The Mammoth Book of New World Science Fiction: Short Novels of the 1960's [Paperback]

Like others in the series, the "Mammoth Book of New World Sci-Fi...1960's" features 10-short novels from the featured decade...each story being roughly 50 pages long. (Other volumes in the series are from the 30's, 40's, 50's, 70's, and 80's). Authors featured in this particular volume are sci-fi luminaries such as Zelany, Silverberg, G. Dickson, A. McCaffrey, & Philip J Farmer. The 10 stories featured are a strong sci-fi offering - a fair amount of variety, though somewhat weighted towards military sci-fi and reflective of the times and social changes in which they were written:

Three of the short stories featured were later developed into full-fledged series: "The Suicide Express" by Farmer/("The Riverworld Series); "Weyr Search" by McCaffrey/("The Dragon Riders of Pern" Series); and "Soldier Ask Not" by Dickson/(the "Dorsai" or "Childe Cycle" Series). These three are among the book's best offerings. But other gems include "How it was when the Past Went Away" by Silverberg (a story of mass amnesia set in San Fran, that clearly reflects influence of the time it was written despite supposedly being set in the 2000's); and "The Highest Treason" by Randall Garret (a military sci-fi that bears resemblance to later novels such as "The Forever War" and "Ender's Game.").

Another story also developed into a series is "Mercenary" by Mack Reynolds, which features a future where business disputes are settled via military battles (however weapons used must have been around pre-1900). Themes in "Mercenary" include a heavy caste system where many are disenfranchised, fiscally vibrant corporations having all the power, the "Two-party" system being a farce, and "lower classes" being kept satisfied and ignorant by being drugged but also (and perhaps more importantly) by being constantly occupied with mindless TV. "Mercenary" is intriguing in that the author seems making a fair amount of (perhaps thinly veiled) commentary about our society close to 50 years ago that many still make today. The author predicting 50 years ago that the masses would be kept occupied and satisfied by the various technology and devices available definitely makes one stop and think about the numerous "devices" that keep our population occupied today. Regardless of one's politics (and one certainly is under no requirement to agree with the author's implied views) Mack Reynold's concepts discussed in "Mercenary" are certainly intriguing to ponder.

There's not a clunker in here, all represent solid sci-fi offerings though I'm not sure "Code 3," (a story about a futuristic highway system and future law enforcement) or "Hawk Among Sparrows (an enjoyable but rather run-of-the-mill time-travel story) stand the test of time as classics. The other two stories include "Night of the Trolls" by Keith Laumer and "Eve of Rumoko" by Zelany - both good.

Unlike other anthologies, there is not much (or any) "extras" offered by way of commentary, annotations or notes on authors. But if you're looking for nothing but a collection of solid classic sci-fi's this is the place to go!

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