Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 10: 1948

Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories #10

by Isaac Asimov (Editor), Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Henry Kuttner

This anthology contains:

Don't Look Now by Henry Kuttner
Redhead by John D. MacDonald
Knock by Fredric Brown
He Walked Around the Horses by H. Beam Piper
The Strange Case of John Kingman by Murray Leinster
That Only a Mother by Judith Merril
The Monster Dormant by A.E. Van Vogt
Dreams are Sacred by Peter Phillips
Mars is Heaven by Ray Bradbury
Thang by Martin Gardner
Brooklyn Project by William Tenn
Period Piece by J.J. Coupling
In Hiding by Wilmar H. Shiras
and Late Night Final by Eric Frank Russell.

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

287 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

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

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

1948-Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, the state of Israel was proclaimed, and President Truman was elected president in one of the great political upsets of history.
Top films included "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with Bogart and "Red River" with John Wayne.
It was a good year for science fiction- with "Who Goes There?" by John Campbell, "Space Cadet" by Robert Heinlein, and "Skylark Three" by E.E. "Doc" Smith, among others.
And in Asimov's collection of the best short stories of SF of '48, there are two classics- "That Only A Mother" by Judith Merril and "The Monster" by A.E. Van Vogt. I had read both of these before and they were certainly worth another read.
Some surprising little discoveries included "He Walked Around the Horses" by H. Beam Piper, an interesting story involving an alternate history and "The Strange Case of John Kingman" by Murray Leinster, about the discovery of a "superman" staying in a lunatic asylum, a story which certainly resonated with me!
There are 17 stories in all in this collection, none of which are clunkers. Surprisingly ( to me, anyway ), two stories are by John D. McDonald, best known for his Travis McGee mystery series. In these two stories, he demonstrates a real talent for SF! I only wish he could've written more SF!!

[Stephen Burridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixteen stories, of which one (“Thang” by Martin Gardner) is extremely short, and four more (the Eric Frank Russell, one of two John D. MacDonalds, and both of the A. E. van Vogts) didn’t appeal to me at all. In my opinion the rest are all pretty good, some excellent.

Each story is prefaced by brief introductory comments from the two editors, Greenberg and Asimov. I was interested to note that Asimov’s comments to the stories published in Astounding were often critical of John W. Campbell, Jr., the magazine’s famous editor.

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories in this collection are generally fine, but most are not outstanding. There's a strong emphasis on the threat of nuclear war and the hazards of atomic radiation. "That Only a Mother" by Judith Merril is the most powerful entry.

"Don't Look Now" by Henry Kuttner (Startling Stories, March 1948 – short story)
3 Stars
Two men in a bar debate whether Martians have infiltrated Earth, either posing as humans or perhaps invisible (or both). It's a lighthearted tale of paranoia that seems likely to have at least partially inspired the “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” episode of The Twilight Zone. Kuttner claimed that the story was actually written by his wife, C. L. Moore.

"He Walked Around the Horses" by H. Beam Piper (Astounding Science Fiction, April 1948 – novelette)
4 Stars
This alternate history shows a possible outcome if Benedict Arnold had died at the Battle of Quebec. It's mostly told as a series of dispatches between government officials in 1809 relating the odd appearance of a diplomat (unbeknownst to them from a parallel universe) who claims that Napoleon is the emperor of France, the American colonies have broken away and formed a new country, and other unbelievable assertions.

"The Strange Case of John Kingman" by Murray Leinster (Astounding Science Fiction, May 1948 – short story)
4 Stars
A doctor at a mental asylum digs into the background of one of the patients, only to either come up empty or uncover clearly unbelievable information. Just how long has this patient been there, and where is he from, really? Are his six-fingered hands his only mutation, or does he also have hidden superpowers? It's a well written story, but hard to suspend disbelief about.

"That Only a Mother" by Judith Merril (Astounding Science Fiction, June 1948 – short story)
5 Stars
Merril's first published story is a heartbreaking extrapolation of the effects of nuclear fallout from ground tests and the bombing of Japan on developing embryos and fetuses. It's also a heartbreaking look at how those effects impact the parents, especially the mothers.

"The Monster" by A. E. van Vogt (Astounding Science Fiction, August 1948 – short story)
3 Stars
In Earth's far future, after humanity is long gone, a group of aliens arrives to determine if the planet is worth colonizing. As part of this effort, they resurrect a dead human to inquire how life died, but the human turns out to have superhuman powers that can defeat the aliens. This story falls firmly into Astounding's editor John W. Campbell's view that humans must always be able to beat any aliens.

"Dreams Are Sacred" by Peter Phillips (Astounding Science Fiction, September 1948 – novelette)
3 Stars
A psychiatrist uses a device to transmit the mind of sports reporter into the mind of a fantasy writer who is suffering from delusions in an effort to snap him out of his imaginary world. In a twist reminiscent of (future) Philip K. Dick stories, after leaving the experiment the reporter encounters several other people who were in the dream and unaccountably recognize him from the dream.

"Mars Is Heaven!" by Ray Bradbury (Planet Stories, Fall 1948 – short story)
4 Stars
A rocket from Earth lands on Mars and is greeted by the human residents of a small town that seems stuck in the early 1900s. The astronauts eventually meet some of their dead relatives, putting a further wrinkle into the situation. This is a perfect Twilight Zone type story. It's unfortunate that Greenberg and Asimov spoil the twist in their introductions.

"Thang" by Martin Gardner (Comment, Fall 1948 – short story)
3 Stars
This short-short, barely a page long, is a somewhat silly extrapolation of the idea that for whatever you think is big and bad, there is something even bigger and badder.

"Brooklyn Project" by William Tenn (Planet Stories, Fall 1948 – short story)
3 Stars
William Tenn is the pen name of Philip Klass who is known for specializing in stories with satirical elements. This short story certainly falls into that category, taking the idea that time travel will irrevocably change history to its ultimate, humorous conclusion.

"Ring Around the Redhead" by John D. MacDonald (Startling Stories, November 1948 – short story)
4 Stars
This is a pretty typical story from the forties. An inventor accidentally acquires a portal device that opens into a multitude of universes. From one of those realities comes a beautiful redhead whose presence ultimately leads to the inventor's arrest for the murder of his neighbor. It's all laid out in court testimony. The story is played more for humor, but it's an enjoyable tall tale from a master of mystery fiction.

"Period Piece" by John R. Pierce [as by J. J. Coupling] (Astounding Science Fiction, November 1948 – short story)
3 Stars
Smith is a man who seems to be from the twentieth century living in the thirty-first century, even though time travel is a discredited theory. Things are not what they seem, but the twist is fairly banal.

"Dormant" by A. E. van Vogt (Startling Stories, November 1948 – short story)
3 Stars
An alien entity that looks something like a giant rock is discovered on a Pacific atoll. When A-bomb tests reawaken it, things go south for the U.S. Navy crew that investigates it. It ends in a very dark place.

"In Hiding" by Wilmar H. Shiras (Astounding Science Fiction, November 1948 – novelette)
4 Stars
A 13-year-old boy is sent to the school psychiatrist by his teacher who suspects he is different. What the psychiatrist finds is a boy with an accelerated intellect, presumably due to a mutation caused by atomic testing. The bulk of the story is a poignant character study of a shy, precocious child who has to hide his abilities from his family and the rest of the world, because then as now, the general public can't abide someone who is smarter than they are.

"Knock" by Fredric Brown (Thrilling Wonder Stories, December 1948 – short story)
4 Stars
This is a riff on the last man on Earth story. Here, aliens wipe out most animal life, except for a few specimens for their zoo. It turns out there's a last woman, too, and the somewhat sexist result is a tale with a twist ending.

"A Child Is Crying" by John D. MacDonald (Thrilling Wonder Stories, December 1948 – short story)
3 Stars
This story has a similar premise as "In Hiding" by Wilmar H. Shiras, but with less impact. A super-intelligent boy seems to be able to predict the future (à la Asimov's psychohistory). The U.S. military wants to use this ability to gain power over their enemies, but the results aren't exactly what they had hoped for. Don't interfere with things you don't understand.

"Late Night Final" by Eric Frank Russell (Astounding Science Fiction, December 1948 – novelette)
3 Stars
An army of humanoid aliens land on Earth with the intention of conquering it. The hard-nosed commander is unprepared for how the locals respond. Kindness trumps fascism, a theme that editor John W. Campbell wholly embraced, because humans are the ultimate life form in the universe even if they're outgunned.

[Jim Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many anthologies of classic SF stories but i like the way that Asimov and Greenberg do in on a year by year basis. This makes it easy to get into the mindset of that particular year, in this case 1948. They help you do this by including and introduction of what was going on in the world inside and outside of SF in that year. I have been reading this collection chronologically and haven't been disappointed yet. I've read a lot of classic SF and it seems to be that Asimov and Greenberg do an excellent job of picking the best stories for each year. For me at least, it seems that they invariably choose the stories that I would have considered myself. Being an avid classic SF reader for many years (I'm 70 years old), I often find that i have read many of these stories in the past. But these stories are so good that I always enjoy rereading them, especially with them precisely set in the context of the year they were written.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each of these stories leaves you feeling eerie and wanting more. I love this genre of science fiction and really appreciate Asimov's choices as some of the absolute best that were offered.

[Kamitsuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adesso non guardare, di Henry Kuttner e C. L. Moore ***
Un dialogo in un pub tra un giornalista e un complottista.
 
Camminò intorno ai cavalli, di H. Beam Piper ***
Un uomo cammina intorno alla sua quadriglia e finisce in un universo parallelo.
 
Lo strano caso di John Kingman, di Murray Leinster ****
Da troppo tempo un uomo altezzoso è ospite di un manicomio.
 
Solo una madre, di Judith Merril ****
Le radiazioni dovute all'uso del nucleare potrebbero portare malformazioni nei feti, ma per una madre questo non è un grosso problema.
 
Il mostro, di A. E. Van Vogt ***
Una civiltà aliena cerca di capire perché la Terra non ha più nessun abitante in vita.
 
I sogni sono sacri, di Peter Phillips ****
Cosa succederebbe se un cinico entrasse nel sogno di uno scrittore di fantascienza?
 
Marte è il Paradiso!, di Ray Bradbury *****
Un gruppo di astronauti arriva su Marte per la prima volta nella storia. E assomiglia un po' troppo alla Terra.
(attenzione alla prefazione di Asimov che contiene spoiler)
 
Thang, di Martin Gardner ****
Un dio molto, molto, molto grande.
 
Progetto Brooklyn, di William Tenn *****
Cosa mai può cambiare mandando una sfera come osservatore nel passato? Nulla di nulla.
 
Cerchio intorno alla Testarossa, di John D. MacDonald ****
Un misterioso omicidio, un tribunale e una ragazza dai capelli rossi.
 
Pezzo d'epoca, di J. J. Coupling ****
Un uomo del XX secolo si trova nel XXX secolo... o forse no?
(attenzione alla prefazione che contiene spoiler)
 
Il dormiente, di A. E. Van Vogt ***
Una roccia con coscienza su un'isola.
 
Di nascosto, di Wilmar H. Shiras *****
Un bambino deve essere molto intelligente di nascosto.
 
Toc, toc, di Fredric Brown *****
L'ultimo uomo sulla terra è da solo in una stanza. Qualcuno bussa alla porta...
 
Un bimbo piange, di John D. MacDonald ***
Un bambino impassibile e molto intelligente ha i suoi piani per il futuro.
 
Ultimissima edizione, di Eric Frank Russell ****
Gli alieni di Huld, forti dei loro manuali di comportamento, vorrebbero assoggettare l'ultimissima edizione del genere umano.

[Matteo Pellegrini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nel 1948 la fantascienza americana è in piena forma, anche perché gli Stati Uniti sono emersi dalla guerra come la maggiore potenza mondiale, grazie a una tecnologia rimasta intatta e incentivata dal conflitto. Pare aprirsi una fase di espansione senza limiti, si respira ottimismo. Nessuno dubita che l'esplorazione degli spazi, cui stanno già lavorando scienziati nazisti passati al nemico, possa tardare. Naturalmente il progresso ha come sempre un lato oscuro. L'Unione Sovietica, da alleata che era, si è trasformata in rivale (per fortuna non ha ancora la bomba atomica), il comunismo si espande e lambisce l'Europa occidentale, il maccartismo fa la sua apparizione, limitata per il momento al mondo del cinema. L'uccisione, all'inizio dell'anno, del mahatma Gandhi, che Asimov ricorda nella prefazione, sembra preannunciare la fine di un periodo di pace durato solo due anni. La fantascienza, narrativa intrinsecamente ambigua, da un lato vive di ottimismo, dall'altro si alimenta di tensioni. Prevale il gusto dolceamaro, nel decimo volume de Le grandi storie della fantascienza. Gli autori antologizzati da Asimov, dal Ray Bradbury di Marre è il paradiso!, che colpirà profondamente un giovane Stephen King, al caustico Fredric Brown, all'epico Van Vogt, a molti altri, tra esordienti e veterani, non adottano l'uno o l'altro registro, ma spesso li fondono tra loro. Perché dolceamara è la società occidentale che, fuori delle camere in affitto in cui lavorano, sta prendendo forma.

[Rust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pieni voti per questa raccolta che come qualità mi ricorda molto quella del volume che mi ha fatto appassionare al genere (le meraviglie del possibile). Qui, tutti racconti del 1948, si sente molto l'aria del dopoguerra con metafore della guerra fredda e sogni sulle radiazioni. Un misto di autori famosi e altri che non conoscevo, diversi racconti già letti, ma ne vale davvero la pena.

[Metello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Qualche racconto interessante, anche di scrittori famosi.
Interessante notare da cosa vengano influenzati i temi, ad esempio la bomba atomica entra molto.

Solo per appassionati, diciamo che non l'avrei mai comprato.

[Old Man Aries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Più si va indietro nel passato, più i racconti sembrano ingenui... eppure di idee geniali ed affascinanti ce ne sono parecchie e lo stile di scrittura, quando è bello, lo è sempre nonostante gli anni.Racconti di Van Vogt, Merril, MacDonald, Tenn, Beam Piper, Bradbury, Shiras, Brown ed Asimov

[L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Best of 1948. Great stuff.