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Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the 20th Century

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Price: $17.00 - $14.99
(as of Jul 24, 2024 03:59:23 UTC – Details)

By: Orson Scott Card (Author)

A collection of the best science fiction short…

Reviews

  1. RedCrow97 –

    Quality Sci-Fi stories
    I have not read the book yet; This, like the other Sci-Fi books I had ordered as used books at very decent prices; include many wonderful stories by a number of classic Science Fiction authors. Included among these books, some stories written hundreds of years ago. I have a bit more time available these days, and can spend more time reading. With many familiar classic authors and some new ones, this book and the others I ordered around the same time will no doubt be quite enjoyable.

  2. Megan –

    A small collection of mostly good stories
    This is a small collection of what Card finds to be some of the most influential sci fi across the ages (Golden, New Wave, Media Generation). The book, if you factor out the essays, is probably about 350 pages long, so a fairly quick read for a decent price.Most of the stories were amazing in some way, although there are a few that are so bad that it scratches my head that I can’t imagine why Card would include them, such as Ellison’s “Repent, Harlequin!” I suppose not all experimental stories are good ones. But then, how do you explain the inclusion of Niven’s “Inconstant Moon”?As with all such anthologies, it comes down to your personal opinion. If you happen to like Card’s work, you’ll probably like a good number of the stories here, since the things a writer reads influences what they write. If you’re going in blind and don’t happen to like experimental fiction much, a lot of the New Wave stories will fall flat. The “quality” of experimental stories (that survive long enough to make it into anthologies) are often dependent on the temperament of the reader.The rest of the stories are amazing, though, and worth it.You’ll just have to read for yourself.

  3. John M. Ford –

    Orson Scott Card’s Favorite Science Fiction Stories
    These twenty-seven science fiction stories are those Orson Scott Card found memorable, enjoyable and influential. Card stratifies his collection by three eras of twentieth century science fiction: The Golden Age (beginning of the century to the mid-1960s); The New Wave (mid-1960s to mid-1970s); and The Media Generation (mid-1970s and onward). Readers interested in the genre’s history might consult Adam Roberts’ 

  4. Real Name – Real Name –

    Great Anthology!
    Very impressed! I’m new to science fiction and I have discovered some great writers in this collection. 100 Stars!

  5. Larry Schweinhart –

    A couple of gems, the rest ho-hum
    The best science fiction of the century ought to be better than this. A few were good, most were not. The book did include my favorite sci-fi short story about bears discovering fire, actually about people discovering bears discovering fire.

  6. Jane Ryder –

    Classics old and new
    This is a great collection of stories, both classics I’ve read before and some more recent authors I hadn’t encountered. I’d have to say all of the stories are good, but some of them stand out as exceptional, including “Sandkings” by George R.R. Martin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. LeGuin, and the goofy but strangely affecting “Bears Discover Fire” byTerry Bisson.This is a collection by true masters of the genre and covers all types of SF, from soft and hard science to almost-horror, ethical explorations to straight-up space opera, so whatever your preferences you’ll find something to enjoy. I’ve encountered quite a few of these in other collections, like the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, but that’s not a failing on the part of Orson Scott Card — the stories deserve to be included in a collection called “Masterpieces.” I do wish Card would have talked about why he chose each piece, rather than simply introducing each story with the author’s publishing history, but that’s a small quibble for such a great anthology.

  7. Steven Lee –

    I am really after Heinlein’s short stories, but this book opens the doors for other authors as well

  8. Amazon Customer –

    There are a few sci-fi anthologies knocking about but I checked the contents of this one against “A Science Fiction Omnibus” (Penguin Modern Classics) 29 Nov 2007 by Brian Aldiss and there is only one story that’s in both books, all the others are different.This was a present for my partner and he seems very happy with it, so there you go…

  9. A. K. –

    excellent

  10. Amazon Customer –

    A wonderous collection of short stories.

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