Science fiction of the forties

by Martin Harry;Olander Frederik;Greenberg (introduction)

This anthology Stepson in Space by Raymond Z. Gallun; Reason by Isaac Asimov; Magic City by Nelson S. Bond; Kazam Collects by C. M. Kornbluth; My Name is Legion by Lester del Rey; The Wabbler by Murray Leinster; The Halfling by Leigh Brackett; Doorway into Time by C. L. Moore; Deadline by Cleve Cartmill; City by Clifford D. Simak; Pi in the Sky by Fredric Brown; The Million Year Picnic by Ray Bradbury; Technical Error by Arthur C. Clarke; Memorial by Theodore Sturgeon; Letter to Ellen by Chandler Davis; It's Great to be Back by Robert A. Heinlein; Tiger Ride by James Blish and Damon Knight; Don't Look Now by Henry Kuttner; That Only a Mother by Judith Merril; Venus and the Seven Sexes by William Tenn; and Dear Pen Pal by A. E. van Vogt.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories

377 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1978

Reviews

[Rick Norwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love science fiction but, sadly, most of the stories selected by Fred Pohl from the 1940s are a chore to read, and even the ones that are pretty good have their clunky moments. Before reading this, I read Damon Knight's Science Fiction of the 30s, and while the pickings are thinner in the 1930s, Knight does a better job of finding obscure semi-classics than Pohl (or, more likely, Greenberg and Olander (who he?) -- if Pohl did more than write the introduction I'm sure the contents would have been better). Greenberg, this time with Asimov, edited a series of "The Great SF Stories" for every year in the 1940s, and did a better job there than here.

The best story in the book is Ray Bradbury's "The Million-Year Picnic", which is also in The Great SF Stories 1946. Good stories both here and in The Great SF Stories series are "City" by Simak, "That Only a Mother" by Merril, "Memorial" by Sturgeon and "Technical Error" by Clarke.

To complete the list of overlaps, both this book and The Great SF Stories series include "Halfling" by Brackett, "Pi in the Sky" by Brown, "Letter to Ellen" by Chandler Davis, "Don't Look Now" by Kuttner.

There are two Heinlein stories here, both minor. They weren't in The Great SF Stories series because Greenberg annoyed Heinlein by trying to include too many Heinlein stories in one of the best of the year volumes.

After that, it is pretty rough going, with minor stories by major writers, seemingly chosen more for the author's name than for the story.

Probably the most interesting story here that is not easily available elsewhere is William Tenn's "Venus and the Seven Sexes", a mix of hard science (genetics), heavy-handed satire of Hollywood, some fairly entertaining action in the jungles of Venus, and (needless to say) nothing even remotely salacious.

But consider the stories that are missing (but are in The Great SF Stories series): "In Hiding", "The Hurkle is a Happy Beast", "The Witches of Karas", "Far Centurus", "Killdozer", "First Contact", "Vintage Season", "Farewell to the Master", "Microcosmic God", "Liar", "Foundation", and "The Weapon Shop". Those were real classics from the 1940s.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection, and almost all of them were new to me. Pohl's introductions were brief and informative, adding to the interest of the stories without ruining them with over-analysis or spoilers.

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly these stories did not age well. So female unfriendly some were really painfull to read.