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The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume IV
Contents:
Introduction · Terry Carr
Ill Met in Lankhmar [Fafhrd & Gray Mouser] · Fritz Leiber
Slow Sculpture · Theodore Sturgeon
The Missing Man [Rescue Squad] · Katherine MacLean
The Queen of Air and Darkness · Poul Anderson
Good News from the Vatican · Robert Silverberg
A Meeting with Medusa · Arthur C. Clarke
Goat Song · Poul Anderson
When It Changed · Joanna Russ
The Death of Dr. Island · Gene Wolfe
Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand [Snake] · Vonda N. McIntyre
Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death · James Tiptree, Jr.
Born with the Dead · Robert Silverberg
If the Stars Are Gods · Gordon Eklund & Gregory Benford
The Day Before the Revolution · Ursula K. Le Guin
432 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1986
2 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
Terry Carr
219 books31 followersCarr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley from 1954 to 1959.
Carr discovered science fiction fandom in 1949, where he became an enthusiastic publisher of fanzines, which later helped open his way into the commercial publishing world. (He was one of the two fans responsible for the hoax fan 'Carl Brandon' after whom the Carl Brandon Society takes its name.) Despite a long career as a science fiction professional, he continued to participate as a fan until his death. He was nominated five times for Hugos for Best Fanzine (1959–1961, 1967–1968), winning in 1959, was nominated three times for Best Fan Writer (1971–1973), winning in 1973, and was Fan Guest of Honor at ConFederation in 1986.
Though he published some fiction in the early 1960s, Carr concentrated on editing. He first worked at Ace Books, establishing the Ace Science Fiction Specials series which published, among other novels, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin.
After conflicts with Ace head Donald A. Wollheim, he worked as a freelancer. He edited an original story anthology series called Universe, and a popular series of The Best Science Fiction of the Year anthologies that ran from 1972 until his death in 1987. He also edited numerous one-off anthologies over the same time span. He was nominated for the Hugo for Best Editor thirteen times (1973–1975, 1977–1979, 1981–1987), winning twice (1985 and 1987). His win in 1985 was the first time a freelance editor had won.
Carr taught at the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State University in 1978, where his students included Richard Kadrey and Pat Murphy.
Carr discovered science fiction fandom in 1949, where he became an enthusiastic publisher of fanzines, which later helped open his way into the commercial publishing world. (He was one of the two fans responsible for the hoax fan 'Carl Brandon' after whom the Carl Brandon Society takes its name.) Despite a long career as a science fiction professional, he continued to participate as a fan until his death. He was nominated five times for Hugos for Best Fanzine (1959–1961, 1967–1968), winning in 1959, was nominated three times for Best Fan Writer (1971–1973), winning in 1973, and was Fan Guest of Honor at ConFederation in 1986.
Though he published some fiction in the early 1960s, Carr concentrated on editing. He first worked at Ace Books, establishing the Ace Science Fiction Specials series which published, among other novels, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin.
After conflicts with Ace head Donald A. Wollheim, he worked as a freelancer. He edited an original story anthology series called Universe, and a popular series of The Best Science Fiction of the Year anthologies that ran from 1972 until his death in 1987. He also edited numerous one-off anthologies over the same time span. He was nominated for the Hugo for Best Editor thirteen times (1973–1975, 1977–1979, 1981–1987), winning twice (1985 and 1987). His win in 1985 was the first time a freelance editor had won.
Carr taught at the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State University in 1978, where his students included Richard Kadrey and Pat Murphy.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 4, 2012
The problem with volume III and IV of this series is that Nebula winners, being chosen by authors, are often about what authors find clever. Most of the stories are so cerebral and cryptic I often found myself finishing a story and asking “what the heck was that?”. I’m a reader, not a literature major, and the majority of the stories just didn’t make any sense. UGH!
March 28, 2016
An good collection of 70's science fiction works. More mainstream old SF than not but there are a few outliers. I may not have read this particular collection, but I've read all of the stories listed.
August 16, 2021
This anthology of Nebula Award winning stories from 1970 through 1974 contains several classics and a few that have not aged well. Terry Carr provides an informative introduction, but there are no individual introductions to the stories to provide greater context. It would have been instructive if the book had had at least included a table with all of the Nebula Award finalists for those years, so the reader must go elsewhere for that kind of information. For students of science fiction history, this is a valuable collection.
"Ill Met in Lankhmar" by Fritz Leiber (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1970 - novella) 1971 Hugo Award winner and 1971 Nebula Award winner
4 Stars
This is part of Leiber's long running series featuring Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser that began in 1939. This story tells how the two adventurers first met and the tragedy that bonded them together. Leiber paints marvelous word pictures in a fun tale that is essentially an action/adventure without too much introspection.
"Slow Sculpture" by Theodore Sturgeon (Galaxy Magazine, February 1970 - short story) 1971 Hugo Award winner (short story) and 1971 Nebula Award winner (novelette)
4 Stars
The slow sculpture is revealed to be a bonsai tree, although one as large as a normal tree and not the miniature ones we are used to. The tree is cared for by an eccentric engineer who claims to have a cure for cancer. When a young woman with breast cancer stumbles upon his estate, he offers to treat her. The story is essentially a thought experiment for Sturgeon's famous philosophy, "Ask the next question."
"The Missing Man" by Katherine MacLean (Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, March 1971 - novella) 1972 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
This buddy cop adventure is enjoyable, but doesn't really hold up. The cops, friends from childhood, live in a desolate city where compulsory sterilization is normal for its less desirable residents. Their assignment is to find a kidnapped computer expert before his knowledge can be used in terrorist attacks by those who are rebelling against the establishment.
"The Queen of Air and Darkness" by Poul Anderson (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1971 - novella) 1972 Hugo Award winner (novella) and 1972 Nebula Award winner (novelette)
4 Stars
This is a first-contact story, with the aliens appearing much like elves or fairies. When the aliens kidnap a young boy, his mother hires a detective with the deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes and the firepower of a one-man army. The story raises questions of manifest destiny and colonialism, as well as other related issues.
"Good News from the Vatican" by Robert Silverberg (Universe 1, 1971 - short story) 1972 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
This is intended to be a humorous satire of religion. A new pope is being chosen and one of the leading candidates is a robot. The story examines this from various viewpoints, both religions and non-religions. It has its thought provoking moments, but is ultimately kind of shallow.
"A Meeting with Medusa" by Arthur C. Clarke (Playboy, December 1971 - novelette) 1972 Hugo Award finalist (novella) and 1973 Nebula Award winner (novella)
4 Stars
A first-contact story featuring a bionic man in a dirigible meeting the indigenous life of Jupiter. It's full of Clarke's ability to extrapolate physics, chemistry, and biology and come up with something intriguing. Clarke leaves it open whether the Jovian lifeforms are intelligent or not.
"Goat Song" by Poul Anderson (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1972 - novelette) 1973 Hugo Award winner and 1973 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
In a future world humanity is dominated by an all-powerful computer, SUM, a harper mourns his dead love, and desires nothing but her resurrection. SUM agrees to return the harper's love under certain conditions. The harper tries, but fails to meet those conditions and SUM takes his lover away. The harper then spends the rest of his life convincing the rest of humanity to destroy SUM. This is essentially a retelling of a Greek tragedy (i.e., goat song) as a science fictional warning against the loss of our souls to machines. The prose is stylish, but not as clear as it could be.
"When It Changed" by Joanna Russ (Again, Dangerous Visions, March 1972 - short story) 1973 Hugo Award finalist and 1973 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
I'm sure this was a radical piece of sf when it was first published, but this tale of an all-female planet being invaded by men seems dated by today's standards, which in a way is a good thing. Today's writers are free to write about diverse cultures of all kinds, thanks in large part to writers like Russ who first broke the unwritten rules concerning gender and sexuality.
"The Death of Dr. Island" by Gene Wolfe (Universe 3, October 1973 - novella) 1974 Hugo Award finalist and 1974 Nebula Award winner
4 Stars
After losing the 1971 Nebula Award for "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories" to No Award, Wolfe came back with this twist on the previous story. A boy on a space station orbiting Jupiter is being counseled by an AI calling itself Dr. Island in a simulation of a tropical island. There are many allusions to classical poetry and mythology, as the psychosis of the boy is slowly revealed.
"Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand" by Vonda N. McIntyre (Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, October 1973 - novelette) 1974 Hugo Award finalist and 1974 Nebula Award winner
5 Stars
This story does a great job introducing us to Snake who uses snakes and their venoms to heal people in need. Snake's mysterious back story fuels her relationships with the people she meets, but it's her relationships with her snakes that makes this story special. McIntyre took this idea and expanded it in 1978 into the award winning novel Dreamsnake.
"Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" by James Tiptree, Jr. (The Alien Condition, April 1973 - short story) 1974 Hugo Award finalist (novelette) and 1974 Nebula Award winner (short story)
3 Stars
An alien named Moggadeet narrates this tale that examines instinct versus free will. Moggadeet finds love with a different kind of alien named Lilliloo. As time goes by, though, the two realize that things aren't what they seem. Tiptree captures the weirdness of the characters and their world, a world in which winters are getting longer, a surprising nod to climate change. The unconventional style seems to be influenced by the New Wave of the 1960s.
"Born with the Dead" by Robert Silverberg (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1974 - novella) 1975 Hugo Award finalist and 1975 Nebula Award winner
4 Stars
This is a nice variation on a zombie story. Recently deceased humans are turned into "deads" by some sort of medical procedure. The deads mainly stick to themselves, considering "warms" to be inferior. One man is obsessed with seeing his deceased wife, but she has no interest in him anymore. He follows her to Zanzibar and other places, being an annoyance to her and her dead friends. Meanwhile, the deads hunt genetically revived, formerly extinct animals, such as the dodo, for sport. The story is an interesting look at what life and death really mean. The ending is a bit obvious, but it is thought provoking.
"If the Stars Are Gods" by Gregory Benford and Gordon Eklund (Universe 4, March 1974 - novelette) 1975 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
This first-contact story would have been right at home in a 1940s or 1950s sf magazine. The protagonist is a can-do white male astronomer/astronaut who is tasked with finding out as much as possible about the aliens in a spaceship orbiting the Moon. The aliens claim they are there to talk with the Sun. Naturally, the man's boss (or anyone else) doesn't believe him and he must act to head off an ignorant delegation of politicians and scientists who think they know better.
"The Day Before the Revolution" by Ursula K. Le Guin (Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1974 - short story) 1975 Hugo Award finalist and 1975 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
This is a character study of an old woman who had helped lead a revolution somewhere in her youth. She reminisces about those times, especially with her now deceased husband, and takes one last look at the town and her supporters who will continue the revolution. There is nothing inherently science fictional in this story—maybe it's set in the future?
"Ill Met in Lankhmar" by Fritz Leiber (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1970 - novella) 1971 Hugo Award winner and 1971 Nebula Award winner
4 Stars
This is part of Leiber's long running series featuring Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser that began in 1939. This story tells how the two adventurers first met and the tragedy that bonded them together. Leiber paints marvelous word pictures in a fun tale that is essentially an action/adventure without too much introspection.
"Slow Sculpture" by Theodore Sturgeon (Galaxy Magazine, February 1970 - short story) 1971 Hugo Award winner (short story) and 1971 Nebula Award winner (novelette)
4 Stars
The slow sculpture is revealed to be a bonsai tree, although one as large as a normal tree and not the miniature ones we are used to. The tree is cared for by an eccentric engineer who claims to have a cure for cancer. When a young woman with breast cancer stumbles upon his estate, he offers to treat her. The story is essentially a thought experiment for Sturgeon's famous philosophy, "Ask the next question."
"The Missing Man" by Katherine MacLean (Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, March 1971 - novella) 1972 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
This buddy cop adventure is enjoyable, but doesn't really hold up. The cops, friends from childhood, live in a desolate city where compulsory sterilization is normal for its less desirable residents. Their assignment is to find a kidnapped computer expert before his knowledge can be used in terrorist attacks by those who are rebelling against the establishment.
"The Queen of Air and Darkness" by Poul Anderson (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1971 - novella) 1972 Hugo Award winner (novella) and 1972 Nebula Award winner (novelette)
4 Stars
This is a first-contact story, with the aliens appearing much like elves or fairies. When the aliens kidnap a young boy, his mother hires a detective with the deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes and the firepower of a one-man army. The story raises questions of manifest destiny and colonialism, as well as other related issues.
"Good News from the Vatican" by Robert Silverberg (Universe 1, 1971 - short story) 1972 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
This is intended to be a humorous satire of religion. A new pope is being chosen and one of the leading candidates is a robot. The story examines this from various viewpoints, both religions and non-religions. It has its thought provoking moments, but is ultimately kind of shallow.
"A Meeting with Medusa" by Arthur C. Clarke (Playboy, December 1971 - novelette) 1972 Hugo Award finalist (novella) and 1973 Nebula Award winner (novella)
4 Stars
A first-contact story featuring a bionic man in a dirigible meeting the indigenous life of Jupiter. It's full of Clarke's ability to extrapolate physics, chemistry, and biology and come up with something intriguing. Clarke leaves it open whether the Jovian lifeforms are intelligent or not.
"Goat Song" by Poul Anderson (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1972 - novelette) 1973 Hugo Award winner and 1973 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
In a future world humanity is dominated by an all-powerful computer, SUM, a harper mourns his dead love, and desires nothing but her resurrection. SUM agrees to return the harper's love under certain conditions. The harper tries, but fails to meet those conditions and SUM takes his lover away. The harper then spends the rest of his life convincing the rest of humanity to destroy SUM. This is essentially a retelling of a Greek tragedy (i.e., goat song) as a science fictional warning against the loss of our souls to machines. The prose is stylish, but not as clear as it could be.
"When It Changed" by Joanna Russ (Again, Dangerous Visions, March 1972 - short story) 1973 Hugo Award finalist and 1973 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
I'm sure this was a radical piece of sf when it was first published, but this tale of an all-female planet being invaded by men seems dated by today's standards, which in a way is a good thing. Today's writers are free to write about diverse cultures of all kinds, thanks in large part to writers like Russ who first broke the unwritten rules concerning gender and sexuality.
"The Death of Dr. Island" by Gene Wolfe (Universe 3, October 1973 - novella) 1974 Hugo Award finalist and 1974 Nebula Award winner
4 Stars
After losing the 1971 Nebula Award for "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories" to No Award, Wolfe came back with this twist on the previous story. A boy on a space station orbiting Jupiter is being counseled by an AI calling itself Dr. Island in a simulation of a tropical island. There are many allusions to classical poetry and mythology, as the psychosis of the boy is slowly revealed.
"Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand" by Vonda N. McIntyre (Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, October 1973 - novelette) 1974 Hugo Award finalist and 1974 Nebula Award winner
5 Stars
This story does a great job introducing us to Snake who uses snakes and their venoms to heal people in need. Snake's mysterious back story fuels her relationships with the people she meets, but it's her relationships with her snakes that makes this story special. McIntyre took this idea and expanded it in 1978 into the award winning novel Dreamsnake.
"Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" by James Tiptree, Jr. (The Alien Condition, April 1973 - short story) 1974 Hugo Award finalist (novelette) and 1974 Nebula Award winner (short story)
3 Stars
An alien named Moggadeet narrates this tale that examines instinct versus free will. Moggadeet finds love with a different kind of alien named Lilliloo. As time goes by, though, the two realize that things aren't what they seem. Tiptree captures the weirdness of the characters and their world, a world in which winters are getting longer, a surprising nod to climate change. The unconventional style seems to be influenced by the New Wave of the 1960s.
"Born with the Dead" by Robert Silverberg (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1974 - novella) 1975 Hugo Award finalist and 1975 Nebula Award winner
4 Stars
This is a nice variation on a zombie story. Recently deceased humans are turned into "deads" by some sort of medical procedure. The deads mainly stick to themselves, considering "warms" to be inferior. One man is obsessed with seeing his deceased wife, but she has no interest in him anymore. He follows her to Zanzibar and other places, being an annoyance to her and her dead friends. Meanwhile, the deads hunt genetically revived, formerly extinct animals, such as the dodo, for sport. The story is an interesting look at what life and death really mean. The ending is a bit obvious, but it is thought provoking.
"If the Stars Are Gods" by Gregory Benford and Gordon Eklund (Universe 4, March 1974 - novelette) 1975 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
This first-contact story would have been right at home in a 1940s or 1950s sf magazine. The protagonist is a can-do white male astronomer/astronaut who is tasked with finding out as much as possible about the aliens in a spaceship orbiting the Moon. The aliens claim they are there to talk with the Sun. Naturally, the man's boss (or anyone else) doesn't believe him and he must act to head off an ignorant delegation of politicians and scientists who think they know better.
"The Day Before the Revolution" by Ursula K. Le Guin (Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1974 - short story) 1975 Hugo Award finalist and 1975 Nebula Award winner
3 Stars
This is a character study of an old woman who had helped lead a revolution somewhere in her youth. She reminisces about those times, especially with her now deceased husband, and takes one last look at the town and her supporters who will continue the revolution. There is nothing inherently science fictional in this story—maybe it's set in the future?
July 1, 2010
Another of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame volumes (mine is hard cover--not paperback). This one focuses on Nebula winners from 1970-1974. Who are the authors of these "winners"? Fritz Leiber, Theodore Sturgeon, Poul Anderson, Robert Silberverg, Arthur Clarke, Joanna Russ, James Tiptree, Jr., Ursula LeGuin, and so on.
Stories? One of my favorites is by Ursula LeGuin, in which she writes a work on Odo, who is the person with a key role to play in creating the "utopia" that is the centerpiece for her extraordinary novel, "The Dispossessed."
