Astounding: John W. Campbell Memorial Anthology

by Harry Harrison (Editor, Author), Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson

Astounding: John W. Campbell Memorial Anthology is a 1973 anthology honoring American science fiction and fantasy editor John W. Campbell, in the form of an anthology of short stories by various science fiction authors, edited by Harry Harrison. It was first published in hardcover by Random House as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club, and first published in paperback by Ballantine Books.

The stories were contributed by writers who had been previously published in the pages of Analog, the publication that Campbell had edited for many years. The book includes a foreword by Isaac Asimov and an afterword by Harry Harrison, and each story is prefaced by comments either by the author or the editor. It won the 1974 Locus Award for Best Anthology.

Contents:
"The Father of Science Fiction" (introduction by Isaac Asimov)
"Lodestar" (Poul Anderson)
"Thiotimoline to the Stars" (Isaac Asimov)
"Something Up There Likes Me" (Alfred Bester)
"Lecture Demonstration" (Hal Clement)
"Early Bird" (Theodore Cogswell and Theodore L. Thomas)
"The Emperor's Fan" (L. Sprague de Camp)
"Brothers" (Gordon R. Dickson)
"The Mothballed Spaceship" (Harry Harrison)
"Black Sheep Astray" (Mack Reynolds)
"Epilog" (Clifford D. Simak)
"The External Triangle" (George O. Smith)
"Helix the Cat" (Theodore Sturgeon)
"Probability Zero! The Population Implosion" (Theodore R. Cogswell)
"Afterword" (Harry Harrison)

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

302 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1973

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tribute volume to Campbell, by writers who wrote for his magazines. Many haven't aged well, and I didn't reread them all. TOC is at the top.

The standouts were "Something Up There Likes Me" by Alfred Bester: romantic SF about a self-aware satellite, which gets the best interior art (all by Kelly Freas) and "The Emperor's Fan" by L. Sprague de Camp: an oriental-flavored fantasy, in the same setting as his novel "The Fallible Fiend" (which I also recommend). "Early Bird" by Cogswell & Thomas is almost a parody of a Campbellian Earthmen Triumphant story: silly and fun. Also above-average are the Mack Reynolds, an El Hasaan sequel, and the Clifford D. Simak, a nice pastoral "City" sequel. Theodore Sturgeon's "Helix the Cat" was rejected by Campbell circa 1939. Despite being older than almost anyone in the audience, it's, well, not bad. OK, pretty bad. Helix is possibly the most obnoxious talking cat in fantastic literature.

Lord knows how long I've owned a copy. I know it's been many years since I last read it. Not really worth seeking out, but the stories I mention (except perhaps the Sturgeon) are all readable or better. Weak 3 stars for the anthology.

Here's a full review, by my old Usenet pal James Davis Nicoll: https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/o...

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, it may seem unfair to rate this with five stars, but it's not so much the anthology itself, but the concept. I've read many better anthologies, but this is truly astounding in it's own right. Now, the first thing that you must remember, is that it's supposed to be patterned after the golden age of Astounding, in the late 30s & early 40s; right after John W. Campbell became the editor of Astounding. It's purposefully nostalgic.
Overall, it's a highly entertaining anthology, but the concept behind it is amazing. After Campbell's death in 1971, some of his friends/writers, got together to make this for him. Writing new additions, to old stories, some of which had not been used in years. Hell, George O. Smith used a story that was originally rejected by Campbell, because he found it years after, with a letter, in which Campbell praised it. The stories are definitely on the strangely fantastic side, but you have to think of the time period they're trying to emulate.
I gave this five stars, because it was a very fitting tribute to the Father of Modern SF & it stands as a testament to what he did. His influence will forever remain a piece of SF literature & literature in general. This may not be the greatest SF anthology, but it's worth the time to pick up & read.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology that Harrison edited as a memorial to John W. Campbell, containing original stories from thirteen writers most identified with Campbell, many of which are set in series originally published in the Campbell-edited Astounding. Campbell has fallen out of favor in recent years, but his place as a major force in the foundation of modern science fiction is inarguable; the book has a nice introduction by Isaac Asimov explaining his importance. One major drawback was that Harrison was unable to get stories from Campbell's most famous writers, such as Heinlein, Hubbard, or van Vogt. I most liked the stories by Alfred Bester, Theodore Sturgeon, Hal Clement, and Gordon R. Dickson. My favorite was Clifford D. Simak's pastoral postscript to City.

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another uneven anthology. The idea is endearing, though. The stories were collected from a group of writers who were often published by John W. Campbell to pay tribute to the late, great editor of science fiction. Some brief intros about their various relationships to Campbell before each story. I've never really read the magazines, only stories that have been selected for anthologies, so I can't really say how well they match a typical Astounding submission. Many were the typical bland "adventure story in space" that tends to pass for science fiction. My favorite was probably the Alfred Bester story about an emergent intelligence on a satellite, written in his usual snappy style. The worst was the Asimov story that was all about Asimov himself and how great he is, and ends on a fantastically stupid play on words. This particular edition has some production issues. Two spots where text is out of order on the page, numerous typos, and the text is laid in too close to the binding, so you have to practically break the binding to read it in some places.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading "Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction" recently, this book appealed to me. I'd also read a review that claimed it's the best SF anthology ever. It's not. Most of the stories are good. A couple revisit notable "Astounding" series. I put the ones I'm not familiar with aside for a day in the future after I've read the early material. The introductions by each author, telling of their memories of Campbell, are good reading. The story by de Camp, "The Emporer's Fan," is excellent. A couple of the stories are more fantasy than SF.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine tribute to one of the most important editors in the history of the genre, this book gathers together many of the stars of the Golden Age of science fiction, each of whom has produced a story in the style of the works they had published by one of Campbell's magazines. In several cases, the works are continuations or epilogues of series published in Astounding/Analog, in other cases, they are simply new pieces inspired by the style of those publications. Each one would be worthy of a place in the magazines, and many of them are gems.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a memorial for John W. Campbell, one of the best and almost certainly the most influential science fiction editor of all time. The stories are by people who had dealt with him, often closely and repeatedly. Most of the stories are based on characters and worlds that the authors had published in _Astounding_ before. As with any anthology, some stories are better than others, but range from mediocre to very good. The tributes to Campbell are brief but add a lot to the book as well.

[Forked Radish]

"Thiotimoline to the Stars" by Issac Asimov: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Wow! Better than sliced meatloaf! Asimov proves there is no scientific progress linked to eventuality, there's just science and 🐴💩. The only errors are that there is no universal time, creative evolution aka Darwinism was obsoleted by genetics in 1865, and the Earth is only ~50k years old.

[Mars · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book of short stories, quite a few of them truly abysmal, and a handful in the not-too-bad variery, but none to write home about.

[Brett]

Science Fiction,Anthology

[Robert Walrod · Rating 2 out of 5]

Highlights: "Lodestar," "The Emperor's Fan,"The Mothballed Spaceship."