Faster than light: An original anthology about interstellar travel

by Jack Dann (Editor), George Zebrowski (Editor)

An original anthology about interstellar travel. Stories and articles by prominent scientific and science-fiction writers explore the possible developments leading to interstellar travel, the projected technological and human realities of such travel, and the consequences for human life
Contents:

Dreaming Again: Introduction • essay by Jack Dann and George Zebrowski
There Was a Young Lady Named Bright (1912) • poem by A. H. Reginald Buller
The Ultimate Speed Limit (1972) • essay by Isaac Asimov
Possible, That's All! (1968) • essay by Arthur C. Clarke
The Limiting Velocity of Orthodoxy (1970) • essay by Keith Laumer
But What If We Tried It? • essay by Ben Bova
Sun Up / short story by A. A. Jackson IV and Howard Waldrop
Dialogue / novelette by Poul Anderson
Longline / novelette by Hal Clement
Phoenix Without Ashes / short fiction by Harlan Ellison • interior artwork by Tim Kirk: ... is a teleplay, with seven B&W full-page illustrations, with a two-page untitled author's afterword.
The Event Horizon / novelette by Ian Watson
Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring / novelette by George R. R. Martin
Dead in Irons / novelette by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Seascape / novelette by Gregory Benford
Fast-Friend / novelette by George R. R. Martin
Hyperspace (1973) • poem by Dick Allen
Our Many Roads to the Stars (1975) • essay by Poul Anderson
The Contributors (Faster Than Light) • essay by Jack Dann and George Zebrowski
A Selected Bibliography: Interstellar Travel • essay by Jack Dann and George Zebrowski

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Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies

321 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1976

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best hard-science fiction anthologies of the 1970s; I couldn't afford the hardback when it came out in 1976 ($8.95!), so I was pleased when Ace (finally) printed a paperback edition in 1982, even if the typeset was ridiculously miniscule. It has an educational and interesting collection of non-fiction essays by luminaries including Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Bova, Poul Anderson, Keith Laumer, as well as the pair of editors. There are original stories by Ian Watson, Hal Clement, Poul Anderson, A.A. Jackson IV (a NASA scientist; his only fiction credit) with Howard Waldrop, Gregory Benford, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, a poem by Dick Allen, and two (two! how'd they pull that off?) stories by George R.R. Martin. The stories are enjoyable; by favorites were those by Benford, Clement, and Martin's Fast-Friend. The longest piece in the volume is the teleplay of Phoenix Without Ashes by Harlan Ellison, his pilot script for The Starlost television series. The script had previously been novelized by Edward Bryant with input from Ellison (and I heartily recommend the comedic novel The Starcrossed by Ben Bova), but I believe this was the only appearance of Ellison's original script. The version that was recorded and televised was not very good at all, but Ellison's original seems like it would have been a great show. Altogether it was a terrific anthology, and I guess it was worth the wait.

[Dale Lutz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science fiction short stories, articles, and scientific speculation