Science overtaken by time BUT stories are excellent ( )

This is a nice collection of 50’s/very early 60’s science fiction. It reflects the time quite well and, as would be suspected, it definitely reflects the tastes of the editor – John W. Campbell. Of course it reflects the editor. But in the case of Campbell, that means the book is a small time capsule of what you would have seen from the most influential editor of the time. Through Analog magazine, Campbell set the standard for hard science fiction and laid the groundwork for all that was to follow. And reading this book feels almost as if you had one of those magazines in your hand – and you happened upon one of the best issues.

Don’t get me wrong - this is not a “best of” collection, in that the stories are not the award winners of the time. Instead, they are solid representations of the good writing (not necessarily the best) of that time. And Campbell has also done a good job of representing the different types of stories that existed at the time. (Interesting side note – this doesn’t represent the different styles of writing, just the different types of stories that Campbell was willing top accept.) In general, the stories hold up well, and there will be some in here that are familiar to long-time readers. It is a pleasant collection and a nice way to spend some reading time. I’m not saying you should rush out and buy this book (I happened on it at a used-book sale) and I definitely wouldn’t use it to introduce anyone to this particular phase of the golden age. If, however, like me, you stumble across a copy - the fear that your money or time will be wasted by purchasing this book should not stop you. ( )

paperback