Before They Were Giants: First Works from Science Fiction Greats

by Piers Anthony, Greg Bear, Ben Bova

See how it all began! In Before They Were Giants, editor James L. Sutter collects the first published stories of 15 of science fiction and fantasy's most important authors, including winners of the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards, New York Times bestsellers, and members of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Along with these often rare or never-before-anthologized stories, all 15 authors provide brand-new retrospective critiques and interviews discussing the stories' geneses, how publication affected their lives, and what they know now about writing that they wish they'd known then. Contributors include Ben Bova, Charles Stross, China MiEville, Cory Doctorow, David Brin, Greg Bear, Joe Haldeman, Kim Stanley Robinson, Larry Niven, Michael Swanwick, Nicola Griffith, Piers Anthony, R. A. Salvatore, Spider Robinson, and William Gibson.

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy

227 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters.

Reviews

[Traci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think short stories are my thing. Even when I read one of an author I know I like I usually don't like it. I guess I like more structure to what I read. More prolongued suspense. I like a slow seduction with my reading not a quick one night stand. But I did find the interviews with each author interesting. I noticed that the stories I enjoyed the most the authors listed things they would change and the ones I didn't like the authors said they would change nothing. It seemed I liked humbleness more than ego. But maybe I am a little unfair. These are first stories. And most of these authors pobably improved.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit up front, I've never heard of some of these "giants," particularly the editor. This is an anthology more for aspiring writers and extreme fans of the writers than it is for readers. Three of the stories were so difficult that I gave up on. Three other stories were not the first short stories published by the authors ... which makes you think someone really should've rewritten that subtitle.

This is not an anthology for readers new to sci-fi or fantasy. In fact, this would probably put off new readers to sci-fi and fantasy.

Stories include:

* "Introduction: Where It All Began" by Our Editor James L. Sutter. Short introduction as to why he bothered getting this anthology together, and let's you know that this isn't going to be the usual sci-fi/fantasy anthology, for all of the good and bad reasons that connotates. When he wrote that getting Charles Stoss to include "The Boys" was pulling out a dead cat and asking Stoss to autograph it, I have to wonder how he came to that comparison.
* "The Guy With the Eyes" by Spider Robinson. The stories start off with a banger -- the very first story of Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, published in 1973. Robinson's interview following the story is sharp, witty and true -- writing fiction is no longer a paying profession. If you want to be a writer -- don't quit the day job.
* "Fragments of a Hologram Rose" by William Gibson. This is exactly what to expect from Gibson, both in good ways and bad ways. This cyberpunk story was from 1927. He got paid a whopping $27 for it.
* "A Long Way Back" by Ben Bova. This 1960 classic story, which I think has appeared in other anthologies, is a bit of a cheat. Bova's first stories were not in science fiction or fantasy, and his first was lost. This is his first surviving story. As Bova explains afterward, no matter the genre, all fiction centers on characters, not things.
* "Possible to Rue" by Piers Anthony. Arguably, this 1963 story was the shortest thing he ever wrote. It paid $20. There's no sex in it, but dark humor. It's a hard story to categorize, but I consider it horror.
* "Craphound" by Gary Doctorow. This is also a cheat. It's not Doctorow's first published short story, but it was the oldest that he let Our Editor publish. That being said, it's very good. Before eBay, I was also a craphound, but I was looking more for horse books and models than just crap in general. EBay is revolutionary, but nothing beats the thrill of finding a treasure at a flea market or used book store.
* "Highway 61 Revisited" by China Mieville. This was incomprehensible. I wound up giving up during the second page and skipping it.
* "In Pierson's Orchestra" by Kim Stanley Robinson. This was Robinson's actual first short story, published in 1976. He doesn't like it today, and he has good reasons not to. Any story inspired from a Yes concert is not gonna be worth reading.
* "Destroyers" by Greg Bear. This 1967 story is just as pertinent today. This was Bear's real first published short story, which earned him $10. And yes -- he was always that good.
* "Out of Phase" by Joe Haldeman. This story originally was published in 1969. It's a difficult story and doesn't have an ending. Equating poetry with death was funny, though.
* "The Coldest Place" by Larry Niven. His first published short story is the first version of his much better "Becalmed in Hell." Not a good beginning, as the science was proven wrong before the story was even published.
* "Mirrors and Burnstone" by Nicola Griffith. This interesting but clunky variation on cowboys and Indians, where everyone is female (I guess), was written in 1986 but not published until 1988, with a payment of $238. It was the prequel to one of her novels.
* "Just a Hint" by David Brin. Disappointing yawner without an ending. And a college student pretentiously named Elizabeth Browning. Oddly enough, Brin's first published work was a novel, but this was his first published short story.
* "A Sparkle for Homer" by R. A. Salvatore. Hobbits meet Jack and the Beanstalk. This was the second version of this story -- the first was rejected. This is another author that managed to publish a novel BEFORE publishing a short story. He recommends self-publishing for new authors ... and goes on forever in his interview.
* "The Boys" by Charles Stross. Incomprehensible gibberish. Written in 1985 when he was 21, Stross is rightly embarrassed by this. His advice to new writers is not to argue with critics.
* "Ginungagap" by Michael Swanick. I had to give up with this, too. WAAAAYYY over my head. In the interview, Swanick seems just as narcissistic as we all thought he'd be.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology collects the first published short stories from a number of prominent science fiction and fantasy authors, then provides the authors an opportunity to comment on them with the benefit of hindsight, along with discussing their writing techniques. As you would expect from a book of first short stories, this is a mixed bag, although the commentary makes up for the weaker entries.

Stories I liked: "A Long Way Back" by Ben Bova (probably my favorite in the book). "Craphound" by Cory Doctorow (a nice ode to collectors of nostalgia). "Mirrors and Burnstone" by Nicola Griffith (like the alien culture and the colonial themes). "Ginungagap" by Michael Swanwick (took me a bit to warm to it but really liked it by the end).

Stories I disliked: "Fragments of a Hologram Rose" by William Gibson (so I guess I'm not a Gibson fan). "Highway 61 Revisited" by China Mieville (it quickly became frustrating trying to work out the alien linguistics). "The Boys" by Charles Stross (trying too hard to be weird).

Stories I thought were OK: "The Guy with the Eyes" by Spider Robinson (the first Callahan's story; you almost think this is going to be a non-genre tale, until near the end). "In Pierson's Orchestra" by Kim Stanley Robinson (some decent ideas but the execution didn't grab me). "Destroyers" by Greg Bear (while I appreciate the place this was coming from, it was basically just setup for a punchline). "Out of Phase" by Joe Haldeman (interesting ideas and no serious flaws, I guess I just don't like the ending). "The Coldest Place" by Larry Niven (fine but way too short). "Just a Hint" by David Brin (I like the premise and the twist, but not a favorite for whatever reason). "A Sparkle for Homer" by R.A. Salvatore (reads like an entertaining D&D session). (B+)

[Adam Becker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the concept of this book and the list of authors included is quite impressive! The short interview included along with each story was an enjoyable addition.
The stories by Doctorow, Swanwick and Robinson are so incredibly good they already read like the work of a polished veteran author. Others are clearly more amateurish but still thoroughly enjoyable. Highway 61 Revisited by China Mieville certainly shows that it was written by a grade-schooler but it was still a fun story to read!
A nice set of stories to pick up and put down at your leisure, a nice breezy book to relax with.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before They Were Giants is an anthology of science fiction and fantasy short stories by a bunch of authors you've probably heard of, but the twist is that is a collection of their first professionally published stories. Fine so far, and you might ask, on seeing the list of authors involved, "Where are the real rock stars of Sci-Fi and Fantasy?" and the answer is "probably dead." This is a consequence of second twist to this anthology -- in addition to presenting these writers' first works, they also each have done a Q&A about the story, how they feel about it now, do they think it still works, and what advice do they have for aspiring writers?

As the stories go, they're generally pretty good. They fall into two camps: stories that were evaluated by a professional editor for a professional publication, accepted by that editor and published in that publication; and stories that are juvenilia that won some competition among a bunch of other 8th graders. I would just as soon leave the latter to the dustbins of history, but I wasn't the editor on this.

Some standouts in here include Piers Anthony's "Possible To Rue" (although I generally can't stand the guy), Cory Doctorow's "Craphound", Ben Bova's "A Long Way Back", and William Gibson's "Fragments of a Hologram Rose" (which is not new to you if you have his Burning Chrome collection).

Others don't quite transcend being a one-note riff on the timeless Sci-Fi What-If question: Greg Bear's "Destroyers", David Brin's "Just A Hint" and "The Coldest Place" by Larry Niven don't quite scramble above "meh."

Some, like China Mieville's "Highway 61 Revisited" and R.A Salvatore's "A Sparkle For Homer" shouldn't even be in here, for different reasons. Mieville because, well, remember what I said about the 8th graders? and Salvatore because (A) this story is kind of stupid and (B) he had sold and seen a novel in print before this story was published, so it doesn't really fit the conceit of the anthology, does it? (There are a couple of other instances of published novels preceding these "first stories" too, but Salvatore's is the only straight-up Fantasy tale in this science fiction collection -- and we're talking halflings, giants, and floating castles-on-clouds.)

The real treat is reading the Q&As after each story. Some authors are standoffish about their early (professionally published) work; some are unsettlingly bully about it (or maybe jealous of their younger selves (Hi Piers!)); almost all them agree that the more they write the better they get and aspiring writers ought not quit their day job. Even when trite, these guys give out good advice and it's a bit of a peek behind the scenes.

[Michael Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that if you like science fiction, or the craft of writing, or want to be an author, or like authors, or wondered if all authors started out as amazing writers, then this book is for you.

When I was a teenager I read many of these authors pretty religiously, including Greg Bear, Piers Anthony, and a few others. What I didn't realize until reading this collection, though, was that I knew almost nothing about their short stories, having read mostly novels.

This collection is fantastic at doing three things. First, it connects you with some authors you have probably heard of but might not have read, it exposes you to some pretty great short stories, and it confirms what most of us have suspected. Most of these guys and girls DID start out as amazing authors. But that's not to say that some of the stories, or sections within stories, weren't a bit rough.

But that's what I loved most about it. It made the authors more human, and really laid bare the craft of writing that these people were developing and honing. A few of the stories I didn't care for at all (I won't name names so as not to offend) but unlike other anthologies where I'd feel slighted, here it was illustrative and interesting. Some of these authors had no idea what they were doing at all!

Editor James Sutter (Paizo Publishing) does a great job in the foreward of setting the expectation-level by introducing the collection as the first published short stories by these amazing sci-fi writers. A few had already published novels, or written elsewhere, but these were the first shorts, which many novel-writers struggle with even after they are famous.

Each story also has a standard/structured Q&A where the authors answer questions about where they were in their life when they wrote the story (that was fascinating) and what lefthem to want to be writers, why this story, etc.

Like I said, it's not your usual polished collection of high-level authorship, but that's exactly the point. It's a more down-to earth look at short stories by writers who would go on to greatness, and I find that infinitely more engaging than when they've already made it and are just churning out more of the same great stuff.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Nicola Griffith story was why I read this book.
I had already read the stories by Spider Robinson, William Gibson, and Larry Niven.

Liked:
A Long Way Back - Ben Bova

Fragments of a Hologram Rose - William Gibson

Mirrors and Burnstone - Nicola Griffith. (This is a prequel to Ammonite)

Out of Phase - Joe Haldeman (This story makes me want to read Camouflage)

In Pierson's Orchestra - Kim Stanley Robinson

The Guy with the Eyes - Spider Robinson (I read the Callahan's series in high school but none of his recent work)

A Sparkle for Homer - R. A. Salvatore (This story was mildly amusing.)

Ginungagap - Michael Swanwick (I hadn't read anything by him previously, this story makes me want to)

Disliked:
Highway 61 Revisited - China Mieville (I found the dialect annoying)

Blah:
Possible to Rue - Piers Anthony (I have read only one story by him)

Destroyers - Greg Bear (I liked the Forge of God)

Just a Hint - David Brin (I like most of his books but abandoned reading the Second Uplift trilogy. Ancient intergalactic civilizations and uplift are plausible enough, but humans happily sharing a planet with three other races is a bit much.)

Craphound - Cory Doctorow (I liked Ownz0red haven't read anything else by him)

The Coldest Place - Larry Niven (I read a lot of Niven in high school)

The Boys - Charlie Stross (I liked Saturn's Children but abandoned Halting State)

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing that I enjoyed the most about this book was that it drove home for me that even some of the giants in the SF&F industry had started out as amateurs. Though there were a couple of stories that also reinforced that the author was a fantastic writer, before making it big. All of the stories were good and a number read like they were written by an amateur, but even then I could still see the glimmer of potential in the writing. Which was what probably caught the original editors who published the works. I especially liked that the end of every story there was a section devoted to the author of the story. A section where James Sutter (the editor of this book) asked each author the same half-dozen questions, and the wide variety of answers that each author provided. Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.

[Tim Elkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept in reprinting the first published stories by several science fiction writers, although I would argue that R.A. Salvatore instead exactly a science fiction writer. His story had its amusing bits but was very derivative of the typical D&D setting and lacked the originality of some of the others. The interviews with the authors about their works were the best part. Most had very mixed feelings about them, with a mixture of pride ("this started my career!") to embarrassment ("this amateurish crap started my career!"). Depressingly, a major theme of the advice they'd give to writers starting out was to keep your day job or to marry someone with a steady job that could support two people.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book for so many different reasons. I liked the one or two stories I didn't enjoy at all (possibly especially the one I couldn't even finish) because they showed me no one is perfect and no matter how great a writer someone is, they are going to have stories someone (in this case me) won't like. I loved several of the stories which, despite being the first professional sale for someone, were freaking amazing, deep, well-written and enjoyable. I also liked the author interviews which came after each story. I think this was a fantastic idea for an anthology and very well-executed and if you like science fiction you should totally give it a go.

[Christopher Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole premise of this book is awesome - collect some of the greatest SF/speculative writers, from multiple generations, and put out each of their first published stories. In particular, the William Gibson and China Mievelle works are not to be missed.

[Indio · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I reread this I'll rate the stories individually as I've seen some others do, but for now I'll say that Ginungagap (I assume that's the name of the story) is a 5 star exploration of the concepts most famously (I assume) touched on by Dr. McCoy's fear of transporters in Star Trek.

[Anya · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a reason most of the authors interviewed in this book want to disown or bury the stories...