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The Best of Avram Davidson
Here are a dozen stories - the cream of the crop from one of the masters of science fiction and fantasy. With an introduction by Michael Kurland.
- GenresFiction
210 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
70 people want to read
About the author
Avram Davidson
431 books95 followersAvram Davidson was an American Jewish writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy Awards in the science fiction and fantasy genre, a World Fantasy Life Achievement award, and a Queen's Award and an Edgar Award in the mystery genre. Davidson edited The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1962 to 1964. His last novel The Boss in the Wall: A Treatise on the House Devil was completed by Grania Davis and was a Nebula Award finalist in 1998. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says "he is perhaps sf's most explicitly literary author".
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 16, 2021
Avram Davidson is one of the great unappreciated speculative fiction writers of the 20th century. I use the term "speculative fiction" because neither "fantasy writer" nor "science fiction writer" fit.
Davidson wrote curious stories. He knew a bunch of stuff, history in particular, and he liked to pack it into his stories.
He had fun when he wrote. He liked to roll a sentence around in his mind before he let it go. He often uses a mock formal style. His, at times, elaborate sentences seem to be laughing at themselves. He writes as if he found most of life amusing, even when he was writing about the end of the world.
One reason for his lack of notoriety is that he never wrote one great big book. He was known for his fantasy and science fiction short stories. He wrote a series about an alternative Vergil in a version of Rome. He wrote paperback original weird space operas. He wrote mystery stories. His posthumous "Adventures in Unhistory" is a collection of essays with his speculations and research on the sources of historical mysteries like where did Sinbad sail ? and what happened to the mermaids? . It is my favorite of his books.
The point is that there is no one Avram Davidson book that you have to read but you should read anyone you get a chance to read.
This is an OK 1979 selection of his stories. Michael Kurland, the editor, says he just picked his favorites. Kurland seems to prefer Davidson's more straight forward stories and his stories with a political point. I prefer his stranger meandering stories. This is still an excellent collection of stories.
I have laughed every one of the six or seven times I read "Golem", the second story in this collection.
Davidson wrote curious stories. He knew a bunch of stuff, history in particular, and he liked to pack it into his stories.
He had fun when he wrote. He liked to roll a sentence around in his mind before he let it go. He often uses a mock formal style. His, at times, elaborate sentences seem to be laughing at themselves. He writes as if he found most of life amusing, even when he was writing about the end of the world.
One reason for his lack of notoriety is that he never wrote one great big book. He was known for his fantasy and science fiction short stories. He wrote a series about an alternative Vergil in a version of Rome. He wrote paperback original weird space operas. He wrote mystery stories. His posthumous "Adventures in Unhistory" is a collection of essays with his speculations and research on the sources of historical mysteries like where did Sinbad sail ? and what happened to the mermaids? . It is my favorite of his books.
The point is that there is no one Avram Davidson book that you have to read but you should read anyone you get a chance to read.
This is an OK 1979 selection of his stories. Michael Kurland, the editor, says he just picked his favorites. Kurland seems to prefer Davidson's more straight forward stories and his stories with a political point. I prefer his stranger meandering stories. This is still an excellent collection of stories.
I have laughed every one of the six or seven times I read "Golem", the second story in this collection.
Displaying 1 of 1 review