Galactic Empires, Volume One

Classic collection of space opera short-stories. I first found these books at the library and must have monopolized both volumes for six months or more! ( )

Part of a series of books supposedly looking at lighter adventure type stories, and in particular Galactic Empires, of course, even if again, Aldiss doesn't manage to hold to that particularly rigorously.

He also claims to want to rescue magazine stories, as anthologists only look at other anthologies!?

Neither of which makes sense when you see what he has done. Of all people you would list as needing to be rescued from obscurity, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke would probably be last and second last on the list. Even more so in 1976.

Some other decent choices here though, and he divides the book up into a few sections, the last being on medicine in space.

Galactic Empires 1 : Been a Long Long Time - R. A. Lafferty
Galactic Empires 1 : The Possessed - Arthur C. Clarke
Galactic Empires 1 : Protected Species - H. B. Fyfe
Galactic Empires 1 : All the Way Back - Michael Shaara
Galactic Empires 1 : The Star Plunderer - Poul Anderson
Galactic Empires 1 : Foundation [short story] - Isaac Asimov
Galactic Empires 1 : We're Civilized - Mark Clifton and Alex Apostolides
Galactic Empires 1 : The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal - Cordwainer Smith
Galactic Empires 1 : The Rebel of Valkyr - Alfred Coppel
Galactic Empires 1 : Brightness Falls from the Air - Margaret StClair
Galactic Empires 1 : Immigrant - Clifford D. Simak
Galactic Empires 1 : Resident Physician - James White
Galactic Empires 1 : Age of Retirement - Mal Lynch
Galactic Empires 1 : Planting Time - Pete Adams & Charles Nightingale

Or hopefully will be, before another monkeys and Shakespeare story.

2.5 out of 5

Swarm mind search lemming poor pick.

3.5 out of 5

Old ape hunt.

3.5 out of 5

Aggressive sleepers may be waiting.

3.5 out of 5

"I don't fancy life as the slave of a barbarian outworlder."

4 out of 5

Encyclopedia Empire re-establishment fraud.

3.5 out of 5

Not as much as those guys in the ships though.

3 out of 5

Lost planet female cancer transsexual aggression solution is timeslip cat kill cull.

4 out of 5

"Against the mighty forces of the assembled star-kings, the army of Valkyr counted for almost nothing; but the savage fighting men of the Edge carried with them their talisman -- Alys Imperatrix, uncrowned sovereign of the Galaxy, Heiress of the Thousand Emperors..."

3.5 out of 5

Bird people buried.

3 out of 5

Back to kindy, genius earthboy.

4 out of 5

Immortal cannibal local doctor obstacle cure.

3.5 out of 5

Mandatory early no kid Space Patrol kickout.

3 out of 5

Flower girl bordello monopoly.

3 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2008/05/galactic-empires-volume-one-brian.html ( )

This two-part anthology was Brian Aldiss's attempt to give an overview of the "galactic empire" story, those sweeping tales of the rise and fall of great interstellar civilizations. He gives a selection of stories from across the history of sf, but unfortunately the conclusion one reaches is that the galactic empire story is a bit rubbish. Many of the stories come across as subpar Star Wars, with men being manly men and women being sexual objects, and the fate of empires being decided because a lot of people have too much testosterone and someone met a convenient "wizard". "The Rebel of Valkyr" by Alfred Coppel (this is the story that contains the woman on the cover with the amazing gravity-defying breasts) is the worst offender, most of it being taken up by barbarians posturing at one another. It's got a robot in it, but it's otherwise indistinguishable from a really bad fantasy story. "The Star Plunderer" by Poul Anderson, "Escape to Chaos" by John D. MacDonald, and "Tonight the Stars Revolt!" by Gardner F. Fox run along similarly unenjoyable lines.

Also common (and commonly poor) are stories with twist endings, which typically go one of two ways 1) humans think they're colonizing, but they're really being colonized! or 2) the big evil aliens we will meet in space... are actually humans! There are numerous offenders along these lines: "The Possessed" by Arthur C. Clarke, "Protected Species" by H. B. Fyfe, "All the Way Back" by Michael Shaara, "We're Civilized!" by Mark Clifton and Alex Aposolides, "Concealment" by A. E. van Vogt, "Down the River" by Mack Reynolds, "The Bounty Hunter" by Avram Davidson, "Not Yet the End" by Fredric Brown, and "Big Ancestory" by F. L. Wallace. I don't why sf authors are obsessed with the twist ending, but if they're going to use it so much, it would behoove them to learn to use it well. It's usually heavy-handed and obvious, and the stories nothing more than a vehicle for it. There is one story that uses it to excellent effect: "Final Encounter" by Harry Harrison, where the surprise isn't obvious, yet can still be figured out, and actually makes a thematic point that works with the rest of the story.

And indeed, there are a few gems in these collections, but they are usually stories that subvert the idea of the galactic empire (or have nothing to do with it, making one wonder why Aldiss selected them for the collection): R. A. Lafferty's "Been a Long Time" is an amusing explication of the infinite-monkeys-infinite-typewriters idea. Cordwainer Smith's "The Crime and Glory of Commander Suzdal" is so mad it has to be brilliant. Idris Seabright's "Brightness Falls from the Air" is a melancholy vignette about those stomped beneath the heel of empire. Clifford Simak's "Immigrant" provides some social commentary about climbing the social ladder, delivered in an interesting way. And James Blish's "Beep" is a clever idea that actually has a decent story attached to deliver it, unlike, say "Planting Time" by P. Adams and Charles Nightingale (which is a somewhat interesting idea that someone forgot to attach any story to). Of course, the best tale in the collection is the one I had already read many times going in: Isaac Asimov's original "Foundation". Overall, though, it was a slog to get through these books more often than not. Aldiss's strange choices in selection and organization don't help much, and neither do his dull introductions.

there are truly some gems here, specifically the last very short story about a plus-light space pilot that lands on an (almost) uncharted planet and finds a bunch of heavenly bodies, all eager to do the do with him, which, of course, he does. This on an island where there is supposed to be not human population! Well, there isn't any human population. To find out how this is possible, you'll have to read "Planting Time." The little story is worth the price of the whole book. Clifford Simak's loooong piece being used as pets by a vastly superior race is good, too. ( )