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Alternities
Dazzling visions. Another nova of superb new young writers, unfettered by strictures and taboos, who probe the forbidden, plumb the farthest reaches of inner and outer space, and soar to mind-soaring heights in an extraordinary collection of never-before-published speculative fiction!
175 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 27, 2022
This is the fourth of five 1970s speculative fiction anthologies edited by David Gerrold with Stephen Goldin the associate editor. All their anthologies are highly experimental and worth reading, including this one, if you're into seeing what boundaries can be pushed in the art of storytelling. If you're just looking for cheap entertainment, you might do better with another short story anthology.
First, my rating is not an average. There were six pretty awful stories, six okay stories, and only four truly outstanding stories. The book is worth the price of admission on the strength of those four stories alone in my opinion.
First, the bad. There were three obscene stories I wish I could somehow unread. No doubt the editors and authors would try to justify the obscenities by calling the stories experiments. Whatever. The stories used crude humor too childish for even a middle schooler to appreciate. The two worst were "A Gross Love Story" by Arthur Byron Cover, and "Hung Like an Elephant" by Steven Utley and Joe Pumilia. Both are too disgusting to warrant further description. The third story pushed the obscenity line, but maybe had enough going for it to justify itself: "Womb, with a View" by Steven Utley. It was about a gynecologist viewing approaching stars through a woman's vagina while she was on the stirrups. Fascinating stuff, isn't it?
There were a few stories that seemed like experimental misfires. I just didn't get them. These were "How Xmas Ghosts Are Made" by David R. Bunch, "Message of Joy" by Arthur Byron Cover, and "The First Few Kinds of Truth" by James Sallis.
The other ten stories were solid, good, fun to read. This was a very front loaded anthology. If you want to save best for last, read these stories in the opposite order the editors placed them in. All were experimental stories, some more so than others. Let me be clear what I mean by experiments. The storytelling did not involve being obscure in the writing style. Those types of stories comprised half of one of Gerrold and Goldin's earlier anthologies. This time the stories all had clear plots and sound narrative hooks. The experimental aspect came in the form of how they were told, whose point of view it was from, or the writing format itself. I'll get more specific by describing the four best stories in the collection.
The first was "Sand Castles" by Jack C. Haldeman II, which was the lead-off story. A spaceship from Earth has crash landed on another planet populated by highly advanced aliens who try to get an understanding of their Earth visitors from the landing survivors. The differences in perspectives over fundamental realities prove to be an insurmountable obstacle. The power of this story was in Haldeman's depiction of how incongrous the two systems of thinking could be. It was very realistic and, I would think, hard to pull off with authenticity. Haldeman manages this unlikely feat in a thought-provoking, masterful manner. Honestly, having read his Star Trek book, Perry's Planet, I never would have guessed Haldeman had this story in him. It is quite an achievement packed in so modest a package.
The next story, "Before the Great Space-War" by Barry N. Malzberg was also excellent. An Earth scout sent to an alien planet to infiltrate it and determine its invadability for Earth forces goes native instead of doing his job. Malzberg did excellent work with this story. The experimental format he used to tell it--dispatches sent from Earth to the agent and the agent's replies-- really work. And it has the strongest ending of any story in the book.
"Webster" by Greg Bear is Bear's second published story. His first was printed seven years earlier, written when he was still in high school. This second story also is a really clever, strange story. It's about a woman who is fifty years old who has never taken a lover. She decides to change that by creating a lover from a book. This is one strange way to find a good man. And that's all I'm going to say about the story except that it was extremely well written and very odd. What's even more amazing than the story Bear tells is the questions he decides to leave unanswered and how the story still works despite those seemingly huge omissions. It really shouldn't.
The fourth and last outstanding story in the book is Vonda N. McIntyre's "Recourse, Inc." about how difficult it can be to maintain a good credit rating in a future society. Or is that future society more present than we'd like to think? McIntyre really built the suspense as we wondered if her protagonist could ever get out from under. I love how she tells the story by giving us a series of correspondence--no narration.
This anthology is easy to find on the used book market. Recommended for people who like to think and who tolerate weird well. Bookfinder.com is your friend here, the meta search engine to use to get the book cheapest and quickest.
First, my rating is not an average. There were six pretty awful stories, six okay stories, and only four truly outstanding stories. The book is worth the price of admission on the strength of those four stories alone in my opinion.
First, the bad. There were three obscene stories I wish I could somehow unread. No doubt the editors and authors would try to justify the obscenities by calling the stories experiments. Whatever. The stories used crude humor too childish for even a middle schooler to appreciate. The two worst were "A Gross Love Story" by Arthur Byron Cover, and "Hung Like an Elephant" by Steven Utley and Joe Pumilia. Both are too disgusting to warrant further description. The third story pushed the obscenity line, but maybe had enough going for it to justify itself: "Womb, with a View" by Steven Utley. It was about a gynecologist viewing approaching stars through a woman's vagina while she was on the stirrups. Fascinating stuff, isn't it?
