Not the Only Planet: Science Fiction Travel Stories

by Damien Broderick

Like a cyborg and his spaceship, travel and science fiction have always gone together. Not the Only Planet brings together a unique collection of stories about travel by internationally celebrated sf writers.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

250 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Damien Francis Broderick was an Australian science fiction and popular science writer and editor of some 74 books. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction credits him with the first usage of the term "virtual reality" in science-fiction, in his 1982 novel The Judas Mandala.

Reviews

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1998, 'Not the Only Planet' is a short anthology of travel themed SF short stories. The 10 stories have been first published between the years 1972 and 1997, and are written by some of the best sf writers. The quality is very high, although some of the stories have also been used in other anthologies. The longest tale, 'Seven Nights' by Gene Wolfe probably qualifies to be a novella, whilst the shortest is Joanna Russ's 'Useful Phrases for the Tourist'. Regardless of the length, I enjoyed all of them, which is unusual as anthologies usually have one or two duds.

[fred · Rating 2 out of 5]

look what they're doing to our sci fi anthologies dawg
dnf @ pg50

[Raj · Rating 3 out of 5]

The short stories in this collection are linked by the theme of travel, something not unexpected from the publishers, Lonely Planet. There were a couple of stories that felt familiar, one, Let's Go to Golgotha!, that I had definitely read before (but is definitely worth reading), and some very good ones. In particular I'd pick out Gene Wolfe's Seven American Nights for its wonderful descriptions and language and Robert Silverberg's Trips for its wanderlust, ideas and general coolness. Definitely a collection to that's worth reading even if, like me, you're a confirmed stay-at-home type.

[Isabel (kittiwake) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of science fiction travel stories. My favourite stories are "Tourists" by Lisa Goldstein and "Seven American Nights" by Gene Wolfe.