Authors: Gordon Van Gelder
ISBN-13: 9781892391919, ISBN-10: 1892391910
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Tachyon Publications
Date Published: September 2009
Edition: 60th Edition
Gordon Van Gelder is the editor of Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF). He has been honored twice with the World Fantasy Award and twice with the Hugo Award. Under his leadership, F&SF has won the Locus Award for Best Magazine for eight consecutive years. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Collecting more than two dozen stories that originally appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction—the premiere speculative fiction magazine—this extraordinary anthology celebrates 60 years of top-notch genre fiction. Including “All Summer in a Day,” Ray Bradbury’s lasting tale of what happened on one special day; “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, describing what happened to Charlie Gordon when he was made into a genius; “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut’s absurdist cautionary tale of mandatory equality; and “The Electric Ant” by Philip K. Dick, concerning what Garson Poole learned after the accident that hospitalized him. This remarkable collection also features some of the most highly acclaimed, award-winning authors, including Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison, Shirley Jackson, Peter S. Beagle, Karen Joy Fowler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Theodore Sturgeon, and Roger Zelazny. Hand-picked by the magazine’s current editor, this is an unmatched assemblage of appealing, first-rate fiction.
F&SF editor Van Gelder has assessed, culled and organized the magazine’s best stories to produce this definitive volume of work from speculative fiction’s top authors, from Alfred Bester’s “Of Time and Third Avenue” (1951) to Ted Chiang’s “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” (2007). Hauntingly sad tales are laid alongside hopeful tales of the far future and heroic tales of honor and duty, but all have an intensity of emotion and draw the reader in with vibrant characters, fully realized settings and ingenious writing. Van Gelder’s introductory disclaimer that this contains “two dozen of our best stories” rather than the best two dozen stories may explain the lack of inclusions from the 1980s. For sheer reading pleasure, this anthology is unparalleled. (Oct.)
Introduction Gordon Van Gelder 9
Of Time and Third Avenue Alfred Bester 11
All Summer in a Day Ray Bradbury 21
One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts Shirley Jackson 29
A Touch of Strange Theodore Sturgeon 41
Eastward Ho! William Tenn 55
Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes 71
Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut 101
This Moment of the Storm Roger Zelazny 109
The Electric Ant Philip K. Dick 141
The Deathbird Harlan Ellison® 161
The Women Men Don't See James Tiptree, Jr 191
I See You Damon Knight 221
The Gunslinger Stephen King 235
The Dark Karen Joy Fowler 279
Buffalo John Kessel 297
Solitude Ursula K. Le Guin 315
Mother Grasshopper Michael Swanwick 343
Macs Terry Bisson 361
Creation Jeffrey Ford 371
Other People Neil Gaiman 383
Two Hearts Peter S. Beagle 387
Journey into the Kingdom M. Rickert 423
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate Ted Chiang 451