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Great Science Fiction Stories
This booklet does not only embody the perfection of READING STRATEGIES for the English classroom, especially for the RELUCTANT READER, but also for a level that can reach the ESL student as well, since it is adapted and has an attachment with a vocabulary list explaining more challenging words the authors use. Very valuable help for any English classroom.
72 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 2, 2025
I must admit I was sceptical. Great Science Fiction stories the editor promises. But maybe they were randomly picked stories? Or stories the editor could get the rights to reprint?
Because this is a small book with SF stories aimed for German school kids. With explanation of vocabulary. And the few readers here on GR disliked the book.
It is in fact a great collection. Starting with a famous Asimov story that he called Green Patches but is here printed as Misbegotten Missionary. (A title the original Editor Horace Gold had chosen). A good story but one I do not particularly like. About a conscious planet. I guess the idea was more original at the time than now but I do not like the principle. It goes against the idea of evolution, for one thing.
The next story by Harry Harrison is about a real missionary. And it is one of the best stories I have ever read. If there is ever a sacred book of basic atheistic stories this one will be in it. So a missionary tells the inhabitants of a distant planet about God. And they are willing to believe him. The other guy on the mission is an atheist and he tells them that God does not exist. What are they going to do? They demand a miracle. Surely to spread the true faith on a new planet that is not asked to much? So they crucify the missionary expecting him to rise from death.
Now the interesting point from a story telling point of view is that he could of course be ressurected. But Harrison goes the other way. The man stays dead and the atheists tells the people that they had been pure. But now they had become murderers. Really excellent. And what is even better, Harrison could not find a publisher for this story in the US at the time. It had to be published in England.
There is another excellent story called Cato the Martian by Howard Fast. The Martians learn of Earth culture by receiving radio programs. And for the fun of it start to learn Earth languages. There is one couple who are fluent in English and Latin. Although the wife has a problem with a particular word. The husband using his knowledge gives the name of Cato to a Martian politician who argues that Earth needs to be destroyed before they could destroy Mars. And they try. Beautiful.
The remaining stories are only okay. But I am tempted to attach five stars on the strength of Harrison and Fast. – I will not.
9/10
Because this is a small book with SF stories aimed for German school kids. With explanation of vocabulary. And the few readers here on GR disliked the book.
It is in fact a great collection. Starting with a famous Asimov story that he called Green Patches but is here printed as Misbegotten Missionary. (A title the original Editor Horace Gold had chosen). A good story but one I do not particularly like. About a conscious planet. I guess the idea was more original at the time than now but I do not like the principle. It goes against the idea of evolution, for one thing.
The next story by Harry Harrison is about a real missionary. And it is one of the best stories I have ever read. If there is ever a sacred book of basic atheistic stories this one will be in it. So a missionary tells the inhabitants of a distant planet about God. And they are willing to believe him. The other guy on the mission is an atheist and he tells them that God does not exist. What are they going to do? They demand a miracle. Surely to spread the true faith on a new planet that is not asked to much? So they crucify the missionary expecting him to rise from death.
Now the interesting point from a story telling point of view is that he could of course be ressurected. But Harrison goes the other way. The man stays dead and the atheists tells the people that they had been pure. But now they had become murderers. Really excellent. And what is even better, Harrison could not find a publisher for this story in the US at the time. It had to be published in England.
There is another excellent story called Cato the Martian by Howard Fast. The Martians learn of Earth culture by receiving radio programs. And for the fun of it start to learn Earth languages. There is one couple who are fluent in English and Latin. Although the wife has a problem with a particular word. The husband using his knowledge gives the name of Cato to a Martian politician who argues that Earth needs to be destroyed before they could destroy Mars. And they try. Beautiful.
The remaining stories are only okay. But I am tempted to attach five stars on the strength of Harrison and Fast. – I will not.
9/10
September 16, 2011
I made the mistake of telling my English teacher that I hated sf books. This is what he tried to convince me with. And the whole class hated me... I do like certain sf today, but definitely not boring stories about robots like the first one in here (by Asimov). I don't even remember the rest. This book is the reason I never read another Asimov and today I think that there would have been much better books my English teacher could have chosen. And maybe I would have started liking sf earlier...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews