I suppose the problems with this anthology start with the title, in that there are no Masterpieces to be found, and it isn't all science fiction.

In the introduction the editors talk briefly about the history of European SF, and the semi-chance encounter on a train that got them to talking about translation and how this anthology came about - which includes some help from SFWA, hence the title. Pointing out not having the resources to make a big volume (what would you call that now, Hartwellian?) so just picking some stuff that they could describe with some adjuectives that pleased them.

It would seem pretty strange, apart from on the already translated front so less work, to not be able to find 16 decent SF stories, no matter what editorial hand waving and apologetics might appear next to some of them to argue for inclusion.
Obviously it is much harder, if not in English.

In no universe except perhaps one full of drunken book nerds with lots of cheap wine down them could you call Between the Lines a masterpiece, for example. I would think very few (if any) people would call it science fiction. You can forgive a 'Jeffty' or 'Road Dog', but not something so ordinary.

Picking on that story aside, there are some good (4 star) stories here, and also some of the humorous variety - the editors point, via quote, that surrealism is quite common in Euro-SF. The introductions to each story backgrounding the authors is pretty well done, and probably a bit more important here than in your garden variety yank or pommie book.

However, perhaps a bit too much of please themselves, as opposed to please the what would seem to be the target audience, which is perhaps more understandable if a shoestring-budget type project I suppose.

Still, what we are left with is a decent and somewhat interesting anthology.

SFWA European Hall of Fame : Separations - Jean-Claude Dunyach
SFWA European Hall of Fame : A Birch Tree A White Fox - Elena Arsenieva
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Sepultura - Valerio Evangelisti
SFWA European Hall of Fame : The Fourth Day to Eternity - Ondrej Neff
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Baby Doll - Johanna Sinisalo
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Yoo Retoont Sneogg Ay Noo - Marek S. Huberath
SFWA European Hall of Fame : The Day We Went Through the Transition - Ricard de la Casa and Pedro Jorge Romero
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Athos Emfovos in the Temple of Sound - Panagiotis Koustas
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Some Earthlings' Adventures on Outrerria - Lucian Merisca
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Destiny Inc - Sergei Lukyanenko
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Wonders of the Universe - Andreas Eschbach
SFWA European Hall of Fame : A Night on the Edge of the Empire - Joao Barreiros
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Transfusion - Joelle Wintrebert
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Verstummte Musik - W.J. Maryson
SFWA European Hall of Fame : Between the Lines - José Antonio Cotrina
SFWA European Hall of Fame : A Blue and Cloudless Sky - Bernhard Ribbeck

The Ship Who Stardanced. Repeatedly.

3.5 out of 5

Out Of the Silent Planet. Please!

3 out of 5

Ripper removal kid kill cull diversion ectoplasm meld snake escape jailbreak.

4 out of 5

Time raid researched tanked.

3.5 out of 5

Accelerated cradle snatching.

3.5 out of 5

Personhood test pieces.

3 out of 5

Time agent Spanish troubleshooting relationship.

4 out of 5

Coin deal equation.

3 out of 5

Hairy mutant mercenary close shave.

3 out of 5

Constant inevitability.

3.5 out of 5

Jovian mistake.

3.5 out of 5

Thumbing it to the hot chick show.

3 out of 5

Demon, no seed, maybe.

2.5 out of 5

Nobeing ratio point kill Keeper.

4 out of 5

Double booking.

3 out of 5

Colonization time adjustments.

3 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2008/03... ( )

In the introduction, the editor James Marrow relates a joke: “What's the difference between Europeans and Americans? Europeans think one hundred miles is a long distance, and Americans thinks one hundred years is a long time.” This basically sets up the reader to question if there is a difference between European and American science fiction.

The stories selected for this anthology can give the reader cause to ponder. There are good stories here that don't seem to quite fit the standard American model; whether that will be appreciated or not depends a lot on what reader thinks about translations. Many readers may have plodded through slitted translations of classic works from the old Penguin edition and somewhat justifiably avoid foreign works. However, the stories from sixteen languages read smoothly enough for the most part and provide a wide array of ideas, images, and landscapes.

Only one story, “Athos Emfovos in the Temple of Sound” translated from modern Greek, failed to be interesting or captivating, but readers fond of music culture might think otherwise. A very solid anthology. ( )