There were a few stories that seemed like experimental misfires. I just didn't get them. These were "How Xmas Ghosts Are Made" by David R. Bunch, "Message of Joy" by Arthur Byron Cover, and "The First Few Kinds of Truth" by James Sallis.
The other ten stories were solid, good, fun to read. This was a very front loaded anthology. If you want to save best for last, read these stories in the opposite order the editors placed them in. All were experimental stories, some more so than others. Let me be clear what I mean by experiments. The storytelling did not involve being obscure in the writing style. Those types of stories comprised half of one of Gerrold and Goldin's earlier anthologies. This time the stories all had clear plots and sound narrative hooks. The experimental aspect came in the form of how they were told, whose point of view it was from, or the writing format itself. I'll get more specific by describing the four best stories in the collection.
The first was "Sand Castles" by Jack C. Haldeman II, which was the lead-off story. A spaceship from Earth has crash landed on another planet populated by highly advanced aliens who try to get an understanding of their Earth visitors from the landing survivors. The differences in perspectives over fundamental realities prove to be an insurmountable obstacle. The power of this story was in Haldeman's depiction of how incongrous the two systems of thinking could be. It was very realistic and, I would think, hard to pull off with authenticity. Haldeman manages this unlikely feat in a thought-provoking, masterful manner. Honestly, having read his Star Trek book, Perry's Planet, I never would have guessed Haldeman had this story in him. It is quite an achievement packed in so modest a package.
The next story, "Before the Great Space-War" by Barry N. Malzberg was also excellent. An Earth scout sent to an alien planet to infiltrate it and determine its invadability for Earth forces goes native instead of doing his job. Malzberg did excellent work with this story. The experimental format he used to tell it--dispatches sent from Earth to the agent and the agent's replies-- really work. And it has the strongest ending of any story in the book.
"Webster" by Greg Bear is Bear's second published story. His first was printed seven years earlier, written when he was still in high school. This second story also is a really clever, strange story. It's about a woman who is fifty years old who has never taken a lover. She decides to change that by creating a lover from a book. This is one strange way to find a good man. And that's all I'm going to say about the story except that it was extremely well written and very odd. What's even more amazing than the story Bear tells is the questions he decides to leave unanswered and how the story still works despite those seemingly huge omissions. It really shouldn't.
The fourth and last outstanding story in the book is Vonda N. McIntyre's "Recourse, Inc." about how difficult it can be to maintain a good credit rating in a future society. Or is that future society more present than we'd like to think? McIntyre really built the suspense as we wondered if her protagonist could ever get out from under. I love how she tells the story by giving us a series of correspondence--no narration.
This anthology is easy to find on the used book market. Recommended for people who like to think and who tolerate weird well. Bookfinder.com is your friend here, the meta search engine to use to get the book cheapest and quickest.
September 17, 2020
This may have been the best of the original anthologies that Gerrold edited in the 1970s. It featured stories set with the New Wave experimental flavor, but most were still quite entertaining and accessible without any self-conscious literary feel. Many of them had more erotic and humorous content than was usual for the time. I enjoyed the epistolary Vonda N. McIntyre story, the script story by Arthur Byron Cover, the three-word inverted joke by Duane Ackerson, as well as the traditionally formatted stories by Barry N. Malzberg, Jack C. Haldeman II, Greg Bear, Steven Utley, Joe Pumilia, and David R. Bunch. My favorite was Cowboys, Indians by Edward Bryant, one of his best.
March 21, 2022
Let me begin this review by saying I feel David Gerrold is one of the most talented science-fiction writers out there today. Alternities is an anthology he edited (with Stephen Goldin) that was published in 1974. A tremendous amount of talent lies between the two covers of this collection. However the stories here do not hold up as one might wish. This is not the fault of the editors, and perhaps my reaction to this book would’ve been different if I read it almost 50 years ago.
October 1, 2021
This is one of the few short story books I have that is from the 70s rather than 'classic' stuff (printing in the 60s, but often stories from the golden age). In his introduction, editor David Gerrold says he thinks sci-fi writers take themselves too seriously, and tried to pick stories that get back to basics.
Unfortunately, what that means to him apparently is alot of juvenile humor and nonsensical plots. We have one story that a man is on a plane, he things about writing a novel, then gets off to his agent and screaming fans.... that's it. one story is simply the phrase 'this end up' printed upside down. Maybe that is trying to be symbolic and meaningful, but mostly it's just kinda dumb.
Then there the crown jewel of potty humor... 'hung like an elephant'. it's actually a literal elephant in a man's crotch... oh, and his navel sings classic rock. Not sure what that's about, at all.
There were two stories a thought were at least mildly interesting... 'The Legend of Lonnie and the Seven Ten Split' is a bowling version of the 'Devil went Down to Georgia'. It's sorta sci-fied up by talking about domed cities, but that's the only sci fi bit. THe ending was pretty disappointing, though.
The other one that was decent was 'Cowboys, Indians' that was a band of Communist rebels fighting the man in a Fascist-ish America with a couple twists.
The others are just pretty unforgettable... definitely can give this a pass unless there's an author here you are a completist for.
Unfortunately, what that means to him apparently is alot of juvenile humor and nonsensical plots. We have one story that a man is on a plane, he things about writing a novel, then gets off to his agent and screaming fans.... that's it. one story is simply the phrase 'this end up' printed upside down. Maybe that is trying to be symbolic and meaningful, but mostly it's just kinda dumb.
Then there the crown jewel of potty humor... 'hung like an elephant'. it's actually a literal elephant in a man's crotch... oh, and his navel sings classic rock. Not sure what that's about, at all.
There were two stories a thought were at least mildly interesting... 'The Legend of Lonnie and the Seven Ten Split' is a bowling version of the 'Devil went Down to Georgia'. It's sorta sci-fied up by talking about domed cities, but that's the only sci fi bit. THe ending was pretty disappointing, though.
The other one that was decent was 'Cowboys, Indians' that was a band of Communist rebels fighting the man in a Fascist-ish America with a couple twists.
The others are just pretty unforgettable... definitely can give this a pass unless there's an author here you are a completist for.
January 29, 2019
Mindwebs audiobook 19 . This collection contains this story "Webster" by Greg Bear (author of Eons - one of my all-time favourite books ).
A bitter spinster of 50 sits alone in her empty abode, her only company two books, the Bible (which hardly rates a mention), and a large dictionary. She is profoundly unhappy, crying nightly, but dreams of finding a man to be her lover. As she rarely ventures out, and seems to have no job or social contacts, she occupies her time by obsessively reading the dictionary. Then.. she experiences an impossible realisation of her deepest desires, an answer to her dreams of intimacy and her need for love ...
Spoilers follow
in the form of a literal transformation of words into her ideal man! But although he physically exists he’s also unhappy. He’s not really perfect after all...and as she struggles with her doubts he reveals his plan to betray her. IMHO Excellent ideas, four stars.
The psychological insight and the discussion of her frustrated sexual nature maybe too explicit for some younger readers, although I was not uncomfortable or disturbed in the slightest. Perhaps being from Europe helped, although being from the England in U.K. should have hindered. Personally I thought the sexual element was rather tame, integral to the plot, and certainly not gratuitous and I would not have even mentioned it but for another reviewer [Moejoo] describing it (to be fair quite possibly referring to other stories in the compilation ) as “oversexed”.
(I've definitely read or heard this before somewhere). [Having reached the grand old age of 161 minus-100 - to paraphrase Futurama’s Professor Farnsworth, "I’m now entitled to ultra-porn!" 😎)
A bitter spinster of 50 sits alone in her empty abode, her only company two books, the Bible (which hardly rates a mention), and a large dictionary. She is profoundly unhappy, crying nightly, but dreams of finding a man to be her lover. As she rarely ventures out, and seems to have no job or social contacts, she occupies her time by obsessively reading the dictionary. Then.. she experiences an impossible realisation of her deepest desires, an answer to her dreams of intimacy and her need for love ...
Spoilers follow
in the form of a literal transformation of words into her ideal man! But although he physically exists he’s also unhappy. He’s not really perfect after all...and as she struggles with her doubts he reveals his plan to betray her. IMHO Excellent ideas, four stars.
The psychological insight and the discussion of her frustrated sexual nature maybe too explicit for some younger readers, although I was not uncomfortable or disturbed in the slightest. Perhaps being from Europe helped, although being from the England in U.K. should have hindered. Personally I thought the sexual element was rather tame, integral to the plot, and certainly not gratuitous and I would not have even mentioned it but for another reviewer [Moejoo] describing it (to be fair quite possibly referring to other stories in the compilation ) as “oversexed”.
(I've definitely read or heard this before somewhere). [Having reached the grand old age of 161 minus-100 - to paraphrase Futurama’s Professor Farnsworth, "I’m now entitled to ultra-porn!" 😎)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2021
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"David Gerrold and his associate editor Stephen Goldin collect a bizarre range of SF oddities including an epistolary nightmare from Vonda N. McIntyre’s pen and a one-sentence “sign” by Duane Ackerman. Gerrold argues that he wants “science fiction to be fun again” without “literary inbreeding [...]"
"David Gerrold and his associate editor Stephen Goldin collect a bizarre range of SF oddities including an epistolary nightmare from Vonda N. McIntyre’s pen and a one-sentence “sign” by Duane Ackerman. Gerrold argues that he wants “science fiction to be fun again” without “literary inbreeding [...]"
March 6, 2020
This is a collection of short stories by notable authors. These stories are disturbing but well-written. If weirder than weird is you thing, have at it. This wasn't my thing.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews