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The Oxford Book Of Science Fiction Stories

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This is the definitive collection of the twentieth-century's most characteristic genre-science fiction. The tales are organized chronologically to give readers a sense of how the genre's range, vitality, and literary quality have evolved over time. Each tale offers a unique vision, an altered reality, a universe all its own. Readers can sample H.G. Well's 1903 story "The Land Ironclads" (which predicted the stalemate of trench warfare and the invention of the tank), Jack Williamson's "The Metal Man," a rarely anthologized gem written in 1928, Clifford D. Simak's 1940s classic, "Desertion," set on "the howling maelstrom that was Jupiter," Frederik Pohl's 1955 "The Tunnel Under the World" (with its gripping first line, "On the morning of June 15th, Guy Burckhardt woke up screaming out of a dream"), right up to the current crop of writers, such as cyberpunks Bruce Sterling and William Gibson, whose 1982 story "Burning Chrome" foreshadows the idea of virtual reality, and David Brin's "Piecework," written in 1990. In addition, Shippey provides an informative Introduction, examining the history of the genre, its major themes, and its literary techniques.

Review

"Tom Shippey is a major contributor in science fiction, as well as in medieval and language studies, and his new anthology not only is useful and important, it illuminates the field with the editor's insights and selections."--James Gunn, Director, The Center for the Study of Science Fiction, University of Kansas

"A vindication for all of us [science fiction fans] who have had to defend the genre as deserving serious consideration...This book collects 30 classic science-fiction stories by some of the field's msot famous authors....It's a great selection of intelligent and intriguing work."--The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"A collection that makes us feel the uniqueness of this discipline so freshly is doing its job."--Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Review

Review from previous edition 'both authoritative and audacious, up-to-date and historically wise, the best yet introduction to a bewildering field' ― Greg Benford

'travels through ninety years' development from mechanical to fantastical ... first rate' ― Daily Telegraph

'ideal ... even contains much to convert the sceptics, with its survey of highlights from Wells to Kipling, via Arthur C. Clarke and J.G. Ballard, to David Brin' ― Independent on Sunday

'[Tom Shippey's] new anthology not only is useful and important, it illuminates the field with the editor's insights and selections.' ― James Gunn

Review:

4.5 out of 5

89.09% of customers are satisfied

5.0 out of 5 stars Good

D. · 9 February 2020

Great book

5.0 out of 5 stars Great

O. · 20 March 2015

A great introduction to different sci-fi writers. If you like the genre and want to experience a range of different authors then this is a good book. I also enjoyed The End of America: & the rest of the world

4.0 out of 5 stars Good science fiction book

S.k. · 18 October 2023

A enjoyable read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect SF-introduction.

J.P. · 23 January 2003

This collection was initially issued in 1992; in 2003 it is a welcome reissue. At this moment in time SF is more accessible than ever- with the reissue of short-story collections like this & the brilliant SF-masterworks series that features authors like PK Dick, JG Ballard, Richard Matheson, James Blish & Theodore Sturgeon. As this book demonstrates, SF is a wide church- frequently not the space fiction/star trek stereotype perpetuated by people who perpetuate such things...Shippey offers a brilliant introduction, noting that the book can't cover anything (though a second volume might be a great idea!)- there is also a select bibliography- which I feel is a little incomplete (for that see books like Trillion Year Spree & The Encyclopedia of SF- listed in this rudimentary bibliography).The 30 odd stories are what this collection is about, and reason why this collection is such great value. All of the stories can be read in short sessions- whether communting, accelerating towards sleep or waiting, waiting, waiting...Then the reader can decide which kind of SF they most enjoy & pursue other works by that writer (most probably reissued by people like SF masterworks!). The collection opens with key SF-writer (if mild proponent of eugenics), HG Wells and ends bang up to date on Dave Brin. Between we get stories from such key SF-writers as Arthur C Clarke, Ursula K Le Guin, James Blish, Gene Wolfe, Bruce Sterling & William Gibson. Favourites include John W. Campbell Jr's Night, Brian Aldiss's Who Can Replace a Man? (definite AI-related territory & a place where cybernetic notions are beginning to develop- into the new wave) & JG Ballard's hilarious Billennium- which takes a Kafka-inspired look at over-population (and stems from the brilliant Terminal Beach collection).Shippey's collection is the perfect SF-introduction, or if you are quite au fait with the genre- an obligatory purchase. It is also 500plus pages evidence that in SF, the short-story is still as important as the novel- and the place where the latter usually stem from...

4.0 out of 5 stars a good read

A.R. · 16 June 2010

I have enjoyed most of the stories. quite a few are short enough to read all the way through at bed-time

2.0 out of 5 stars poor book.

M.P.F. · 14 July 2017

too many below average stories.

Great book of short stories

J. · 18 December 2013

I bought this book for school but I must say the stories are great. I enjoyed every single one of them.Not much to say other than that. There are many short story collections out there, but this is one of the best.

simply outstanding

B.D.W. · 13 December 2007

There's a certain je ne sais quoi about the work of the earliest sci-fi writers by which they draw the reader into a richly painted world that scarcely allows him to come up for breath. This may sound trite, but, as one recalls, the ultimate objective of all strongly crafted fiction is to dissolve the delineation between the reader's universe and the story's universe. Perhaps I should except the trite--even silly--works of the likes of H. G. Wells and Rudyard Kipling (I have difficulty getting into a story where "high-tech" battles between opposing forces are fought on horseback!), but the majority of the stories are very finely textured. Ironically, as we leave the Golden Age and progress toward modern times, the "tightness" of the individual story as a complete, conceptual unit is lost: frankly, I'd prefer if sci-fi never advanced past the '70s. But that's not the fault of this book, but, rather, of the "writers" who are too concerned with glitz and pseudo-technique than with telling an enrapturing story. Also on the downside, there are some editing problems, and I'd have been happier if the British editors hadn't insisted on forcing British orthographic conventions upon American text. Kudos to the editors of this absorbing volume for doing just about the best that could be done with the hundred-plus-year panoply of science fiction literature in the English language.

Exciting Sci-Fi stories, some of which I had read in other Sci-Fi compilations.

R. · 9 August 2022

I have not actually started reading the book, but it has stories from a number of prominent Sci-Fi authors. I had purchased a few used hard cover and large paperbacks of this type, which I expect to enjoy. If I took a picture of the book, it looks exactly like the small picture shown at Bolo.

Five Stars

B. · 26 October 2015

Enjoyable

Good

H.D. · 6 February 2021

Still in good condition

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The Oxford Book Of Science Fiction Stories

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Product origin: United Kingdom

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