- Paperback: 464 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (Oct 28 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312192754
- ISBN-13: 978-0312192754
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.7 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,041,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
This is the first of two companion anthologies compiled by SF's leading short fiction editor, Gardner Dozois. Although Dozois is notable for tastes that are skewed heavily toward the literary side of the science fiction spectrum, his avowed purpose with this volume is to collect the seminal works of good old-fashioned adventure SF. Dozois has limited his stomping grounds to the years between 1948 and 1971, though the bulk of these stories were first published in the 1950s, a period he calls "the second great Age of the Space Opera." The book starts off with A.E. van Vogt's classic "The Rull" and continues with 16 more adventure stories, culminating with James Tiptree Jr.'s "Mother in the Sky with Diamonds." In between are works by James H. Schmitz, L. Sprague de Camp, Jack Vance, C.M. Kornbluth, Leigh Brackett, Poul Anderson, Gordon R. Dickson, Cordwainer Smith, Brian W. Aldiss, H. Beam Piper, Ursula K. Le Guin, Fritz Leiber, and Roger Zelazny. Although The Good Old Stuff may contain some tough moments for contemporary readers--the tales here are, after all, a product of times when race and gender discrimination were more prominent than they are today--this is an excellent collection of some of the best SF, adventure or otherwise. --Craig E. Engler
From Booklist
Some may disparage early sf pulp magazine stories as only so much space opera, but many were not only well written--they were also whopping good adventures. Dozois, an editor said to have an especially good eye for talent, here gathers 16 stories, dating from the late 1940s to the 1970s, representing magazine sf stories at their best. Unlike the tales in Future on Ice (reviewed above), these stories don't involve razor-edged moral conundrums but, rather, more basic--and fun!--battles for survival. The selections include "The Second Night of Summer" by James Schmidt, in which a grandmother secretly saves a planet; "Semley's Necklace" by Ursula K. LeGuin, in which a woman chooses a jewel and loses a world; and "The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth" by Roger Zelazny, in which a fisherman who is really bait is caught but wins a trophy. Eric Robbins
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Intro to Earlier Science Fiction,
By Bill (San Diego) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Good Old Stuff (Paperback)
Good assortment of science fiction topics. Was especially useful exposure to some the giants in the field, who's work is well worth reading, but who aren't currently popular. Also interesting to read earlier treatments of sci-fi topics - alternate history, alien encounters, collapse of civilization. Agree with other reviewers that the stories have a strong literary bent, but not excessive.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Consistently interesting selection,
This review is from: Good Old Stuff (Paperback)
The back cover led me to expect a lot of golden age sf, but a good amount of this stuff is probably recent enough (1970) to qualify as good *new* stuff. (Although some of it is embarassingly fascinated with things like hypnosis and the Campbellian dogma of America/Earth's eventual superiority over all other alien races.) Dozois seems to have gone to some trouble to dig up some solid stories from lesser-known writers, some almost totally out of print (C. M. Kornbluth, Murray Leinster, Leigh Brackett, H. Beam Piper). I also appreciate that he's knowledgeable enough about his field to ensure a fair representation of women writers without his needing to visibly lower the bar to let them in.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The GOOD OLD STUFF Is Good Stuff!,
By
This review is from: Good Old Stuff (Paperback)
Trust Gardner Dozois to throw the dart into the board and pick some outstanding SF works.THAT SHARE OF GLORY by C.M. Kornbluth is worth the price of admission. GUNPOWDER GOD continues H. Beam Piper's "Verkan Vall" character adventuring in the levels of Earth (sideways in time). Included are Gordon R. Dickson's delightful THE MAN IN THE MAILBAG, and Jack Vances weird THE NEW PRIME. Don't skip a word or a story. Get close to the roots of this genre.
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