Customer Reviews (1)

A Great Analysis of Science Fiction!
Wollheim's the man.He charts a history of SF's major developments by profiling the contributions of the genre's giants, from Verne and Wells down to the author's own contemporaries (Heinlein, etc.) and also shows some of the challenges to which SF must respond -- namely overpopulation, pollution and the threat of nuclear war.Of particular interest is his outline of consensus future-history, as laid out by Asimov and his followers.A concise and thorough analysis of the genre's past, present, and forseeable future. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not Free SF Reader
The best stuff to be found here is in the middle, back to back in fact, with Varley and Effinger.

A 3.65 average, which is definitely good, but which is also a bit below your standard Year's Best of these days, and the percentage of average is too high, but still some good work from Shepard and Donaldson, too.

Donald Wollheim 14 : The Picture Man - John Dalmas
Donald Wollheim 14 : Cash Crop - Connie Willis
Donald Wollheim 14 : We Remember Babylon - Ian Watson
Donald Wollheim 14 : What Makes Us Human - Stephen R. Donaldson
Donald Wollheim 14 : Salvador - Lucius Shepard
Donald Wollheim 14 : PRESS ENTER - John Varley
Donald Wollheim 14 : The Aliens Who Knew I Mean Everything - George Alec Effinger
Donald Wollheim 14 : Bloodchild - Octavia E. Butler
Donald Wollheim 14 : The Coming of the Goonga - Gary W. Shockley
Donald Wollheim 14 : Medra - Tanith Lee


Finnish precog racetrack plan.

4 out of 5


Breeding resistance.

3.5 out of 5


Satellite broadcast instruction propaganda.

3 out of 5


Berserker freeze out.

4 out of 5


Spooked Special Forces pill popper's spinout.

3.5 out of 5


Electronic entity killer discovery.

4.5 out of 5


Don't you worry about that, nuhp nuhp.

4.5 out of 5


Parasite pregnancy punishing for people.

3 out of 5


Alien invasion Loud Giant implant zeromaster coming.

3.5 out of 5


Goldman killrun doomsday device dame protection discovery.

3 out of 5

A nice collection.
This collection of stories was enjoyable to read. All ten are decent stories that explore interesting ideas in SF. The aliens in particular are mostly quite original. The 5 star stories are "Press Enter" by John Varley, "Bloodchild" by Octavia Butler and "The Coming of the Goonga" by Gary Shockley.

4 stars for "Cash Crop" by Connie Willis, and "What Makes Us Human" by Stephen Donaldson.

3 stars for " The Picture Man" by John Dalmas, "We Remember Babylon" by Ian Watson, "Salvador" by Lucius Shepard,and "Medra" by Tanith Lee.

1 star for "The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything" by George Effinger. Pitifully unfunny Mad TV script I suppose.

"The Coming of the Goonga" is probably my favorite. Those are truly original, intelligent aliens with a different culture and life. Love the zeromaster.

Worthwhile buy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Free SF Reader
The introduction is short, talking mostly about the world situation, as opposed to SF noting sales were decent, that is about it.

Another Wollheim Year's Best that isn't so great, only 3.50 for this one, with Lucius Shepard the obvious standout. A decent book though, heading to 3.75 territory.

Donald Wollheim 16 : Permafrost - Roger Zelazny
Donald Wollheim 16 : Timerider - Doris Egan
Donald Wollheim 16 : Pretty Boy Crossover - Pat Cadigan
Donald Wollheim 16 : R&R - Lucius Shepard
Donald Wollheim 16 : Lo How an Oak E'er Blooming - Suzette Haden Elgin
Donald Wollheim 16 : Dream in a Bottle - Jerry Meredith and D. E. Smirl
Donald Wollheim 16 : Into Gold - Tanith Lee
Donald Wollheim 16 : The Lions Are Asleep This Night - Howard Waldrop
Donald Wollheim 16 : Against Babylon - Robert Silverberg
Donald Wollheim 16 : Strangers on Paradise - Damon Knight

Leopard stiff story.

3 out of 5


Darkwings recruit.

3.5 out of 5


Nancy dancers a dime a dozen. Data dude? Now, that's new.

4 out of 5


Soldier trio separation shock.

4.5 out of 5


Indestructible, with acorns.

3 out of 5


Starship brain jar jinn Ancient Mariner breakout coaxing reality worries.

4 out of 5


Fire woman not to blame.

3 out of 5


Play kid.

3 out of 5


Flaming alien wifenappers.

3.5 out of 5


Immortal rabbit madness.

3.5 out of 5




3.5 out of 5 ... Read more

Product Description
limited edition of 420 copies ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fond Memories of First Science Fiction
This is one of the first collections of science fiction stories I read as a child nearly 40 years ago.My uncle loaned it to fend off my barrage of `Are we leaving yet?' pesters one night when our family's visit seemed to drag.His wife gave it to me when disposing of his library in the months after his death.And I recently rescued it from the dumpster when my mother sold and moved from our family home.A strange family heirloom which I've enjoyed re-reading.

This book is where I first encountered the metal terror of Fred Saberhagen's berserkers ("Starsong") and the hip-sixties sarcasm of Kurt Vonnegut ("Welcome to the Monkey House").Most of the stories stand the test of time well, remaining readable to us here in the future.My favorites:

Burt Filer's "Backtracked" is the story of a man who travels 10 years into his own past with no memory of the future or why he has returned from it.The cost of his trip soon becomes apparent.

Poul Anderson's "Kyrie" demonstrates how love can last forever--and we find this not the least bit comforting.

Colin Kapp's "The Cloudbuilders" has several levels.On its face, it is an adventure tale of a man and his comrades coming to terms with an invasion of balloon-sailing pirates.A deeper theme is the managed advance of technology in a re-developing civilization.And lurking deeper still is the spiritual message that the good must often give way if greatness is to be achieved in its place.

The last is perhaps my all-time favorite science fiction story, having launched a satisfying, lifelong quest for others as good.These 19 stories are all recommended.And fondly remembered.

Not Free SF Reader
The editors point out in the intro that this is only supposed to be SF, no sneaking in of the fairy pollution, or vague parables, or anything like that.

They also point out that although they try and read all the stories each year, they often disagree quite strongly on the stories, so this is a compromise selection.

Only 3.47, so too many ordinary stories, but the Colin Kapp Cloudbuilders technoogy recovery story was an interesting find, and some excellent stories from Knight and Saberhagen, too.


Wollheim Carr 05 : Street of Dreams Feet of Clay - Robert Sheckley
Wollheim Carr 05 : Backtracked - Burt K. Filer
Wollheim Carr 05 : Kyrie - Poul Anderson
Wollheim Carr 05 : Going Down Smooth - Robert Silverberg
Wollheim Carr 05 : The Worm That Flies - Brian W. Aldiss
Wollheim Carr 05 : Masks - Damon Knight
Wollheim Carr 05 : Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones - Samuel R. Delany
Wollheim Carr 05 : Hemeac - E. G. Von Wald
Wollheim Carr 05 : The Cloudbuilders - Colin Kapp
Wollheim Carr 05 : This Grand Carcass - R. A. Lafferty
Wollheim Carr 05 : A Visit to Cleveland General - Sydney J. Van Scyoc
Wollheim Carr 05 : The Selchey Kids - Laurence Yep
Wollheim Carr 05 : Welcome to the Monkey House - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Wollheim Carr 05 : The Dance of the Changer and the Three - Terry Carr
Wollheim Carr 05 : Sword Game - H. H. Hollis
Wollheim Carr 05 : Total Environment - Brian W. Aldiss
Wollheim Carr 05 : The Square Root of Brain - Fritz Leiber
Wollheim Carr 05 : Starsong - Fred Saberhagen
Wollheim Carr 05 : Fear Hound - Katherine MacLean


Urban Bellwether reminder.

3.5 out of 5


Spousal saviour return divorce dump.

3.5 out of 5


Supernova human alien telepathic communication ending prolonged.

4 out of 5


Binary bad language.

3.5 out of 5


Immortal stone record.

3 out of 5


Everything cut off.

4.5 out of 5


Singing shiny password.

4 out of 5


Robotic education.

3 out of 5


Journeyman anti-raider civilisation upgrade.

4 out of 5


Robovampsuck monument deal.

3 out of 5


Non-remembered reused bits.

3 out of 5


Brood not all human.

3 out of 5


Nothinghead Ethical Suicide Service shag.

3.5 out of 5


Destructive exhibition draws you in.

3.5 out of 5


Magic tesser-act.

4 out of 5


Block of time compression, hopeful for ESP.

3 out of 5


Unindentified story article.

2 out of 5


Even though human brains are really nifty, still won't help that old underworld lookback tragedy.

4.5 out of 5


Broadcast Archetype Rescue Squad save hire.

3.5 out of 5




3.5 out of 5
... Read more

Product Description
Collection of sixteen stories by the author including "A Planet Called Aquella." Dustjacket by Ann Layman Chancellor. ... Read more

Product Description
A self-made millionaire gets a chance to live his life over; an accident victim who is given a mechanical body adapts to it so thoroughly that all things human repel him; an elderly man insists that he has a twin brother - although there's no record of the brother's existence. Intriguing concepts, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The cream of the cream
Ladies and gentlemen, if you want a really good classic horror anthology, look no further. A used copy of this long out-of-print book will more than repay the effort to locate it. Edited by the great Donald A. Wollheim, it's jam-packed with first-rate stories from some of the stalwarts of the old Weird Tales. Lovecraft, Bloch, Smith, Howard, Wandrei, Whitehead, McClusky--they're all here and more. The most frightening may be John Martin Leahy's "In Amundsen's Tent," but Smith's "The Hunters From Beyond" and Bloch's "The Opener of The Way" are on a par, with Lovecraft's "Thing On The Doorstep" just a step behind. Old friends and new discoveries, isn't that a horror-reader's dream?

The second best collection of horror stories ever
This is the real deal.It was first published in the 1950s, and was brought out with no fanfare.What stories, though.The first story, a blob story, is the weakest story in the book, and it was chilling.Great Lovecraft, Bloch, CA Smith and "In Amundson's Tent" is really terrifying.The only other collection that comes close to this is the old Modern Libary Giant "Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural", edited by Wise and Frasier.If you can, pick this one up.I keep hoping that they will rerelease this one.My copy is nearly falling apart. ... Read more

Product Description
Collection of ten stories by the author, covering the gamut from SF to Horror to a western and a Lovecraft pastiche. The color dustjacket illustration is by Michael Whelan. ... Read more