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Armada Sci-Fi 1
127 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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About the author
Richard Davis
40 books4 followersRichard Davis is an Australian author who writes in two genres:
* biographies of opera singers and classical musicians, and also
* popular ghost stories.
His full name is Richard Michael Davis.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
* biographies of opera singers and classical musicians, and also
* popular ghost stories.
His full name is Richard Michael Davis.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 23, 2026
This is a review of the 1980 American edition, published under the rather generic title of SF 1. I think there were three such anthologies put out by Armada. I've read a slew of sci-fi anthologies for adults recently, so this made a nice change ... although I could've done without a story ruthlessly killing a cat.
Intended for UK adolescents, this is an original fiction anthology from eight authors. I only liked three out of the nine stories, with two others being so-so. These writers, although experienced authors, seemed mostly out of their depth with sci-fi. Unusual kids seemed to be the main theme, which got a bit monotonous.
Illustrations in black and white were by Jim Cawthorn. They weren't bad, but were a bit stiff.
Selections:
* "Introduction" by Our Editor. Science! Fiction! Is! Great!
* "The Rains of Alpha Aleph" by Julia Birley. Clyde gets stranded on a desert planet, which suddenly rains for the first time in a thousand years. And then things get interesting.
* "Flap" by Tim Stout. Horrible (and scientifically impossible) story about a kid denied pets (and had his pets killed/taken away) who gets a dinosaur egg. Soon after, the egg hatches, and his father wants to sell it to the highest bidder. WARNING: The father kills his wife's cat.
* "At the Bottom of the Garden" by David Campton. A rather horrifying comedy of errors about an accident prone housewife, her ignored daughter, and her daughter's imaginary friend.
* "The Lonely Robot" by Margaret Little. A household robot is accidentally given some feelings, including loneliness, as his dead owner's heirs squabble over the estate. He runs away, to a predictable adventure.
* "Mr. Nobody" by Rosemary Timperley. An interesting premise of a brain transplant, but ultimately it boils down to, "You can't fix stupid."
* "Who Is Cindy?" By Elisabeth Fancett. I'm tempted to answer, "The youngest one in curls." There are a bunch of Cindys in an English school. But none of them are registered! Ah, those wacky pre-Columbine days.
* "The Trodes" by Basil Copper. Weird kid acts weird, annoying all the adults he comes into contact with. Underneath, the story shows how frightened many adults are by kids.
* "Jake's Pictures" by Margaret Little. This would fit right in with an Alfred Hitchcock Presents book. Urban fantasy about a thief renting a room in a home with a peculiar little boy.
* "The Wait" by Chris Parr. The most different story in the collection. Told mostly in the viewpoint of a gigantic alien waiting happily for the arrival of the first human explorers to his planet. And then they show up, and things do not go as planned.
Intended for UK adolescents, this is an original fiction anthology from eight authors. I only liked three out of the nine stories, with two others being so-so. These writers, although experienced authors, seemed mostly out of their depth with sci-fi. Unusual kids seemed to be the main theme, which got a bit monotonous.
Illustrations in black and white were by Jim Cawthorn. They weren't bad, but were a bit stiff.
Selections:
* "Introduction" by Our Editor. Science! Fiction! Is! Great!
* "The Rains of Alpha Aleph" by Julia Birley. Clyde gets stranded on a desert planet, which suddenly rains for the first time in a thousand years. And then things get interesting.
* "Flap" by Tim Stout. Horrible (and scientifically impossible) story about a kid denied pets (and had his pets killed/taken away) who gets a dinosaur egg. Soon after, the egg hatches, and his father wants to sell it to the highest bidder. WARNING: The father kills his wife's cat.
* "At the Bottom of the Garden" by David Campton. A rather horrifying comedy of errors about an accident prone housewife, her ignored daughter, and her daughter's imaginary friend.
* "The Lonely Robot" by Margaret Little. A household robot is accidentally given some feelings, including loneliness, as his dead owner's heirs squabble over the estate. He runs away, to a predictable adventure.
* "Mr. Nobody" by Rosemary Timperley. An interesting premise of a brain transplant, but ultimately it boils down to, "You can't fix stupid."
* "Who Is Cindy?" By Elisabeth Fancett. I'm tempted to answer, "The youngest one in curls." There are a bunch of Cindys in an English school. But none of them are registered! Ah, those wacky pre-Columbine days.
* "The Trodes" by Basil Copper. Weird kid acts weird, annoying all the adults he comes into contact with. Underneath, the story shows how frightened many adults are by kids.
* "Jake's Pictures" by Margaret Little. This would fit right in with an Alfred Hitchcock Presents book. Urban fantasy about a thief renting a room in a home with a peculiar little boy.
* "The Wait" by Chris Parr. The most different story in the collection. Told mostly in the viewpoint of a gigantic alien waiting happily for the arrival of the first human explorers to his planet. And then they show up, and things do not go as planned.
August 5, 2018
Nice collection of short stories, but considering all were published in 1975, there were a few that were very dated at the time. Overall a good read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews