Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction

by Martin H. Greenberg (editor), Joseph D. Olander (editor), Frederik Pohl (editor)

Introduction 80 essay Frederik Pohl
Horace L. Gold 80 essay Frederik Pohl
Gold on Galaxy 80 essay Horace L. Gold
Coming Attraction 50 story Fritz Leiber
To Serve Man 50 story Damon Knight
Memoir 80 essay Damon Knight
Betelgeuse Bridge 51 story William Tenn
From a Cave Deep in Stuyvesant Town-A Memoir of Galaxy's Most Creative Years 80 essay William Tenn [aka Philip Klass]
Cost of Living 52 story Robert Sheckley
Memoir of Galaxy Magazine 80 essay Robert Sheckley
The Model of a Judge 53 story William Morrison
Memoir 80 essay William Morrison
The Holes Around Mars 54 story Jerome Bixby
Memoir 80 essay Jerome Bixby
Horrer Howce 56 story Margaret St Clair
Memoir 80 essay Margaret St Clair
People Soup 58 story Alan Arkin
Memoir 80 essay Alan Arkin
Something Bright 60 story Zenna Henderson
The Lady Who Sailed the Soul/Instrumentality 60 novelette Cordwainer Smith
The Deep Down Dragon 61 story Judith Merril
Memoir 80 essay Judith Merril
Wall of Crystal, Eye of Night 61 novelette Algis Budrys
Memoir: Spilled Milk 80 essay Algis Budrys
The Place Where Chicago Was 62 novelette Jim Harmon
Memoir 80 essay Jim Harmon
The Great Nebraska Sea 63 story Allan Danzig
Memoir 80 essay Allan Danzig
Oh, to Be a Blobel! 64 novelette Philip K. Dick
Memoir 80 essay Philip K. Dick
Founding Father 65 story Isaac Asimov
Memoir 80 essay Isaac Asimov
Going Down Smooth 68 story Robert Silverberg
Memoir 80 essay Robert Silverberg
All the Myriad Ways/Time Travel-Parallel Universe 68 story Larry Niven
Memoir 80 essay Larry Niven
The Last Flight of Dr Ain 69 story James Tiptree Jr
From Galaxy Bookshelf 80 essay Algis Budrys
Memoir 80 essay Algis Budrys
Galaxy Book Shelf 9/69 essay Algis Budrys
Slow Sculpture 70 novelette Theodore Sturgeon
Memoir 80 essay Theodore Sturgeon
About a Secret Crocodile 70 story R.A. Lafferty
Memoir 80 essay R.A. Lafferty
Cold Friend 73 story Harlan Ellison
Memoir 80 essay Harlan Ellison
The Day Before the Revolution/Hainish 74 story Ursula K. Le Guin
Gift of Garigolli 74 novelette C.M. Kornbluth & Frederik Pohl
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank/8 Worlds 76 novelette John Varley
Note 80 essay John Varley
Horace, Galaxyca 80 essay Alfred Bester
Index to Galaxy Magazine 80

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction, Short Story Collection

481 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Craig]

This a large anthology that Pohl edited to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Galaxy Magazine in 1980. The stories are for the most part very good, but the real attraction at the time was inclusion of memoirs from many of the authors about their stories or the magazine in general. Remember this was long, long before the internet, so there was no such thing as an author's blog or facebook page and it was something of a rare treat to go "behind the scenes" with a piece of non-fiction from a fiction writer. Pohl, who edited the magazine during one its most productive periods, also contributes entertaining and anecdotal material, and there's an index of the first thirty years of everything that appeared in the magazine. Among my favorite stories are good ones from Fritz Leiber, William Tenn, Robert Sheckley, Robert Silverberg, Larry Niven, Isaac Asimov, Theodore Sturgeon, James Tiptree, Jr., Ursula K. LeGuin, Harlan Ellison, John Varley, and especially Zenna Henderson and Margaret St. Clair. The most famous story here is one that most people know but don't know came from Galaxy: To Serve Man by Damon Knight, adapted as one of the most famous television half-hours of all time. It's an excellent collection of classic fiction and non-fiction!

[Gregory]

This is a wonderful collection of short fiction that spans several decades. Early editor Horace Gold had a strong impact on the field with his choices of what to publish. Later, Fred Pohl did several super human stints as editor. It was in this collection that I discovered authors like James Tiptree Jr. and Ted Sturgeon. Galaxy magazine always had that "fun and wow" approach to SF. I recall having a subscription back in the 90's when Horace Gold's son resurrected it but it was unfortunately a short-lived run. For fans of the SF field, you shouldn't miss reading some of this great stuff.

The field of SF magazines has offered some of the most entertaining reading in this field for generations and helped to keep the fans connected. Over the years, I've subscribed to several SF magazines on and off: Asimov's Science Fiction, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Amazing, Analog, Galaxy, and Omni (published 1 or 2 SF stories an issue). If I had to pick a sentimental favorite it would be Amazing. If I had to pick a historical favorite, it would be Galaxy.

[Austin Beeman]

A retrospective collection featuring stories from Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine. The stories are share in chronological order from 1950 to 1976 and show the some of the transformations that happened in the genre during that time.

While the stories are a little sub-par on average - most of a the story rated average could have easily been moved to poor - there are some gems. “Coming Attraction” and “Oh, To Be a Blobel!” are quite well know and anthologized, but “The Place Where Chicago Was,” “The Great Nebraska Sea,“ and “Horrer Howce” are relatively unknown.

What one really buys this collection for is the historic memoirs about Galaxy that introduce almost every story in the collection. Written by the author, they range from insightful and humorous to angry and bitter. They are wonderful glimpses into a time and place in the history of science fiction.

Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction is rated 72%.

13 good / 8 average / 3 poor.

Coming Attraction by Fritz Leiber (1950)

Good. A classic story of a British man in post nuclear war America. Rich is culture and economy of description. Well drawn with intense characters.

To Serve Man by Damon Knight (1950)

Good. The story that inspired the classic Twilight Zone episode. Hinges upon the conclusion for a great first read, but no reread ability.

Betelgeuse Bridge by William Tenn (1951)

Average. A Public Relations man in put in charge of interacting with alien first contact.

Cost of Living by Robert Sheckley (1952)

Good. Family legacy, debt, and the onward push of consumer products drive this short fun morality tale about what we’ll do for the newest and greatest products.

The Model of a Judge by William Morrison (1953)

Good. An carnivorous alien has been domesticated to act as a judge at a cake contest.

The Holes Around Mars by Jerome Bixby (1954)

Average. A standard space tale of astronauts investigating interest holes on Mars. Has some fun puns, though.

Horrer Howce by Margaret St Clair (1956)

Good. A tour of a carnival theme ride and the lovecraftian horrors within.

People Soup by Alan Arkin (1958)

Poor. Children do science in their household sink.

Something Bright by Zenna Henderson (1960)

Good. A low-income daughter spends the night with a neighbor who is desperately searching her house for …. something.

The Lady Who Sailed the Soul by Cordwainer Smith (1960)

Good. An interesting love story between two people who know - and will know - the excruciating pain for being a sailors between planets. Part of the famous Instrumentality series.

The Deep Down Dragon by Judith Merril (1961)

Average. I don’t think I understood this one. VR plus dinosaurs plus relationship dynamics.

Wall of Crystal, Eye of Night by Algis Budrys (1962)

Average. Corporate intrigue, assassination, subterfuge, in a story that never quite came together for me.

The Place Where Chicago Was by Jim Harmon (1962)

Good. I really liked this suspenseful thriller of a future society where people can’t kill, but the great powers can still fight wars. One man - who should be persona-non-grata - needs to get himself back into the apocalyptic Chicago to try to save the world. If his anti-murder control will let him.

The Great Nebraska Sea by Allan Danzig (1963)

Good. A geological tale of the force that created the Great Nebraska Sea and the Midwestern Riviera.

Oh, To Be a Blobel! by Philip K Dick (1964)

Good. A soldier who was transformed to spy behind alien lines, find himself turning into one of aliens every day. A touching parable.

Founding Father by Isaac Asimov (1965)

Good. A lesser Asimov story about men who die on a foreign planet.

Going Down Smooth by Robert Silverberg (1968)

Poor. Computer/AI tries to learn how to be obscene.

All the Myriad Ways by Larry Niven (1968)

Good. A man cleans a gun while thinking about alternative universes and a strange rash of meaningless suicides.

The Last Flight of Doctor Ain by James Tiptree, Jr. (1969)

Average. A sick woman travels frequently by airplane.

Slow Sculpture by Theodore Sturgeon. (1970)

Average. A dying girl, a fringe scientist, and a bonsai tree.

About a Secret Crocodile by R A Lafferty. (1970)

Poor. I know I read this, but I remember nothing about it. Even days later.

Cold Friend by Harlan Ellison. (1973)

Average. A man in the only one left after an apocalypse. He fights off strange threats and meets a girl.

The Day Before the Revolution by Ursula K Le Guin (1974)

Good. A superbly well drawn complex elderly women reminisces about the past and future, while the future she created begins to come to pass.

The Gift of Garigolli by Frederik Pohl & C M Kornbluth (1974)

Average. Very small beings observe a human family dealing with crippling debt.

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank by John Varley (1976)

Good. A man finds himself having to deal with life trapped in VR while the outside world tries to find his body.

[Rena Sherwood]

One of the most influential sci-fi magazines in America was Galaxy, set up as an alternative to John W. Campbell's Astounding. It purposefully tried to be an anti-Astounding, but (initially) tried to pay better. The first editor was Horace L. Gold, a veteran so traumatized by WWII that he refused to leave his apartment for years. Gold allowed horror and urban fantasy in the magazine. Even after he left, the magazine was still run on that premise.

This is a review of the 1980 Playboy Press edition. Although there was an attempt to revive the magazine in 1994, 1980 would see the end of Galaxy due to money problems.

Although this was a better than average sci-fi anthology, the love fest for Gold got to be fucking irritating. Also, with an anthology this long, there's inevitability going to be a few duds. There's also about ten stories that can be found in a zillion other anthologies. The last half is stronger than the first half. You can currently find this book at the Internet Archive.

Selections:

* "Introduction" by Frederick Pohl. A brief history of sci-fi magazines in America until 1950, a bit of Galaxy history, and an uncomfortable comparison of columnist Willy Key to a Greek slave owned by a noble Roman family.
* "Introduction to Horace L. Gold" by Frederick Pohl. Page long tribute to the editor Pohl both loved and hated.
* "Gold on Galaxy" by Horace L. Gold. Transcript of a taped interview with Gold by Pohl about the history of Galaxy during his time as Editor.
* "Coming Attraction" by Fritz Lieber (Nov, 1950.) Surprisingly good post-apocalyptic story, set in (where else) New York City, after WWIII, which presumably happened in the 1950s. Our Protagonist is an English businessman, who stops the murder of a woman. There are plenty of disturbing elements here, from domestic violence to mention of the transatlantic port -- Sandy Hook.
* "To Serve Man and Memoir" by Damon Knight (also Nov, 1950.) Knight gives an interesting page-long memoir without giving away any spoilers. The story was the basis for the infamous Twilight Zone episode, which has since been so parodied that's in our collective subconscious.
* "Betelguese Bridge and Memoir" by William Tenn/Philip Klass (April, 1951.) Klass writes about Gold being the Editor From Hell, which is refreshing to read after all of the fawning. This story, written to make Gold laugh, shows what a weird sense of humor he had. It's a parody of the Invaders From Space trope, as well as poking a sharp stick at human conquerors.
* "Cost of Living and Memoir" by Robert Sheckley (Dec, 1952.) Insightful and sharp parody about life and debt in America, which is just as pertinent now as when it was written.
* "The Model of a Judge and Memoir" by William Morrison (Oct, 1953.) Memoir showed the real life horrible inspiration for the story, as well as the usual live-fest for Gold. Very sad but poignant story of a werewolf-type creature painfully transformed into a hairy human, with the job of food inspector. He's forced to be a judge in a cake contest.
* "The Holes Around Mars and Memoir" by Jerome Bixby (Jan, 1954.) Memior also fawning, showing how Gold nudged Bixby's original flash fiction piece into a 5,000 word story. A team of American astronauts discover a series of impossible holes during their exploration of Mars -- which greatly resembled Texas, complete with cactus, six-legged jack rabbits, and Martians that resemble little Native Americans. The Martians were a lot smarter (and more compassionate) than the Americans. Story includes a positive Latino American character.
* "Horrer Howce and Memoir" by Margaret St. Claire (July, 1956.) The very short memoir talks only about the inspiration for the story, and nothing about Gold or Galaxy. A down on his luck "mechanic" tries one last desperate fun house attraction to make money.
* "People Soup and Memoir" by Alan Arkin (Nov, 1958.) Yes -- that Alan Arkin. His memoir is a mere paragraph. This short story was the inspiration for Arkin's 1969 short movie of the same name. Despite the title, the story is a gentle urban fantasy of a kid playing at being a mad scientist.
* "Something Bright" by Zenna Henderson (Feb, 1960.) Although not part of the People series, it's similar in style. During the Depression, an 11 year old girl discover her old neighbors are not what they seem. This was the only story Henderson had published in Galaxy.
* "The Lady Who Sailed The Soul" by Cordwainer Smith/Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (April, 1960.) This novellette is part of the Instrumentality of Mankind series, but is mostly a standalone story. It's a dreary, overdramatic love story.
* "The Deep Down Dragon and Memoir" by Judith Merrill (Aug, 1961.) Merrill, best known as an editor who promoted the New Wave, was also a writer. This was an unusual story for her, in that it's full of action. It's quite difficult at first, but hang in there -- it all makes sense in the end. Sadly, Merrill catered to her male readers' egos, which put a chilling end to what had been a decent sci-fi story. Merrill states this story was inspired by an upcoming cover image. Galaxy often commissioned writers to write stories matched to pre-purchased cover illustrations.
* "Wall of Crystal, Eye of Night and Memoir" by Algis Budrys (Dec, 1961.) Budrys only briefly worked on the magazine staff, but left because he couldn't stand Gold. However, time has softened Budrys memories. This way too long novellette has popped up in other anthologies. It's a tale of Martians getting their revenge on rich humans.
* "The Place Where Chicago Was and Memoir" by Jim Harmon (Feb, 1962.) Harmon, writer mostly of non-fiction books of nostalgia, tried at one time to be a sci-fi writer, but couldn't make a living at it (because, if this story is typical, he sucked.) His memoir is not only a brief professional biography, but thanks Gold for paying writers quickly, and for making decent suggestions to improve stories. This novellette takes place in 1983, where the roads roll (ala Heinlein), steaks are less than a dollar and everyone has helicopters instead of cars. Shitty story makes no damn sense, seems to promote war, and an open ending, besides. WARNING: Cat brutally clubbed to death.
* "The Great Nebraska Sea and Memoir" by Allan Danzig (Aug, 1963.) This is written like a non-fiction textbook or magazine article. The only problem is that the disaster described happened in 1973. I guess we all forgot about the world as we knew it ending with Secretariat and Watergate distracting us. Memior is a short, forgettable paragraph.
* "Oh, to Be a Blobel! And Memoir" by Philip K. Dick (Feb, 1964.) Very interesting page-long commentary by Dick, written only a couple of years before he died. The story is Dick's best O. Henry imitation. This anti-war story was set in the early 2000s. Dick was no prophet. We have yet to have trips to Mars, the UN acting as a one world government -- or still need phone books. He also had zero knowledge of genetics.
* "Founding Father and Memoir" by Isaac Asimov (Oct, 1965.) Asimov was the granddaddy of intro writers, and does not disappoint here. The story is sharp, full of chemistry without being overpowering, and, despite deaths, surprisingly optimistic.
* "Going Down Smooth and Memoir" by Robert Silverberg (Aug, 1968.) The memoir about the inspiration for this story, censorship and a description of the typical sci-fi magazine reader is quite amusing.A computer made to act as the perfect psychiatrist is perfectly fine, thank you. Perfectly fine. Nothing to worry about at all. Also, New Orleans changed to Under New Orleans.
* "All the Myriad Ways and Memoir" by Larry Niven (Oct, 1968.) Niven's memoir describes why he hates most alternate universe stories, and why he tried to write the ultimate alternate universe story. This short piece is a mind bender about the problems of traveling to and from alternate timelines.
* "The Last Flight of Dr. Ain" by James Tiptree, Jr/Racoona Sheldon/Alice Hastings Bradley/etc (March, 1969.) Our Narrator traces the last days of Dr. Ain, who makes biological weapons. I'm surprised she wrote anything so short.
* "From Galaxy Bookshelf and Memoir" by Algis Budrys (Sept, 1969.) Good luck figuring this mess out.
* "Slow Sculpture and Memoir" by Theodore Sturgeon (Feb, 1970.) One of Sturgeon's last stories, and a clumsy one at that, although there is a lively passage about a bonsai tree, and a frighteningly accurate sentence that "fossil fuels will be the death of us all." This story was supposed to be a profound reason for optimism despite living on a planet of stupid people, but it winds up just being saccharine.
* "About a Secret Crocodile and Memoir" by R. A. Lafferty (Aug, 1970.) The memoir is about as incomprehensible as this story about secret societies. There is no actual crocodile, sadly..
* "Cold Friend and Memoir" by Harlan Ellison (Oct, 1973.) This was a horror story, but a really funny horror story. The memoir is self-obsessed, contains a running gag in Ellison interviews, and a lovely metaphore of Ellison's Muse being a black horse.
* "The Day Before the Revolution" by Ursula K. LeGuin (Aug, 1974.) This won a Nebula. It's set in the same world as LeGuin's novel The Dispossessed. If you haven't read that, then you're shit out of luck.
* "The Gift of the Garigolli" by Frederick Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth (also Aug, 1974.) Kornbluth had started this story and wrote notes on it before his sudden death from a heart attack. Pohl finished the story as tribute to his late friend and colleague. It's a good one, where microscopic alien scouts set up shop in the body of a young executive that is in debt up to his eyeballs.
* "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank and Note" by John Varley (May, 1976.) The "note" is a short paragraph stating that he's still ticked that Galaxy never paid him for a story. (And should be.) The nature of reality is a theme done to death and back in sci-fi, but this is the most interesting story I've ever read on the subject. One of the best selections in this book.
* "Horace, Galaxyica, a Memoir" by Alfred Bester. No story here -- just three pages of memories about trying to work with Horace Gold. Apparently, Bester's middle initial of "H" was for "chutzpah."
* Article Index

[Shelley]

Since we were stuck in the house today watching for tornados I was playing with my Kindle and found tons of these old short stories to download for free. I enjoyed them for what they were and when they were written. I love how the authors pictured the future and how people would be. Wonder what they would think about how things really are now? All in all, a great way to spend a dreary Saturday waiting for the storms to pass over.

[Jeffrey]

This collection of sci-fi stories along with snippets of memoirs by the authors were a very mixed bag. Some stories were really interesting, some were very well-written, and others were quite lame and forgettable.

The first eight stories are all very short and built on the setup-to-a-twist type of story. Of these, I liked:

To Serve Man, by Damon Knight
Betelgeuse Bridge, by William Tenn
Horrer Howce, by Margaret St. Clair

I thought that these three had the most intriguing and fun ideas / execution.

The rest of the collection are much more varied in style and length. I'm just going to mention the stories that stuck out to me as particularly interesting, and worth a reread:

Wall of Crystal, Eye of Night, by Algis Budrys:
A tale of invention and corporations which felt like a slice from a larger world, good worldbuilding, left me intrigued.

The Place Where Chicago Was, by Jim Harmon:
One of my favourites from the collection, a unique yet familiar "post-apocalypse" tale.

The Great Nebraska Sea, by Allan Danzig:
Excellent description and style, detailing a geological event as a news story / interest piece.

Founding Father, by Isaac Asimov:
A short tale of a crew trying to set up a planet for colonization.

All the Myriad Ways, by Larry Niven:
Multiverse Story that gets at the root of the issue with Multiverses.

The Last Flight of Doctor Ain, by James Tiptree Jr.:
Eerie story which could be spoiled too easily by anything concise.

The Day Before the Revolution, by Ursula K. Leguin:
Excellent description and characterization. Leguin has quickly become one of my favourite writers and this story does not disappoint. Introspection, philosophy, and human nature, as well as a slice of a larger world.

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, by John Varley:
A cerebral story which reminded me of the Matrix and Inception, very fun and interesting.

[Jim]

This book has been sitting on my shelf for years and years. I finally read it because a Facebook group I'm in, Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Stories, selected it for a group read.

Galaxy Science Fiction was legendary back in the 1950s and 1960s, so I was expecting a lot of fantastic stories. Instead, the twenty-five stories in the collection were kind of a disappointment. Most were good, but none were great. I got the feeling the editors wanted to avoid all the well-reprinted stories and showcase what they thought were forgotten gems.

What I really enjoyed about this anthology was the author's memoirs that preceded each short story. Most gave accounts about dealing with Galaxy Science Fiction and the editors, especially the founding editor, H. L. Gold.

[Ian Banks]

A lot of these stories haven’t aged very well, but none of them are what I would call ‘bad.’ There were a couple of authors I have never come across before as well as a couple of stories that I’ve never read before but should have {To Serve Man was one of them). What really lifts this anthology, though, are the ‘memoirs’ from almost all of the authors retelling their memories of working with Galaxy magazine over time, mostly to do with the frequently-brilliant editor, Horace Gold. Well worth looking out for.

[Mike Mann]

There are a few great stories on this collection, but it is a mixed bag varying widely in quality. The later stories are stronger, or more to my taste. I especially enjoyed the last one, “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank” by John Varley.

One earlier standout is “Horrer Howce” by Margaret St. Clair, published in July 1956, which creates a wonderfully tense atmosphere. As the writer states in her forward, “Disneyland was newish in the fifties, and McCarthyism was in the air.”

[Cheryl]

mainly for the Margaret St. Clair as I'm having trouble finding her works elsewhere

[Erik Graff]

This is a "best of" collection spanning the thirty years that Galaxy Magazine was published, edited by person involved with it during that period. As such, it is better than most such collections, not only for the quality of its writing, but also as an historical survey of the field.