The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack

by Gardner Dozois (Editor)

The fifth volume in the Science Fiction Megapack series collects 25 tales of high adventure through other worlds and times, including 5 Hugo and Nebula Award-winners and nominees. Featured this time are:

AGAPE AMONG THE ROBOTS, by Allen Steele
THE STARSHIP MECHANIC, by Jay Lake and Ken Scholes
PEACEMAKER, by Gardner Dozois
OR ALL THE SEAS WITH OYSTERS, by Avram Davidson
GRANDMA, by Carol Emshwiller
THE GIFT BEARER, by Charles L. Fontenay
I, ROBOT, by Cory Doctorow
ALL RIGHTS, by Pamela Sargent
THE EICHMANN VARIATIONS, by George Zebrowski
MAY BE SOME TIME, by Brenda W. Clough
CYBERPUNK, by Bruce Bethke
MILLENNIUM, by Everett B. Cole
JOIN OUR GANG? by Sterling E. Lanier
GREYLORN, by Keith Laumer
JUMPING THE LINE, by Grania Davis
HE’S ONLY HUMAN, by Lawrence Watt-Evans
THE WASONICA CORRECTION, by James C. Stewart
CIRCUS, by Alan E. Nourse
THE HATED, by Frederik Pohl
CODE THREE, by Rick Raphael
COST OF LIVING, by Robert Sheckley
THIS IS KLON CALLING, by Walter J. Sheldon
THE BIG BOUNCE, by Walter S. Tevis
THE RISK PROFESSION, by Donald E. Westlake
THE FIRE EGGS, by Darrell Schweitzer

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

479 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Gardner Raymond Dozois was an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004. He won multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, both as an editor and a writer of short fiction.
Wikipedia entry: Gardner Dozois

http://us.macmillan.com/author/gardne...

Reviews

[jersey9000 · Rating 4 out of 5]

By now, I think you guys know how this one will turn out. These Packs have been great fun to read, and this one continues that tradition. Standouts for me were "Grandma" and "This is Klon Calling". As they have gone on the stories have gotten more and more modern, so it has been like a trip through the history of science fiction, starting off with the very beginings of the pulp genre back in Pack 1, and arriving here, which has some attempts to emulate the "retro" style. Full circle, or something like that. Good stuff.

[Julio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una mezcla (enorme!) de viejos clásicos y de nuevos descubrimientos. De viejos conocidos (Sheckley, Pohl, Zebrowski, Sargent, etc) y de nuevos (o antiguos) no tan conocidos. Un tanto irregular, pero en promedio excelente. Miles de páginas para saborear buenos cuentos, cortos, medianos y largos, en todos los estilos pero todos con la misma indestructible pasión de la buena ciencia ficción.

[Stohelit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wholeheartedly recommend this collection! For me, there wasn't one bad egg in this basket. Really good short-stories.

[Roland Garrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm hooked on these megapacks. Great reading for small time blocks. Lunch, waiting for something (MD appt, dinner reservation, etc.).

[Carole O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent value as always, these Megapacks are jampacked with Science fiction story's and I love them, a treat any scifi lover would appreciate.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, who knows maybe there are some gems further along, but only have made it to the ninth entry. Grandma was almost clever, but really just too tiresome. Too many wannabes, too many otherwise rejects for me.

[marylouisesholl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read!

Unfortunately, about half the stories appear in other collections. Regardless, I enjoyed most, even for the second or third time

[Earl Truss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the better megapacks. Again, the quality values though.

[Ricky Kimsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fine Mix Of Stories

This is a fine mix of stories covering several decades. They go from humorous to thoughtful. I'm sure there's a story in here that you will enjoy.

[David Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good collection.

As usual a good collection of public domain sf, recent and vintage. There's a particularly good story about consumer debt.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual with anthologies, several excellent stories, most were good to very good and a few not so great. Majority quite readable. Worth reading.

[Mark Catalfano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked "Millennium" by Everett B. Cole, "The Hated" by Frederick Pohl, and "The Risk Profession" by Donald E. Westlake

[Luke Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I got the book for "may be some time" by Brenda Clough. Well done antarctic-explorer themed speculative fiction; sort-of a fresh take on the rip van winkle story.

[Bill Borre]

"Circus" by Alan E. Nourse - Parks comes from another world similar to Earth and tries to convince someone of the truth of his words so that he can gain funds to build a guide beam and return home. He finds that the only writer who believes him cannot help him because he is an author of science fiction.

"He’s Only Human" by Lawrence Watt-Evans - Aliens infiltrate Earth politics fifty years ago in order to prevent nuclear holocaust. Two of them disguised as American politicians are disappointed to learn the decision has been made to return governance to the humans.

"The Hated" by Frederik Pohl - Byron travels to Mars with five other men and when he returns to Earth he needs to go through psychological deprogramming to handle his murderous impulses directed at them.

"Join Our Gang?" by Sterling E. Lanier - A planet balks at joining the Combine so Great White Sharks, Giant Squid and other animals are deposited there as biological weapons to ensure compliance.

"The Starship Mechanic" by Jay Lake and Ken Scholes - Penauch is a malfunctioning starship mechanic that falls from the sky to Earth. It stays at a bookstore until its owners return for it.

"Cost of Living" by Robert Sheckley - In the future consumerism has produced such high levels of debt that children are expected to take on a portion of their parent's debt.

"This Is Klon Calling" by Walter J. Sheldon - wc

[James Scanlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining collection

A wide variety, vintage to contemporary science fiction. Good selection well told tales for some lesser known st names plus some from masters of the genera. Good reads!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of Martians.