The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh Series

by Anthony Boucher (Editor), Chad Oliver, Arthur C. Clarke

Anthony Boucher [editor].The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh Series. Garden City: Doubleday, [1958]. Book club edition. Octavo. 264 pages.

The Wines of Earth by Idris Seabright (Margaret St. Clair)
Adjustment by Ward Moore
The Cage by A. Bertram Chandler
Mr Stilwell's Stage by Avram Davidson
Venture to the Moon by Arthur C. Clarke
Expedition by Fredric Brown
Rescue by G.C. Edmondson
Between the Thunder & the Sun by Chad Oliver
A Point of Law by Isaac Asimov
The Wild Wood by Mildred Clingerman
Dodger Fan by Will Stanton
Goddess in Granite by Robert F. Young
Ms Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie by C.M. Kornbluth
Journey's End by Poul Anderson
The Big Trek by Fritz Leiber
Poems by James Blish, Dorothy Cowles Pinkney, and Anthony Brode

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Anthologies

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

William Anthony Parker White, better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher, was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dramas. Between 1942 and 1947, he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to "Anthony Boucher", White also employed the pseudonym "H. H. Holmes", which was the pseudonym of a late-19th-century American serial killer; Boucher would also write light verse and sign it " Herman W. Mudgett" (the murderer's real name).
In a 1981 poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, his novel Nine Times Nine was voted as the ninth best locked room mystery of all time.

Reviews

[Craig]

This is one of the better volumes in the long-running Best of F & SF series. There aren't any stories I'd place in the iconic classic category, but I enjoyed all of the selections, and it's a very well-rounded book with both traditional science fiction and fantasy, humor and serious stuff, new (the book was printed in 1958, remember), and well-known authors, and even some poems and flash-fiction pieces. The authors include Idris Seabright (pseudonym of Margaret St. Clair), Ward Moore, Bertram Chandler (before the A, apparently), Avram Davidson (who would become editor of the magazine a few years later), Arthur C. Clarke, Fredric Brown, G.C. Edmondson, Isaac Asimov, Mildred Clingerman, Robert F. Young, C.M. Kornbluth, Poul Anderson, and Fritz Leiber. The best story is a terrific novella by Chad Oliver, Between the Thunder and the Sea, but my favorite story is my all time favorite baseball and humor story, Dodger Fan by Will Stanton. I've read it dozens of times and I always get a laugh.

[Rena Sherwood]

The magazine Fantasy & Science Fiction was one of the most popular speculative fiction magazines in history. Many careers were launched, many stories first published in the magazine won awards ... but it doesn't mean the annual Year's Best anthology would be any good. I've only read four, and this is one of the worst.

Boucher seemed to go for comedy this time around. However, what's funny in 1957 isn't that funny in 2026 ... especially stereotypes. Funny how everyone just assumed that smoking would never die, the Dodgers would always be bums, and that there were civilizations galore on other planets in the solar system.

Like in previous books in the series, short poems are included, but not listed in the book's Table of Contents, so I've listed them here.

Selections:

* "Introduction" by Our Editor. Yada Yada. Safely skipped.
* "The Wines of Earth" by Idris Seabright/Martha St. Clair. If aliens ever come to Earth, it'll be because they're alcoholics.
* "In Memorium: Fletcher Pratt" by James Blish. I'm not positive, but I think this was one of the few poems ever published in Blish's lifetime. Here, he compares Loki to his dearly departed friend and fellow writer, who died aged 59.
* "Adjustment" by Ward Moore. Supposedly a funny alternative universe-type story, but isn't.
* "The Cage" by Bertram Chandler. Aliens stick humans into their zoo. Short, but poignant for the 1950s.
* "Mr. Stillwell's Stage" by Avram Davidson. This urban fantasy, set in 1940 New York City, pops up in other anthologies. It's a short but sad little tale of a strange man with a portable stage. We have no idea what happened to the dog in the end.
* "Venture to the Moon" by Arthur C. Clarke. Memoirs of the British commander of the first trip to the Moon. Really seems silly now, not only in comparison to real flights to the moon, but in the thought that the USA, UK and USSR would cooperate.
* "Expedition" by Frederic Brown. Basically, a four-page set up for a joke. Forgettable.
* "Lyric for Atom-Splitters" by Doris Pitkin Buck. Short poem comparing the workers on the Manhattan Project to Faust. Waddevah.
* "Rescue" by G. C. Edmondson. Very poorly written, predictable story of a miner caught in a cave-in on Mars. When you have convoluted sentences, almost zero description, and words like "gegenshein" casually tossed about, you know you're in trouble.
* "The Horror Story Shorter By One Letter Than the Shortest Horror Story Ever Written" by Ron Smith. The title is the scariest thing here.
* "Between the Thunder and the Sun" by Chad Oliver. Novella about Earthlings trying to save dark "savages" on another planet from a famine. Nice ecological message, but everything else was really overdone.
* "A Loint of Paw" by Isaac Asimov. Less than two pages long, it's just a set-up for a joke.
* "The Wild Wood" by Mildred Clingerman. Oh, for fuck's sake ...
* "Dodger Fan" by Will Stanton. There are surprising amount of sci-fi baseball stories. Here, a disgusted Dodger fan goes to Mars, but isn't impressed.
* "Goddess in Granite" by Robert F. Young. This was one of Young's first published stories, and it's shows. Very amusing to see Freudians set in the 24th century taken seriously, but in the 1950s, it was thought that Freud was forever. A human relives his life while climbing a huge woman-like granite mountain-sculpture-thingy. Oh, joy.
* "Yes, But ..." by Anthony Brode. Rhymed humorous poem.
* "MS. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie" by C. M. Kornbluth. Was probably funny to about a dozen sci-fi writers in 1957, otherwise ...
* "Journey's End" by Poul Anderson. The best story here about two mind-readers meeting for the first time, but you can find this in much better anthologies.
* "Full Circle" by Dorothy Cowles Pinkney. Poem that means whatever you want it to mean.
* "The Big Trek" by Fritz Lieber. One of the happiest post-apocalyptic stories you'll ever read.

[Peter]

This collection is more of a "slice of genre" for the year 1957 based on stories published in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine. My least favorite of the stories are the ones that are largely comedic in effect. This includes St. Clair's "The Wines of Earth," Moore's "Adjustment," Clarke's "Venture to the Moon," Brown's "Expedition," Edmondson's "Rescue," Asimov's "Loint of Paw," Stanton's "Dodger Fan," and Kornbluth's "MS. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie." These are not bad stories, but once I knew the joke it hardly seemed like it would be worth revisiting. Clarke's and Kornbluth's stories both have some substantial satire going on, but nothing earth shattering, and ultimately both stories are plagued by prejudice and essentialism, which is sad to see from two esteemed authors. Some of the stories are well done, but quite cynical and bleak. This includes Chandler's "The Cage," Davidson's "Mr. Stilwell's Stage," Clingerman's "The Wild Wood," and Anderson's "Journey's End." I appreciated the technique on display here, but it's hard to say I enjoyed how I felt after each was over. My favorite stories were Oliver's "Between the Thunder and the Sun," Young's "Goddess in Granite," and Leiber's "The Big Trek." Each one was an excellent example of the lofty heights one might aspire through science fiction and fantasy storytelling. In each, the genre is used to explore and understand a significant topic while capturing attention and curiosity. Oliver wrestles with colonialism and the very nature of right and wrong in an engaging novelette of nuance and humanity. Young manifests obsession in a unique and gripping story that provides an ending in which both the main character and reader is left with a revelation to reconcile with their own conscience. And Leiber's Big Trek is an extended metaphor on mankind's nature and destiny, and the possibilities of both in a larger universe than our own petty ambitions. If you don't pick up this collection, at least seek out those three stories. They are worth your time.

[Johan Haneveld]

Another great collection in this series extracted from the pages of Fantasy and Science Fiction - still running. Editor Anthony Boucher has great taste in stories and also manages to write nice introductions to the stories, wetting the appetite of the reader without giving away too much. He selects stories by well know authors en newcomers (of the time), so it's a great mix. There's even some poetry and flash fiction included. I liked 'The horror story shorter by one letter than the shortest horror story ever written' by Ron Smith. The first story 'Wines of the earth' is a bit slight, but the descriptions are top par. Talk about an appetizer. I wanted to open a bottle of wine myself after reading it. 'The cage' by Bertram Chandler has a wry conclusion. I like stories with a bit of a critical view of humanity in in it. 'Mr. Stillwell's Stage' by Avram Davidson is well constructed. The Arthur c. Clarke story 'Venture to the moon' I had read before, but it remained great. A couple of short, interconnected tales, that describe an expedition to the moon by American, Russian and British ships, where each part has an unexpected twist, with a bit of humor added to it. I ended it all with a big grin on my face. This is the kind of SF I have always liked Clarke for. 'Rescue' by G.C. Edmondson was an interesting variant on Robinson Crusoe. The best story here was 'Between the thunder and the sun' by Chad Oliver. It's a long story - almost a third of this collection, but I enjoyed every page of it. Despite the cliche at the start with the floating houses, it had a very modern sensibility with it's focus on ecology. It's relevant today still as we try to prevent our own world to warm up too much. Here too human nature throws a spanner in the machinery. The ending is a gut punch, twice, I might say, as back on earth the protagonist gets another revelation. It's well written with its critique of SF-tropes. This one would fit in modern collections as well, I think. Mildred Clingerman adds a tense, haunting horror story with a family setting out to buy a christmas tree. 'Goddess in granite' had great nature descriptions and a fitting end, nice atmosphere. C.M. Kronbluth adds a humoristic tale about authors and their inspiration. A lot of fun. Poul Anderson has a surprising tale about telepathy, and Fritz Leiber plays with weird imagery. I liked these stories. So in conclusion a great collection with a modern feel to some stories and worth reading for Chad Olivers story alone ...

[Jim Standridge]

There were five decent stories in this volume. I's been a long while since I read any other books in the series, but I think I had the same reaction to the others. How good can this mag have been if these are the kinds of stories that make into "The Best From"? I may be too critical, bit I don't think so. Even the well known writers must have emptied there left-over drawers. Clarke always stands out, but the others are just 'not as bad as the rest'. A dollar bin book.

[Reader]

A mostly mediocre collection with a couple highlights worth reading if you stumble across this old paperback. "Expedition" by Fredric Brown is quick and silly. "Ms. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie" is incredible - what a unique approach to a "story." The rest is not really worth the time.

[Dan]

Great sci-fi collection as always from the guys at F&SF, given to me by my grandmother (just trust the old folks they know what's best!) I really enjoyed the first story The Wines of Earth as well as the short vignettes by Asimov and Fredric Brown. The Wild Wood by Mildred Clingerman is also great. And lastly, Clarke, Lieber, and C. M. Kornbluth are great as always--this is truly a great collection that has some obscure works from the greats of SF.

P.S. The version of this book that I have (blue cover) has my favorite short poem of all time on page 258. I urge you to look up Full Circle by Dorothy Cowles Pinkney at your soonest convenience.

[Linda 😊 Tam]

Good assortment of stories. I remembered Journey's End from reading it as a teenager although I'd never have found it by the title - it's about the only male telepath on earth finally finding the only female telepath. Amazing time capsule of gender roles in many of the stories, thank feminism for the changes that have been wrought since Arthur C Clark can just assume an all-male expedition to the moon, or Bertram Chandler imagine that the most important thing an group of castaways on a deserted planet have to do is decide how to sexually distribute thirteen women among twenty men.

[Martin]

This is one of the weaker entries in the series. Usually, each book in this series offers at least one real gem of a story, one that sticks with you. Unfortunately, this is not the case here. The longest story, by Clarke, is quite dull. The best story, by Asimov, is a funny 2-pager. There is only one fantasy story in this batch.

"Between the Thunder and the Sea" by Chad Oliver, describes Star Trek's Prime Directive. Gene L. Coon either read the story or someone told him about it.

[Erik Graff]

Reputable editor, fifteen reputable science fiction authors.

[William Clemens]

A great collection, I couldn't put it down. Classic Sci-fi that reminds me why I like Sci-fi

[Tim]

The Cage by A. Bertram Chandler was my favorite. I have read a number of his other works and books and like them all. Best line = `Only rational beings,' he said, put other beings in cages.'