Status
Call number
Publication
Description
"What if life was neverending? What if you could change your body to adapt to an alien ecology? What if the pope were a robot? Spanning galaxies and millennia, this must-have anthology showcases classic contributions from H. G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, Octavia E. Butler, and Kurt Vonnegut, alongside a century of the eccentrics, rebels, and visionaries who have inspired generations of readers. Within its pages, you'll find beloved worlds of space opera, hard SF, cyberpunk, the New Wave, and more. Learn about the secret history of science fiction, from titans of literature who also wrote SF to less well-known authors from more than twenty-five countries, some never before translated into English. In The Big Book of Science Fiction, literary power couple Ann and Jeff VanderMeer transport readers from Mars to Mechanopolis, planet Earth to parts unknown. Immerse yourself in the genre that predicted electric cars, space tourism, and smartphones. Sit back, buckle up, and dial in the coordinates, as this stellar anthology has got worlds within worlds"--Back cover.… (more)
User reviews
Some statistics:
* 115 (or 116…I may have miscounted) stories
* 1,178 pages
* Contains many Hugo & Nebula prize winning authors
* It took me almost 2 years to read it (while also reading about 101 other novels)
Reading this book required
Even the stories by authors whose novels I really have enjoyed were not all that enjoyable for being second-rate and/or just plain emotionally weird. I won't mention names because my least/most favorite stories may not be yours and I don't want to influence you to avoid any stories---I found at least a half-dozen that I want to, and will, remember. But, for the most part, I'm now trying NOT remember some other few of them. I had to make a concerted effort to finish this book and did not find the process rewarding and edifying; but I'm glad I did it, a) for the strength of will that allowed me to finish it; b) for the breadth of conceptualization that forced me to think and feel in ways that are still beyond my ability to accept; c) enabling me to see how far Science Fiction has come in the few years since it was recognized as a genre.
So if you have the curiosity and stamina, read this book. If you can remember the "Omnibus of Science Fiction" or the "Treasury of Science Fiction" and enjoyed them, you might not find this collection as satisfying. In the end, it may be just my old age preferring the "time honored" classical themes of my childhood.
As an afterthought, the Vandermeers did a marvelous job of researching and introducing each author and story. In any collection this large, their prologues will stand for the touchstone of how an editor would ideally prepare me for what I'm about to read.