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Science Against Man
"A very good collection of 11 short stories taking the theme that science has stopped being a good servant and is becoming a hard master. The Lost Continent by Norman Spinrad... is brilliant. So is Harold Wilson At The Cosmic Cocktail Party... by Bob Shaw. Notable contributions come from Harry Harrison, James Blish and Robert Silverberg." - Edmund Cooper, The Sunday Times
222 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1970
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 29, 2013
* 7 • Introduction • Anthony Cheetham
* 9 • The Lost Continent • Norman Spinrad
Really excellent story that explores the (very pertinent today) dynamic between a tour guide from an economically backward country and the rich tourists he depends on for his living... In this case the "backward" country is a post-environmental collapse USA, and the tourists a wealthy Africans.
* 57 • In the Beginning [Urban Monad] • Robert Silverberg
Dystopian vision of a religious, overpopulated future where people are desperate to breed more, afraid to leave their little area of their apartment building, controlled psychologically... but they think their world is wonderful... good.
* 77 • The Hunter at His Ease • Brian W. Aldiss
Interesting, challenging piece about two military men who are scouting an island for a tactical base... and the native people who are hostile to their intentions. Nice contrast in attitudes between the sympathetic and non-sympathetic individuals - and a good point point about how, maybe, it makes no difference... And really good background details, about how the more wealthy countries justify aggrwssion by trying to say it's all for the long-term good of the enemy...
* 97 • Man's Estate • Paul Ableman
Bleah. Incomprehensible 70's stuff.
In the future, computer-dependent man is weak and pathetic - and doesn't realize it.
* 109 • Harold Wilson at the Cosmic Cocktail Party • Bob Shaw
Light-hearted piece about how to convince personalities preserved in a computer-like tank to cooperate with people out in the "real" world..
* 131 • Statistician's Day • James Blish
In the future, to control the population, we might not just need birth control - we might need "death control."
* 141 • The Invisible Idiot • John Brunner
A medical doctor meets his most unusual patient yet... and gets a free trip to space out of the deal!
* 175 • Small Mouth, Bad Taste • Piers Anthony
Anthony muses on the possible catalyst for the birth of human civilization. Oh, and almost writes a story about an elderly anthropologist and her assistant searching for clues to such...
* 175 • The Ever-Branching Tree • Harry Harrison
Harrison muses on the possible catalyst for the birth of human civilization. And makes a comment about "kids tomorrow..." Sigh... kids... they just don't get it, do they... rolleyes.gif
* 187 • Sea Wolves [Jerry Cornelius] • Michael Moorcock
Jerry Cornelius (an incarnation of the Eternal Champion) wanders about somewhere where computers are takijng over and fighting humans. Funny excepts from computer ads from 1969... much funnier now than when this story was published! Can you believe it?! A computer in a briefcase! No way!
* 205 • The Penultimate Trip • Andrew Travers
A VERY 60s-70s trippy piece about a prisoner caught in an eternal 703rd day of his imprisonment... Actually works quite well.. better than a lot of similar stuff.
* 9 • The Lost Continent • Norman Spinrad
Really excellent story that explores the (very pertinent today) dynamic between a tour guide from an economically backward country and the rich tourists he depends on for his living... In this case the "backward" country is a post-environmental collapse USA, and the tourists a wealthy Africans.
* 57 • In the Beginning [Urban Monad] • Robert Silverberg
Dystopian vision of a religious, overpopulated future where people are desperate to breed more, afraid to leave their little area of their apartment building, controlled psychologically... but they think their world is wonderful... good.
* 77 • The Hunter at His Ease • Brian W. Aldiss
Interesting, challenging piece about two military men who are scouting an island for a tactical base... and the native people who are hostile to their intentions. Nice contrast in attitudes between the sympathetic and non-sympathetic individuals - and a good point point about how, maybe, it makes no difference... And really good background details, about how the more wealthy countries justify aggrwssion by trying to say it's all for the long-term good of the enemy...
* 97 • Man's Estate • Paul Ableman
Bleah. Incomprehensible 70's stuff.
In the future, computer-dependent man is weak and pathetic - and doesn't realize it.
* 109 • Harold Wilson at the Cosmic Cocktail Party • Bob Shaw
Light-hearted piece about how to convince personalities preserved in a computer-like tank to cooperate with people out in the "real" world..
* 131 • Statistician's Day • James Blish
In the future, to control the population, we might not just need birth control - we might need "death control."
* 141 • The Invisible Idiot • John Brunner
A medical doctor meets his most unusual patient yet... and gets a free trip to space out of the deal!
* 175 • Small Mouth, Bad Taste • Piers Anthony
Anthony muses on the possible catalyst for the birth of human civilization. Oh, and almost writes a story about an elderly anthropologist and her assistant searching for clues to such...
* 175 • The Ever-Branching Tree • Harry Harrison
Harrison muses on the possible catalyst for the birth of human civilization. And makes a comment about "kids tomorrow..." Sigh... kids... they just don't get it, do they... rolleyes.gif
* 187 • Sea Wolves [Jerry Cornelius] • Michael Moorcock
Jerry Cornelius (an incarnation of the Eternal Champion) wanders about somewhere where computers are takijng over and fighting humans. Funny excepts from computer ads from 1969... much funnier now than when this story was published! Can you believe it?! A computer in a briefcase! No way!
* 205 • The Penultimate Trip • Andrew Travers
A VERY 60s-70s trippy piece about a prisoner caught in an eternal 703rd day of his imprisonment... Actually works quite well.. better than a lot of similar stuff.
October 9, 2015
This collection of short stories has a pretty stellar cast, and unfortunately more misses than hits. I enjoyed the contributions of Norman Spinrad, James Blish, John Brunner, Piers Anthony and Harry Harrison. The rest ranged from unremarkable to nearly impenetrable - would the recreational drugs of 1970 help?
November 21, 2017
Like many anthologies - some good and some bad stories. As could have been anticipated in a book published in 1970, those set well into the future have survived the passage of time much better than those dealing with near future events. Just shows the development of technology is hard to predict and certainly nobody predicted the extraordinary advance of computing and its related tech.
October 6, 2014
Some of these stories are very good and worth reading. Its a shame that the good ones get lost with the less-than-good ones though. I particularly enjoyed Statisticians day. If I were to re-read this I think I'd skip Mans Estate.
June 12, 2024
One or two great stories, too many mediocre stories, and a couple of real clinkers. These are great authors for the most part, so I feel there must have been some closet-cleaning for this anthology.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews