The 7th Annual Best SF 73

The Year's Best Science Fiction #7

by Brian W. Aldiss (Editor), Harry Harrison (Editor), Oddrun Gronvik (Translator)

The definitive "Year's Best" selection featuring works by Thomas M. Disch, Robert Sheckley, Kingsley Amis, Josef Nesvadba, R. A. Lafferty, and other American and international masters. Edited by Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss. With stories from the traditional science fiction sources - magazines and original anthologies - and from international SF and literary periodicals, Harrison and Aldiss have produced their biggest and best annual selection ever.

Contents:

Roller Ball Murder by Harry Harrison
Mason's Life by Kingsley Amis
Welcome to the Standard Nightmare by Robert Sheckley
Serpent Burning on an Altar by Brian W. Aldiss
We Are Very Happy Here by Joe W. Haldeman
The Birds by Thomas M. Disch
The Wind and the Rain by Robert Silverberg
Ten Years Ago... by Max Beerbohm
Parthen by R.A. Lafferty
The Man Who Collected the First of September 1973 by Tor Åge Bringsvaerd (translated by Oddrun Gronvik)
Captain Nemo's Last Adventure by Josef Nesvadba (translated by Iris Urwin)
La Befana by Gene Wolfe
A Curse by W. H. Auden
Auto-Apotheosis by Anthony Haden-Guest
Two Poems by William Jon Watkins
Sport by Steven Utley
The Window in Dante's Hell by Michael Bishop
Sister Francetta and Pig Baby by Kenneth Bernard
Escape by Ilya Varshavsky (translated by Leland Fetzer)
Early Bird by Theodore R. Cogswell and Theodore L. Thomas
Afterword: The Wizard and the Plumber by Brian W. Aldiss

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Collections

255 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1974

About the author

Pseudonyms: 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

Reviews

[SciFi Pinay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because of the low GoodReads rating, I'm attempting to defend "Best SF 73" aka "The 7th Annual Best SF 73" aka "The Year's Best Science Fiction 7". I can see why some may not like this anthology due to the challenging reading experience i.e. not a lot of handholding. It's like Isaac Asimov decides to write in the more highbrow level of new wave scifi or speculative fiction to dress up his golden age SF themes, but with storytelling coming from unusual and off-putting POVs. The hard SF is very much evident in at least half of the entries, and the reader has to put in effort to understand the world building, tone and commentary. This collection is topnotch with great payoff, as well as having a great variety of subgenres, from cyberpunk to crazy alien creatures, from dystopia to science fantasy, from foreign translations to an excerpt of a famous novel, from military space opera to "IDK WTH I'm reading" type of poems (I'm really bad at interpreting them). As you can tell the premises and rich cultural literary history are awesome, but overall there's a reading barrier to overcome. Some faves:

Roller Ball Murder (William Harrison): a surprisingly introspective and melancholic source material for the 1975 movie "Rollerball" about an athlete of an ultraviolent sport

The Wind and the Rain (Robert Silverberg): in the distant future, humankind's destruction of nature is taken very lightly, almost in jest; "Even devastation can be an art form... Perhaps it is one of the greatest of all art forms..."

The Man Who Collected the First of September 1973 (Tor Age Bringsvaerd): a circadian rhythm of 31-hour days prompts a man to become obsessed with one particular day

Captain Nemo's Last Adventure (Josef Nesvadba): pursuit of lofty goals and heroic fame vs domestication from romantic/familial love -- can only choose one or the other

Escape (Ilya Varshavsky): my top fave here; a prisoner's given a chance to avoid a life sentence working in the fields

Early Bird (Theodore R. Cogswell & Theodore L. Thomas): to beat the aliens, one may have to join them in the most 'intimate' way

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's another old SF collection that is mostly worth skipping.

There's one notable exception however: The Man Who Collected the 1st of September 1973 by Tor Age Bringsvaerd, translated by Oddrun Gronvik. This is one strange very short story that deals with a kind of insanity that is presented in such a humorous way that it's a real treat to experience. Sadly, from what I can find this story only seems to be printed here and in one other anthology of fantasy from 1988.

The Max Beerbohm story is another interesting curiosity here as it's a story published after his death that was found taped to the back of a painting.

The Sheckley story is good, but not his best. The same can be said about the Lafferty piece. Both of these I read in other collections by those authors.

There's a lot of dreck here other than that. I'm not even going to spend the time detailing those stories, because they truly aren't worth it.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

16 stories:

****Roller Ball Murder (1973) • William Harrison
** Mason's Life (1972) • Kingsley Amis
***** Welcome to the Standard Nightmare (1973) • Robert Sheckley
*** Serpent Burning on an Altar (1973) • Brian W. Aldiss
***** We Are Very Happy Here (1973) • Joe Haldeman
*** The Birds (1973) • Thomas M. Disch
***** The Wind and the Rain (1973) • Robert Silverberg
** Ten Years Ago ... (1972) • Max Beerbohm
**** Parthen (1973) • R. A. Lafferty
*** The Man Who Collected the First of September (1973) • Tor Åge Bringsvaerd
*** Captain Nemo's Last Adventure (1973) • Josef Nesvadba
***** La Befana (1973) • Gene Wolfe
** The Window in Dante's Hell (1973) • Michael Bishop
** Sister Francetta and Pig Baby (1973) • Kenneth Bernard
** Escape • (1973) • Ilya Varshavsky
*** Early Bird (1973) • Theodore R. Cogswell and Theodore L. Thomas

[Ed]

ISFDB 196749. OCLC 184747384.