opinion is that it turns around mankind’s attempt to retain humanity in spite of itself. Many of the stories are heartrending (a few are horrific) and most center around a person’s inner struggle to keep his/her mind against overwhelming pressure. The urge to conform, to sleep, to surrender, to abandon or wallow can be irresistible and punishment for those who fight can be severe. But it’s all worth it—isn’t it?
This anthology also contains a work by George R. R. Martin; fans of his who know nothing of him but his Game of Thrones series will want to read his disturbing attempt at science fiction.
This anthology also contains a work by George R. R. Martin; fans of his who know nothing of him but his Game of Thrones series will want to read his disturbing attempt at science fiction.
October 7, 2009
Wollheim's Annual Best SF series had a distinctive cover which I'd go for any time I'd see it for sale, used. The stories were generally pretty good. After a while, however, I got suspicious. The covers were too much alike! I'd start one and find that I'd read it before.
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August 22, 2008Annual World's Best Science Fiction, 1981 (World's Best SF) by Donald A. Wollheim (1981)
May 5, 2017
1980 was a VERY good year for science fiction short stories. I stumbled across this at my local library (filed under F ANN for "Fiction -- annual" (?)) and, considering it's age, you may stumble across it at a used book sale or on Amazon. If you love science fiction (especially late 1970s scifi movies) then treat yourself. It's a great (although not stellar) collection.
The feature story here is George R. R. Martin's "Nightfliers" (yes -- THAT George R. R. Martin.) Sure, this is a (majorly) different version of the classic movie Alien but who cares? This is written so well that it's not only a treat to read, but a treat to re-read. Break out the popcorn and enjoy.
There's a nice variety of stories here. Some are short and some are long. Some are set on Earth and some in space. Some are darkly humorous like Howard Waldrop's "The Ugly Chickens" and some are chilling such as Lee Killough's "Achronos." The most bizzare was written from a caribou's point of view in "The Summer Sweet, The Winter Wild" by Michael G. Coney.
The feature story here is George R. R. Martin's "Nightfliers" (yes -- THAT George R. R. Martin.) Sure, this is a (majorly) different version of the classic movie Alien but who cares? This is written so well that it's not only a treat to read, but a treat to re-read. Break out the popcorn and enjoy.
There's a nice variety of stories here. Some are short and some are long. Some are set on Earth and some in space. Some are darkly humorous like Howard Waldrop's "The Ugly Chickens" and some are chilling such as Lee Killough's "Achronos." The most bizzare was written from a caribou's point of view in "The Summer Sweet, The Winter Wild" by Michael G. Coney.
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