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Decade #1
Decade, the 1940's
The Decade anthologies present the eighty-year history of science fiction in the most relevant way - by collecting the stories which have gone to make it up. Each volume, complete in itself, takes from a single decade the tales which are best, not only as history, but as entertainment.
223 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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About the author
Brian W. Aldiss
834 books674 followersPseudonyms: Jael Cracken, Peter Pica, John Runciman, C.C. Shackleton, Arch Mendicant, & "Doc" Peristyle.
Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.
Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads
Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.
Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 4, 2012
Co-Operate - Or Else! (1942) by A.E. van Vogt 5/5
Reason (1941) by Isaac Asimov 4.5/5
Arena (1944) by Fredric Brown 5/5
Fireproof (1949) by Hal Clement 4/5
The Last Objective (1946) by Paul A. Carter 4/5
Huddling Place (1944) by Clifford D. Simak 4/5
Hobbyist (1947) by Eric Frank Russell 4/5
The Xi Effect (1950) by R. S. Richardson 4/5
Introduction (Decade: The 1940s) essay by Brian W. Aldiss 5/5
Reason (1941) by Isaac Asimov 4.5/5
Arena (1944) by Fredric Brown 5/5
Fireproof (1949) by Hal Clement 4/5
The Last Objective (1946) by Paul A. Carter 4/5
Huddling Place (1944) by Clifford D. Simak 4/5
Hobbyist (1947) by Eric Frank Russell 4/5
The Xi Effect (1950) by R. S. Richardson 4/5
Introduction (Decade: The 1940s) essay by Brian W. Aldiss 5/5
December 10, 2012
In the future there are NO WOMEN!!!! I kinda couldn't believe that in this whole book there wasn't a female character in any of the stories! I do enjoy quite a bit of pulp from this period and that definitely contains female characters, I didn't think the scifi would be that much worse! I don't know whether to play the writers or the editors, but it was quite dissapointing.
The first story by A.E. Van Vogt starts with what the introduction calls the classic scifi cliche of a professor with a gun and and alien (which immediately made me think of River Song) the story was ok, Alien who was quite alien and human have to try and get along and there's lots of jungle adventure while also considering the pros and cons of colonialism. Then there was a really nice Asmiov story about a robot who thinks and decides that the humans can't possibly be his creator and comes up with his own religion to explain his existance. In Battlestar Galactica it never made sense to me why the robots had religion (except to make it awkward for the viewers) but Asimov, of course, did it in a way that made sense and still pointed out how absurd it was. In the end the humans decided the robots should keep their religion as it made them incredibly efficient workers. It was a great story and is the only reason I'm holding onto this book. Fredric Brown's story Arena was basically the same story later used in the Star Trek episode where Kirk goes and fights the lizard on the planet. Here however the humans were fighitng odd aliens that were balls with pods. And in the end the human figured out a way to kill his opponent and subsequently wipe out his species. Hal Clement's Fireproof about sabateours on a space station didn't so much seem a story but an attempt to get kids interested in chemistry.Carter's The Last objective should have been a fairly grim post-apocalyptic story of war in quite a distopian setting, but the basic presmise of building machines to go burrowing through the earth to come out on the other side to fight just made the whole thing seem a bit silly. Huddling place almost had a woman in it, the main characters mother appeared at the funeral but didn't say or do anything. It was one of the better stories, dealing with agoraphobia in a futuristic society, much like Asimov did in his second robot detective novel. Hobbyist had a female character but it was a chimp named Laura who was capable of speech but had very low intelligence and I gave up on it pretty quickly as I did with the last story in the book, the Xi effect. I realy can't recommend this one at all, and definitely won't be looking for any more in this series. Though if you find the Asimov story in another collection it's definitely worth reading!
The first story by A.E. Van Vogt starts with what the introduction calls the classic scifi cliche of a professor with a gun and and alien (which immediately made me think of River Song) the story was ok, Alien who was quite alien and human have to try and get along and there's lots of jungle adventure while also considering the pros and cons of colonialism. Then there was a really nice Asmiov story about a robot who thinks and decides that the humans can't possibly be his creator and comes up with his own religion to explain his existance. In Battlestar Galactica it never made sense to me why the robots had religion (except to make it awkward for the viewers) but Asimov, of course, did it in a way that made sense and still pointed out how absurd it was. In the end the humans decided the robots should keep their religion as it made them incredibly efficient workers. It was a great story and is the only reason I'm holding onto this book. Fredric Brown's story Arena was basically the same story later used in the Star Trek episode where Kirk goes and fights the lizard on the planet. Here however the humans were fighitng odd aliens that were balls with pods. And in the end the human figured out a way to kill his opponent and subsequently wipe out his species. Hal Clement's Fireproof about sabateours on a space station didn't so much seem a story but an attempt to get kids interested in chemistry.Carter's The Last objective should have been a fairly grim post-apocalyptic story of war in quite a distopian setting, but the basic presmise of building machines to go burrowing through the earth to come out on the other side to fight just made the whole thing seem a bit silly. Huddling place almost had a woman in it, the main characters mother appeared at the funeral but didn't say or do anything. It was one of the better stories, dealing with agoraphobia in a futuristic society, much like Asimov did in his second robot detective novel. Hobbyist had a female character but it was a chimp named Laura who was capable of speech but had very low intelligence and I gave up on it pretty quickly as I did with the last story in the book, the Xi effect. I realy can't recommend this one at all, and definitely won't be looking for any more in this series. Though if you find the Asimov story in another collection it's definitely worth reading!
December 9, 2011
Co-operate - or Else! by A.E. Van Vogt
Reason by Isaac Asimov
Arena by Frederic Brown
Fireproof by Hal Clement
The Last Objective by Paul Carter
Huddling Place by Clifford D. Simak
Hobbyist by Eric Frank Russell
The Xi Effect by Philip Latham
Science fiction stories from the 1940s. I've definitely read "Reason" before, which is an amusing story about a robot who finds God. I may also have read "Arena", but maybe I've just read or watched something similar in the past. Old collections of science fiction stories are one of my favourite things to find at BookCrossing meetings.
Reason by Isaac Asimov
Arena by Frederic Brown
Fireproof by Hal Clement
The Last Objective by Paul Carter
Huddling Place by Clifford D. Simak
Hobbyist by Eric Frank Russell
The Xi Effect by Philip Latham
Science fiction stories from the 1940s. I've definitely read "Reason" before, which is an amusing story about a robot who finds God. I may also have read "Arena", but maybe I've just read or watched something similar in the past. Old collections of science fiction stories are one of my favourite things to find at BookCrossing meetings.
October 26, 2024
I enjoyed reading this collection of 1940s science fiction short stories. I had read some of the stories before and enjoyed revisiting some of them. A few brief notes on stories I remember.
Reason (1941) • short story by Isaac Asimov.
An exploration of AI and robots. What if the robots stop following orders and no longer see fit to cooperate with humans? Philosophically, this was a fun critique of a reliance on pure rationalism.
The Last Objective • (1946) • novelette by Paul A. Carter [as by Paul Carter]
When all consuming war has changed humanity, what happens when the final objective of that war is achieved? There were some unfortunate racial elements to this story which came out a year after the end of the Second World War. There was still a lot to enjoy here.
Huddling Place • [City] • (1944) • short story by Clifford D. Simak
An excellent story that feels very relevant to the world of 2020s when social isolation and AI are shaping our lives. It held up quite well. The ending is great.
Fireproof • (1949) • short story by Hal Clement
A hard science fiction story that takes a single scientific idea - about fire in a space station - and explores it well.
The Xi Effect • (1950) • short story by R. S. Richardson.
One of those classic Golden Age SF stories with scientists as the main characters. Only, these scientists aren't quite heroes. They spot a problem and then have to communicate with the public about it. Rather pessimistic and reminded me of today's struggles to respond to climate change.
Reason (1941) • short story by Isaac Asimov.
An exploration of AI and robots. What if the robots stop following orders and no longer see fit to cooperate with humans? Philosophically, this was a fun critique of a reliance on pure rationalism.
The Last Objective • (1946) • novelette by Paul A. Carter [as by Paul Carter]
When all consuming war has changed humanity, what happens when the final objective of that war is achieved? There were some unfortunate racial elements to this story which came out a year after the end of the Second World War. There was still a lot to enjoy here.
Huddling Place • [City] • (1944) • short story by Clifford D. Simak
An excellent story that feels very relevant to the world of 2020s when social isolation and AI are shaping our lives. It held up quite well. The ending is great.
Fireproof • (1949) • short story by Hal Clement
A hard science fiction story that takes a single scientific idea - about fire in a space station - and explores it well.
The Xi Effect • (1950) • short story by R. S. Richardson.
One of those classic Golden Age SF stories with scientists as the main characters. Only, these scientists aren't quite heroes. They spot a problem and then have to communicate with the public about it. Rather pessimistic and reminded me of today's struggles to respond to climate change.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2024
Solid. 2 excellent stories by fairly unknown writers - 'The Xi Effect' by Philip Latham, and 'The Last Objective' by Paul Carter. No outright duds.
December 28, 2014
I like the classic tales of science fiction. The Sense of Wonder is strong here in these stories.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews