From Amazon.com
In 1949,
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction was founded upon two radical principles: to publish SF and fantasy in one volume and to emphasize literary quality. Fifty years later,
F&SF is still going strong--indeed, it is the most acclaimed of SF's longest-running magazines. In honor of this achievement, publisher Edward L. Ferman and editor Gordon Van Gelder have assembled many of
F&SF's finest stories from the preceding five years for
The Best from Fantasy & Science Fiction: The Fiftieth Anniversary Anthology.
In Hugo Award winner Bruce Sterling's droll "Maneki Neko," a U.S. agent battles a perplexing, worldwide Net conspiracy. In World Fantasy Award winner John Crowley's insightful "Gone," alien invaders present earth with a mysterious and compelling choice. In Maureen F. McHugh's thought-provoking, Hugo-winning alternate history, "The Lincoln Train," President Lincoln's survival begets a world in which white Southerners are exiled to a concentration camp in Indian territory. The anthology also includes Elizabeth Hand's Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning "Last Summer at Mars Hill"; Gene Wolfe's allegorical science fantasy "No Planets Strike"; Bruce Holland Rogers's Nebula-winning "Lifeboat on a Burning Sea"; Harlan Ellison's angry "Sensible City"; Paul Di Filippo's satirical "Have Gun, Will Edit"; Ray Bradbury's affectionate Laurel and Hardy tribute, "Another Fine Mess"; and Ursula K. Le Guin's Nebula-winning "Solitude." --Cynthia Ward
From Publishers Weekly
Half a century old, the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction continues to impress. Editor Van Gelder and long-time publisher Ferman are, Van Gelder writes in the introduction to one story here, connoisseurs of "lyrical, character-driven human dramas." Among the 21 pieces collected here, all copyrighted between 1994 and 1998, are examples of that sort of drama by well-known authors like Ursula Le Guin, Tanith Lee and Terry Bisson, alongside entries from newer talents. At their best, the stories are strongly original, their humanity amplified by elements of scientific extrapolation or straight-out magic: the quotidian rendered fantastic and the fantastic, quotidian. Ray Bradbury's "Another Fine Mess," a whimsical L.A. ghost story, is so sweet as to make one laugh tears. John Crowley's "Gone" fascinates: alien "elmers" seed hope in a desperate world, with the point of view that of a woman whose survivalist ex has absconded with the children. Bruce Holland Rogers explores intricate borders of mind and machine in his Nebula-winning "Lifeboat on a Burning Sea." Information never crowds out the natural life of these tales (the old SF excess). Rather, they sin, when they do, by an excess of sentiment. The formidable Gene Wolfe washes out with "No Planets Strike," an offworld Christmas tale that reads like a draft, seeming to seek justification in its uplifting associations. Harlan Ellison delivers with his forceful prose and charming, tough dialogue a cookie-cutter story of Twilight Zone-ish comeuppance. In "Quinn's Way," fantasist Dale Bailey vividly captures joys and torments of childhood, but his prose periodically goes purple: e.g., he provides three introductions. Is the craft sufficient to carry its load of sentiment? Often, yes, though sometimes a reader's tears will abort in a squint and a cock of the head. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
