The Best From Fantasy And Science Fiction: 9th Series

by Robert P. Mills (Editor)

Ace books, 1964. Mass market paperback. Selection of stories originally published in 1958/1959. Includes the award-winning novelette "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. Also, stories by Robert A. Heinlein, William Tenn, Walter Tevis, Brian W. Aldiss, and more.

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

255 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1960

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first volume in the long-running anthology series of the best from F & SF magazine that was edited by Robert P. Mills after the initial volumes had the selections of J. Francis McComas and Anthony Boucher, then later ones by Boucher alone. These are stories from the 1958-'59 issues, and carry on the high-quality literature of the fantastic tradition for which the magazine was known. I especially liked the stories by Ron Goulart, Alfred Bester, Damon Knight, Theodore Sturgeon's poignant The Man Who Lost the Sea, and William Tenn's Eastward Ho!, not to mention Richard McKenna's Casey Agonistes and Robert A. Heinlein's ""All You Zombies-". The stand-out story is the classic Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

[Bill's Chaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 or 5 stars for "Flowers for Algernon". The other stories are much less interesting.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standouts were Keyes' "Flowers for Algernon," Heinlein's "All You Zombies," "The Pi Man" by Bester, and the poignant "The Man Who Lost the Sea" by Sturgeon.

William Tenn's "Eastward Ho!" was an excellent satire with teeth, imagining a North American history in which the shoe was on the other foot and the balance of power rested solidly with the indigenous peoples.

Honorable mentions for "What Rough Beast? " by Damon Knight and for Jane Rice's "The Willow Tree."

Out of 16 stories, 5 of them were 4 stars or better for this reader, and another 2 stories were 3.5 stars.

Also, no surprise that stories written in the 50s by mostly white dudes reflect some very special notions about gender and race, but even with my lowered expectations, there were places where the misogyny had me muttering "Oh, for f*ck's sake" and rolling my eyes.

[Bruce Delaplain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection contains my all time favorite science fiction story -- The Man Who Lost The Sea, by Theodore Sturgeon. I've probably read it forty times. And that's out of thousands of stories over a period of more than fifty years.

This is one of the very best anthologies of all time...
. . Flowers For Algernon [Daniel Keyes] -- One of top ten stories of all time
. . "All You Zombies-" [Robert A. Heinlein] -- Great Heinlein, Great time-travel
. . What Rough Beast? [Damon Knight] -- One of Knight's very best -- wonderful!
. . Casey Agonistes [Richard McKenna] -- Amazing! One of a kind
. . The Pi Man [Alfred Bester] -- One of the great Bester's best
. . The Man Who Lost the Sea [Theodore Sturgeon] -- The all time Best (for me)

And these stories, too...
. . A Different Purpose [Kem Bennett]
. . Ralph Wollstonecraft Hedge A Memoir [Ron Goulart]
. . Eastward Ho! [William Tenn]
. . Soul Mate [Lee Sutton]
. . Far From Home [Walter Tevis]
. . Invasion of the Planet of Love [George P. Elliott]
. . Dagon [Avram Davidson]

The only anthologies that complete with this are the three, much larger Science Fiction Hall Of Fame collections.
. . No Matter Where You Go [Joel Townsley Rogers]
. . The Willow Tree [Jane Rice]
. . Pact [Poul Anderson (as Winston P. Sanders)]

[E Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just can't seem to get into science fiction or fantasy. At the end of a story, I'm wondering
"What Happened?" What was that about?". The writing seems surreal without any
boundaries and I guess that's what it's supposed to be.

I did think the story "Eastward Ho" by William Penn was understandable and very clever.
A also liked "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes which I had read before and it was
just as sad the second time around.

[Arwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories. Was a good book, but short stories aren't really my thing. (FYI the my husband and I are fans of pre-moon-landing sci-fi).

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tough one to rate. I put most of the stories as not-as-good-as-we-expect from BFF&SF, on the other hand, it has the best single story to appear in F&SFM, one of the best three SF stories ever written, "Flowers for Algernon." It also includes Heinlein's excellent time travel short, "All You Zombies--," which was later adapted as one of the longest-running story threads in "Red Dwarf."

So we have a 5+-star, 4-star, and a lot of 2-stars, turning into a 4-star rating.

[Randomguy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real mixed bag

[Lorelei · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always loved anthologies the best, I don't know why. This was really a bit of a joy, but it was hard for me to read (still getting my mental skills back) and the last story was a difficult read - Theodore Sturgeon: The Man Who Lost the Sea. Really good story, but still too hard for me I guess. It's not the sort of book one is just going to walk into a bookstore and find on the shelves, but if you like 'real' science fiction, and like anthologies, this is well worth the time.

[Patrick]

"All You Zombies--" by Robert A. Heinlein (1959)

[Griffin Wagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually do not write reviews of books but I feel that this book, without the short story Flowers for Algernon, it would be a 1 or 2 star.

[William Pugsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flowers for Algernon is one of the most well crafted short stories ever written.