The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories

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 Amazon.

It is difficult to choose from among the myriad science fiction anthologies currently on the market; their lurid, garish covers demand the consumer's equal attention and purchase. The cover of Shippey's anthology is markedly nonchalant and spare in comparison to the aforementioned, but as one of the best SF anthologies in existence today, it is worth a second (and third and fourth) look.Shippey was wise to avoid the second-rate and overly anthologized work of Heinlein and Asimov, and to choose just one of Clarke's better stories. The rest of the anthology he reserves for SF's more literary, and occasionally more obscure, authors - Cordwainer Smith's luxuriant "The Ballad of Lost C'mell" and Frank L. Pollack's fuliginous "Finis" can compete with the most profound of traditional literary fiction. Other works like A.E. van Vogt's "The Monster" - so illogical that it becomes charmingly surreal, Raccoona Sheldon's artfully acidic "The Screwfly Solution", and David Brin's poignantly lambent "Piecework" reveal the thought processes and weltanschauungen which make SF so fascinating.There are a few middling stories in the anthology - these were likely chosen by Shippey to demonstrate an evolution of the genre. Harry Harrison's "A Criminal Act" has homophobic dialogue and a clunky exposition (the 'ah, but first I will tell you...' syndrome of mid-century SF), and Gene Wolfe's "How The Whip Came Back" loses credibility when it makes the Catholic Church a guarantor of personal freedom. (Walter Miller's "Crucifixus Etiam" and George R.R. Martin's "The Way of Cross and Dragon" demonstrate more insightful takes on the muddled collisions of faith, religion, science fiction, and society.)Oxford and Shippey have rendered a voluminous, cogent collection - if you appreciate the history and the potential of science fiction, I urge you to consider it.

Not every story included here is a winner, but overall this is one of the best such collections I've run across. The author list is a who's who of notable writers, from H.G. Wells and Rudyard Kipling to Ursula K. Le Guin all the way to William Gibson and George R.R. Martin. These stories are not of the light variety, and more than one present alternate visions of how the world as we know it ends. "The Screwfly Solution" was particularly creepy and probably my personal favorite. You're sure to find something you like here.

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.

These stories are selected with the cerebral reader in mind---that reader who will slog through static, atmospheric, literary stories without ever skipping ahead to see if anything ever happens (it doesn't). They probably ate all their brussels sprouts as kids, too. If you read books because they are good for you, you'll love these.If, on the other hand, like me, you read SF because you want to empathize with characters facing fascinating problems and you want to be thrilled by what happens next, then there are few stories here to thrill you.The pick of the litter:The Screwfly Solution is subtly perverse, dark, wonderfully told and scary as hell (is it happening now?).Desertion is, though predictable, sweetly satisfying, especially to dog lovers.The Monster is the cleverest Van Vogt ever wrote, mind blowing and will have you cheering for the human hero for a change.The Swarm is such a vivid visit to a hive that it will have your skin crawling, and the twist is gut-wrenching.Second Night of Summer is a fine heartwarming tale of evil aliens, a boy and a simpler time.The others are snoozers only an Oxford English major (or the author's mother) could love.But don't take my word for it...

There are gazillions of SF short-story anthologies, but this one is one of the best I have found. Stories range from ones by Kipling(!) and Wells through William Gibson and David Brin. There are 30 stories and all but a few are strong with a handful of real gems. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

This is a history of sci-fi kind of anthology. We start early, then we move upwards through the 1980s. As a history, this is a fine collection, very enjoyable, as it makes it possible for one to trace the development of the genre alongside what was happening in the world it has its roots in.But as a history, sometimes, I fear, quality has to be sacrificed. Not all these short stories are optimal for the genre.

Great book

too many below average stories.

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.

Not bad for a second hand book. Was exactly what I was looking for.

Still in good condition