Frontiers in Space

by E.F. Bleiler (editor), T.E. Dikty (editor), William Tenn

Frontiers in Space (an anthology originally published in 1955) contains a selection from the second, third and fourth volumes of The Best Science Fiction Stories of E.F. Bleiler and T.E. Dikty (1951-1953).

• Oddy and Id - (1950) - Alfred Bester
• Process - (1950) - A. E. van Vogt
• The Star Ducks - (1950) - Bill Brown
• To Serve Man - (1950) - Damon Knight
• The Fox in the Forest - (1950) - Ray Bradbury (variant Fox and the Forest)
• Nine-Finger Jack - (1951) - Anthony Boucher
• Dark Interlude - (1951) - Fredric Brown and Mack Reynolds
• Generation of Noah - (1951) - William Tenn
• The Rats - (1951) - Arthur Porges
• Ararat - (1952) - Zenna Henderson
• The Moon Is Green - (1952) - Fritz Leiber
• Survival - (1952) - John Wyndham
• Machine - (1952) - John Jakes
• I Am Nothing - (1952) - Eric Frank Russell

Genres: Science Fiction

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) (see also Everett F. Bleiler) was an editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" series of science fiction anthologies, and his Checklist of Fantastic Literature has been called "the foundation of modern SF bibliography". Among his other scholarly works are two Hugo Award–nominated volumes concerning early science fiction—Science-Fiction: The Early Years and Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years—and the massive Guide to Supernatural Fiction.

Bleiler worked at Dover Publications from 1955, becoming executive vice-president of the company from 1967 until he left the company in 1977; he then worked for Charles Scribner's Sons until 1987. He edited a number of ghost story collections for Dover, containing what the genre historian Mike Ashley has described as "detailed and exemplary introductions".

Bleiler received the Pilgrim Award for lifetime achievement in science fiction scholarship in 1984, the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1988, the First Fandom Hall of Fame award in 1994, and the International Horror Guild Living Legend award in 2004.

Bleiler wrote two works of fiction: the fantasy novel Firegang: A Mythic Fantasy (2006), set in the tree of Yggdrasil as well as moving across time and space, and Magistrate Mai and the Invisible Murderer (2006), a detective story set in ancient China, similar to the work of Robert Van Gulik.

Bleiler's son, Richard, is also a science fiction historian and assisted his father on several of his works.

Reviews

[Joe Santoro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking at the roster of authors on this cover, you'd think it was amazing, especially when you examine further and see it's a 'best of' collection from three previous 'best ofs'.. 1951-1953.

The stories aren't just short though, most are microscopic... under 10 pages. While there are some fun concepts, like the first contact in 'Star Ducks' or the classic 'Oddy and Id' (Which I've read in more than one other collection), quite a few are standard 50s fare... playing on fears of nuclear war with the Russians, race relations, and gender roles.

My favorite is Damon Knight's 'To Serve Man', a great take on a now classic concept. 'The Rats' is a close 2nd, very predictable, but fun none the less. Interestingly, a couple of the stories turn from sci fi to science horror at the end, which was surprising, but made for a couple of the more unique entries. The one I really wish was a novel was 'Ararat', which felt like the middle chapter of a novel I'd like to read. (a bit of research shows the author did in fact write several connected short stories, which is exciting). It's always fun when one of these collections leads one to something new.

The actual content, though, is nothing too exciting... while it's rare I think so, this particular collection really felt 'dated'... in the 'seen it done better' way, not the cool retro way.

[Ginger Vampyre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading science fiction written before I was born is always weird. Things written that were fantastic concepts at the time and are now, almost silly.

One of the stories features trees that have learned atomic warfare. This makes me very sad.

I think the hardest part of reading old stories like these, is the humanity part. Reading about how non-whites are treated as less than a person, how women are inferior and weak in every way. And how humans will burn the planet just to get rid of those who are different. And the realization that not much has changed in the last 60+ years. Gods how depressing.

[Steven Cady]

14 selections from THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION STORIES 51,52, 53. An eclectic bunch with 3 having themes of post nuclear war. Probably the bravest is DARK INTERLUDE by Frederic Brown and Mack Reynolds about a time traveler from the future who marries a backwoods southern woman and is later killed by her brother as he has mixed blood in a post racial future. Many are standard short stories which use the future or space flight to encompass human stories which could be set in any environment.

[Peter Komosinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frontiers in Space, by E.F. Bleiler, tells the story of some of the first missions every started to outer-space and tells the exciting and risk-taking story of people who sacrificed their lives to go on these missions. The plot is very active, and the author did a very good job with descriptive words making you feel like you were actually in the story yourself. Overall I liked this book which is why I rated it 5 stars.