A fine collection indeed. . . .
Stories? One of my favorites is by Ursula LeGuin, in which she writes a work on Odo, who is the person with a key role to play in creating the "utopia" that is the centerpiece for her extraordinary novel, "The Dispossessed."
A fine collection indeed. . . .
January 17, 2019
Enjoyed the Leiber: Ill-Met in Lankhmar; Sturgeon: Slow Sculpture; Clarke: Meeting with Medusa; and Silverberg: Born with the Dead. A few too many challenges among the others, guess I'm disenchanted with allusive writing, especially at longer lengths.
Most disappointed with Wolfe: Death of Doctor Island and the impenetrable Le Guin: The Day Before the Revolution.
Surprised that these were the best to be offered for the period covered.
Most disappointed with Wolfe: Death of Doctor Island and the impenetrable Le Guin: The Day Before the Revolution.
Surprised that these were the best to be offered for the period covered.
Want to read
October 26, 2023Contains the stories:
Ill Met in Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber
Slow Sculpture by Theodore Sturgeon
The Missing Man by Katherine Anne MacLean
The Queen of Air and Darkness by Poul Anderson
Good News from the Vatican by Robert Silverberg
A Meeting with Medusa by Arthur C. Clarke
Goat Song by Poul Anderson
When It Changed by Joanna Russ
The Death of Dr. Island by Gene Wolfe
Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand by Vonda N. McAntyre - 3/5 - story about a post-apocalyptic healer who uses snakes in her art - eventually became the first chapter in Dreamsnake
Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death by James Tiptree Jr. - 4/5 - a story of love and death told from the point of view of a spider-like alien creature
Born with the Dead by Robert Silverberg
If the Stars Are Gods by Gordon Eklund and Gregory Benford
The Day Before the Revolution by Ursula K. Le Guin - 2/5 - prologue to The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia in which not much happens
Ill Met in Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber
Slow Sculpture by Theodore Sturgeon
The Missing Man by Katherine Anne MacLean
The Queen of Air and Darkness by Poul Anderson
Good News from the Vatican by Robert Silverberg
A Meeting with Medusa by Arthur C. Clarke
Goat Song by Poul Anderson
When It Changed by Joanna Russ
The Death of Dr. Island by Gene Wolfe
Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand by Vonda N. McAntyre - 3/5 - story about a post-apocalyptic healer who uses snakes in her art - eventually became the first chapter in Dreamsnake
Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death by James Tiptree Jr. - 4/5 - a story of love and death told from the point of view of a spider-like alien creature
Born with the Dead by Robert Silverberg
If the Stars Are Gods by Gordon Eklund and Gregory Benford
The Day Before the Revolution by Ursula K. Le Guin - 2/5 - prologue to The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia in which not much happens
January 27, 2026
14 stories:
***** Ill Met in Lankhmar (1970) • Fritz Leiber
***** Slow Sculpture (1970) • Theodore Sturgeon
**** The Missing Man (1971) • Katherine MacLean
**** The Queen of Air and Darkness (1971) • Poul Anderson
*** Good News from the Vatican (1971) • Robert Silverberg
** A Meeting with Medusa (1971) • Arthur C. Clarke
**** Goat Song (1972) • Poul Anderson
**** When It Changed (1972) • Joanna Russ
***** The Death of Dr. Island (1973) • Gene Wolfe
**** Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand (1973) • Vonda N. McIntyre
***** Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death (1973) • James Tiptree, Jr.
**** Born with the Dead (1974) • Robert Silverberg
**** If the Stars Are Gods (1974) • Gregory Benford and Gordon Eklund
***** The Day Before the Revolution (1974) • Ursula K. Le Guin
***** Ill Met in Lankhmar (1970) • Fritz Leiber
***** Slow Sculpture (1970) • Theodore Sturgeon
**** The Missing Man (1971) • Katherine MacLean
**** The Queen of Air and Darkness (1971) • Poul Anderson
*** Good News from the Vatican (1971) • Robert Silverberg
** A Meeting with Medusa (1971) • Arthur C. Clarke
**** Goat Song (1972) • Poul Anderson
**** When It Changed (1972) • Joanna Russ
***** The Death of Dr. Island (1973) • Gene Wolfe
**** Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand (1973) • Vonda N. McIntyre
***** Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death (1973) • James Tiptree, Jr.
**** Born with the Dead (1974) • Robert Silverberg
**** If the Stars Are Gods (1974) • Gregory Benford and Gordon Eklund
***** The Day Before the Revolution (1974) • Ursula K. Le Guin
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews