Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 23: 1961

Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories #23

by Isaac Asimov (Editor), Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Randall Garrett

Contents:

9 · Introduction · Martin H. Greenberg · in
13 · The Highest Treason · Randall Garrett · na Analog Jan ’61
75 · Hothouse [Gren (Hothouse)] · Brian W. Aldiss · nv F&SF Feb ’61
112 · Hiding Place [Nicholas van Rijn] · Poul Anderson · nv Analog Mar ’61
154 · What Is This Thing Called Love? [“Playboy and the Slime God”] · Isaac Asimov · ss Amazing Mar ’61
168 · A Prize for Edie · J. F. Bone · ss Analog Apr ’61
174 · The Ship Who Sang [Helva] · Anne McCaffrey · nv F&SF Apr ’61
195 · Death and the Senator · Arthur C. Clarke · nv Analog May ’61
217 · The Quaker Cannon · Frederik Pohl & C. M. Kornbluth · nv Analog Aug ’61
243 · The Moon Moth · Jack Vance · na Galaxy Aug ’61
281 · A Planet Named Shayol · Cordwainer Smith · nv Galaxy Oct ’61
320 · Rainbird · R. A. Lafferty · ss Galaxy Dec ’61
333 · Wall of Crystal, Eye of Night · Algis Budrys · nv Galaxy Dec ’61
356 · Remember the Alamo! [as by R. R. Fehrenbach] · T. R. Fehrenbach · ss Analog Dec ’61

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1991

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dozen stories from 1961, chosen by Greenberg and Asimov to represent the best of the field. The only other recognition for short stories in that year, other than collection in anthologies, would have been the 1962 Hugo awards. Only the Hugo winner shows up on both lists:
{* I had some allergic reactions to this story -- watery eyes, sniffles mostly
** This was an awesome little sci-fi mystery]

Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 23: 1961
20 Jan:  The Highest Treason, Randall Garrett
23 Jan:  Hothouse, Brian W. Aldiss
24 Jan:  Hiding Place, Poul Anderson
25 Jan:  What Is This Thing Called Love?, Isaac Asimov
25 Jan:  A Prize for Edie, J.F. Bone
26 Jan:  The Ship Who Sang, Anne McCaffrey*
28 Jan:  "Death and the Senator", Arthur C. Clarke
01 Feb:  "The Moon Moth", Jack Vance
02 Feb:  "A Planet Named Shayol", Cordwainer Smith
03 Feb:  "Rainbird", R. A. Lafferty
05 Feb:  "Wall of Crystal, Eye of Night", Algis Budrys
06 Feb:  "Remember the Alamo!", R. R. Fehrenbach

1962 Hugo Award nominees for Short Fiction
Winner: “Hothouse” (book title The Long Afternoon of Earth), Brian W. Aldiss (F&SF Feb,Apr,Jul,Sep,Dec 1961) (series)
“Lion Loose”, James H. Schmitz (Analog Oct 1961)
“Monument”, Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (Analog Jun 1961)
“Scylla's Daughter”, Fritz Leiber (Fantastic May 1961)
“Status Quo”, Mack Reynolds (Analog Aug 1961)

[Ketan Shah]

There are some gems here. The Highest Treason,by Randall Garrett is a great example of military SF,in the Ender's Game vein.It deserves to be read much more widely.Frederik Pohl and C M Kornbluth's military SF story ,The Quaker Cannon is very well told also. Cordainer Smith's A Planet Named Shayol is probably one of the weirdest SF stories ever writen,with images that will stick with you long after you finish reading it.Algis Budry and Jack Vance also strike a similar tone with their contributions to this collection.Asimov's own story seems weak in comparison to the other's mentioned here. I don't know if this truly represents the best of 1961,but it is a pretty good collection.Especially since some of the lesser known stories here are probably very hard to find anywhere else.

[Matteo Pellegrini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prosegue in questo volume, dedicato al 1961, la celebre raccolta di antologie curate da Isaac Asimov e dai suoi infaticabili colleghi per salvare dall'oblìo i più bei racconti di fantascienza di tutti i tempi, scelti anno per anno. Sfileranno davanti ai vostri occhi nomi famosi e importanti come Poul Anderson e Anne McCaffrey, Jack Vance e Arthur C. Clarke, Algis Budrys e lo stesso Asimov, Frederik Pohl e Cyril M. Kornbluth. Scoprirete, o ritroverete, gemme di Randall Garrett e J.F. Bone, Raphael A. Lafferty e Cordwainer Smith: insomma, i più bei nomi della sf classica. Con un'accurata premessa a ogni racconto e un'introduzione che la dice lunga sulla realtà... virtuale.

[Nicholas Barone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collecting stories from 1961, this is one of the better anthologies in the series. Standouts include: Hothouse by Brian Aldis, Hiding Place by Poul Anderson, The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey, The Quaker Cannon by Pohl & Kornbluth, and my favorite in the collection, The Moon Moth by Jack Vance.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 2 out of 5]

That's 1961...nothing terribly distinguished here. Stupid topical story by Ike. Probably best of the batch "Moon Moth" by Jack Vance (which I think won a whatzit or two that year) and "Shayol" by Cordwainer--despite the grotesqueries and consequent difficulty in achieving a consistent tone/stance; and despite the fact that Vance's story ends with a bit of a cheapo.