Amazing Stories: 60 Years of the Best Science Fiction

by Isaac Asimov (Editor), Martin H. Greenberg (Editor)

Contents: The revolt of the pedestrians--The Gostak and the Doshes-Pigrimage--I, Robert--The strange flight of Richard Clayton--etc.

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories

255 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1985

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, celebrated it's 60th in 1986. Although it published a slew of absolutely dreadful stuff, they also published bone-fide classics. This collection only has a few of those stories (which can be found in a zillion other anthologies), but focuses mostly on lesser-known stories from well respected authors that was published in the magazine.

This anthology was better than average, but still includes stories that were a part of a series, and at least one story that's a head-scratcher. Get ready for misogyny, speciesism, and stories that seem Goddamned silly in light of scientific discoveries since 1985. There is also an interesting little collection of cover art.

Selections:

* "Introduction: Amazing Stories and I" by Isaac Asimov. Reasonably interesting look at the mag and the Good Doctor's relationship with it, including mentions of stories he loved as a kid but didn't as an adult.
* "The Revolt of the Pedestrians" by David H Keller, MD. This 1928 horror/sci-fi story references the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Sadly, just last week, the 198 year old museum announced its closure. Anyway, in this nightmarish future America, people live entirely in cars, and anyone who can walk are considered pests to be killed. There's a lot of cringe here -- description of a child merrily shooting and eating a duck, condemnation of "the new love between women", incest, and the slaughter of millions.
* "The Gostak and the Doshes" by Miles J. Bruer. This a-little-too-clever story from 1930 looks at travel to the fourth dimension, physics, linguistics and nationalism. The first couple of pages are tough, but stick with it.
* "Pilgrimage" by Nelson Bond. This has also been published under the title, "The Preistess Who Rebelled." This was first published in 1939. In a future America, men and women still can't get along.
* "I, Robot" by Eando Binder/Earl and Otto Binder. This 1939 effort was the first in the Adam Link series. Isaac Asimov would claim this story got him writing about robots. This is a sad robot version of Frankenstein, set in 1939 America. The best character is the little dog, Terry. WARNING: Terry dies.
* "The Strange Flight of Richard Clayton" by Robert Bloch. Although best known for Psycho, Bloch wrote a good lot of science fiction. In yet another story from 1939, a really rich guy has a rocket built to fly him to Mars and back. What will those wacky sci-fi writers think of next?
* "The Perfect Woman" by Robert Sheckley. This 1954 story predicts The Stepford Wives by almost 20 years.
* "Momento Homo" by Walter M. Miller, Jr. A dying old astronaut recalls his life. His low paying career "after the war" is equivalent to sailors in love with the sea. One of the best things Miller ever wrote.
* "What is This Thing Called Love?" By Isaac Asimov. This was also published under the rather more intriguing title of, "Playboy and the Slime God." Two aliens just can't wrap their minds around the way humans have sex. This was one of the first Isaac Asimov stories I ever read, and I still remember it vividly.
* "Requiem" by Edmund Hamilton. First published in 1962, the science about the death of the Earth and of yellow stars is way off, considering what we know now, but keep with it. The bittersweet story itself is quite interesting and touching.
* "Hang Head, Vandal!" By Mark Clifton. Another 1962 story. Since Mars has been discovered to be a dead world, humans decide to hold nuclear tests there. What could possibly go wrong? Only everything.
* "Drunkboat" by Cordwainer Smith/Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger. This was part of the Instrumentality of Mankind series. If you're not familiar with the series, then you're shit out of luck. Story makes no damn sense. Published in 1963, Our Protagonist has the extremely unfortunate name of Rambo.
* "Insert: 60 Years of Amazing Stories' Covers" This full color insert appears in the middle of "Drunkboat." Only a few covers and one illustration appears, including the 50th anniversary cover, the cover where "Drunkboat" appeared, and some naked women.
* "The Days of Perky Pat" by Philip K. Dick. This 1963 story was the basis for Dick's novel, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Survivors of a hydrogen bomb war survive on care packages from Martians, and a game inspired by a Barbie-like doll called Perky Pat.
* "Semley's Necklace" by Ursula K. LeGuin. Also published under the title, "The Dowry of Angyar." A blend of fantasy and sci-fi, a woman from a once wealthy family searches for her ancestor's fabled necklace to give to her husband. Predictable and sad.
* "Calling Dr. Clockwork" by Robert Goulart. This 1965 satirical piece about healthcare in the future isn't so funny ... because it's basically come true. We don't yet have android doctors, and charity hospitals have vanished, but being trapped inside a hospital and insurance system did happen. And there are certainly doctors who won't listen to you, or want to touch you.
* "There's No Vinism Like Chauvinism" by John Jakes. Real wars have turned into a conspiracy of fake wars with actors ... until somebody decides to use real bullets. WARNING: Cow shot to death. Some racism.
* "The Oogenesis of Bird City" by Philip Jose Farmer. Blacks are segregated in a "freebird city" in a future America. Rather dreary. This was written when Blacks were called Negroes.
* "The Man Who Walked Home" by James Tiptree, Jr/Racoona Sheldon/Alice Hastings Bradley/etc. You can find this in a dozen other anthologies. Apparently, time travel first happened in 1989 and we all somehow missed it. A guy stuck in time keeps appearing to freak out the onlookers.
* "Manikins" by John Varley. Interesting, creepy ... but ultimately, "Huh?"
* "In the Islands" by Pat Murphy. Bittersweet, multilayered story of a marine biologist finding the ultimate marine animal. WARNING: Dreams of dissection, live lobsters for dinner and being told that animals don't feel pain.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an anthology consisting of short stories published in the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. The selected stories cover 60 years in the life of the magazine, with initial publications ranging from 1928-1983. It's interesting to see the changes over time, but there seems to be quite a leap in quality to the stories I read that are published today; many of the ones collected in this volume are pretty old-fashioned, and some of them are pretty basic. Honestly I prefer the more modern stories generally, but, you know, I like reading older collections too, simply because I enjoy short stories and like to see how they evolve within the genre.

Overall, this is pretty average. There are stories here by Le Guin and Tiptree, but in neither case is it their best work I think. Most of the rest I can take or leave; as with most collections some of the stories appeal much more than others. On the down side is the truly execrable "There's No Vinism Like Chauvinism" by John Jakes, but to balance that out there was one genuinely outstanding story here, that dragged up the anthology rating to three stars by main force. "Requiem", by Edmond Hamilton, originally published in 1962, is a very quiet, very restrained story about the observation of the dying Earth, and it was absolutely lovely.