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The Best of Pamela Sargent
Fourteen stories deal with death camps, clones, time travel, amnesia, alien invaders, a writer's olympics, immortality, talking animals, and an all-male society
322 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
36 people want to read
About the author
Pamela Sargent
161 books207 followersPamela Sargent has won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. In 2012, she was honored with the Pilgrim Award by the Science Fiction Research Association for lifetime achievement in science fiction scholarship. She is the author of the novels Cloned Lives, The Sudden Star, Watchstar, The Golden Space, The Alien Upstairs, Eye of the Comet, Homesmind, Alien Child, The Shore of Women, Venus of Dreams, Venus of Shadows, Child of Venus, Climb the Wind, and Ruler of the Sky. Her most recent short story collection is Thumbprints, published by Golden Gryphon Press, with an introduction by James Morrow. The Washington Post Book World has called her “one of the genre's best writers.”
In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include Bio-Futures and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor, Afterlives. Two anthologies, Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s and Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s, were published by Harcourt Brace in 1995; Publishers Weekly called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.” Her most recent anthology is Conqueror Fantastic, out from DAW Books in 2004. Tor Books reissued her 1983 young adult novel Earthseed, selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and a sequel, Farseed, in early 2007. A third volume, Seed Seeker, was published in November of 2010 by Tor. Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all of the Twilight films, writing the script and producing through her Tall Girls Productions.
A collection, Puss in D.C. and Other Stories, is out; her novel Season of the Cats is out in hardcover and will be available in paperback from Wildside Press. The Shore of Women has been optioned for development as a TV series by Super Deluxe Films, part of Turner Broadcasting.
Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.
In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include Bio-Futures and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor, Afterlives. Two anthologies, Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s and Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s, were published by Harcourt Brace in 1995; Publishers Weekly called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.” Her most recent anthology is Conqueror Fantastic, out from DAW Books in 2004. Tor Books reissued her 1983 young adult novel Earthseed, selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and a sequel, Farseed, in early 2007. A third volume, Seed Seeker, was published in November of 2010 by Tor. Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all of the Twilight films, writing the script and producing through her Tall Girls Productions.
A collection, Puss in D.C. and Other Stories, is out; her novel Season of the Cats is out in hardcover and will be available in paperback from Wildside Press. The Shore of Women has been optioned for development as a TV series by Super Deluxe Films, part of Turner Broadcasting.
Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 2, 2022
Definitely not your typical adventures in space SF. More for women, or the men who want to understand out pov better. But not lesser! Each was intriguing, moving, and/or exciting in its own way. Some stories had a 'Twilight Zone' vibe but most dug deeper. Some even had bits of humor.
The writing in the stories did improve over time, and we can see that development as these are arranged in chronological order. The first was painfully lyrical and elusively allegorical, I think, and the last several made me smile in satisfaction at a well-told memorable story.
But to do them justice in a review, I'll have to reread them later. Oh, wait, not 'have to,' but 'get to.'
---
This tjme I didn't like it as much. Mostly because I'm not a member of the Do Better group, which points out to us how often 'sexual violence against women' is used exploitingly, conveniently. There was far too much uncomfortable sex in this book, and I get more squeamish every year.
Still, I do recommend it to interested readers.
Bookdarts this time:
The cover is about *Shadows,* which is partly a poignant allegory of an internment camp, even down to the boys playing baseball. (But of course it's more than that, too.)
The two stories exploring the intelligence of animals are interesting... but fortunately for me I don't agree with Sargent that human nature is so determinant that our behaviors will never change. Sargent despairs in most of the stories, actually; I don't feel as if she has any hope for a better future.
But I'm glad I read it twice anyway.
The writing in the stories did improve over time, and we can see that development as these are arranged in chronological order. The first was painfully lyrical and elusively allegorical, I think, and the last several made me smile in satisfaction at a well-told memorable story.
But to do them justice in a review, I'll have to reread them later. Oh, wait, not 'have to,' but 'get to.'
---
This tjme I didn't like it as much. Mostly because I'm not a member of the Do Better group, which points out to us how often 'sexual violence against women' is used exploitingly, conveniently. There was far too much uncomfortable sex in this book, and I get more squeamish every year.
Still, I do recommend it to interested readers.
Bookdarts this time:
The cover is about *Shadows,* which is partly a poignant allegory of an internment camp, even down to the boys playing baseball. (But of course it's more than that, too.)
The two stories exploring the intelligence of animals are interesting... but fortunately for me I don't agree with Sargent that human nature is so determinant that our behaviors will never change. Sargent despairs in most of the stories, actually; I don't feel as if she has any hope for a better future.
But I'm glad I read it twice anyway.
October 6, 2023
I saw the "The Shrine," an episode of Tales from the Darkside based on Pamela Sargent's story and I grabbed this book. I was blown away. I have no idea how I haven't heard of Sargent to this point of why no one seems to be talking about her. She's amazing! She should be a legend in the sci-fi world.
June 6, 2018
Book Read - Alt Rights (Alternative Universe Book Publishing)
November 4, 2019
Some nice short stories. I especially liked the one about humans getting the capacity to hear what animals think. Leads to some interesting situations!
March 23, 2013
A bit...predictable. All the usual seminar/writing workshop stuff: the environment, animal rights, Injuns, and Man (or men--or actually white men) is always the bad guy/person. Particularly ridiculous were "Out Of Place" and the other talking-animals story "Mountain Cage" (aka "A Conversation With Hitler's Dog"). A tedious, pedestrian style--plus a lot of science fiction cliches. This is the kind of stuff that ruined sci-fi for me.
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May 20, 2015Science-Fiction
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews