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THE BIG BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION by Ann VanderMeer

THE BIG BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION

edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer

Pub Date: July 12th, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-91009-2
Publisher: Vintage

A comprehensive, chronological journey through a century of seminal science fiction, compiled by the editorial team of the VanderMeers (Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology, 2015, etc.).

This ambitious collection is united around no less humble a theme than the very nature of science fiction—a question endlessly debated by genre aficionados. In their introduction, the VanderMeers define SF as that which “lives in the future”; they trace the history of the form from its early roots in contes philosophiques to the pulps; followed by the golden age, new wave, humanist, feminist, cyberpunk, and postmodernist traditions...and non-Western SF too. Feeling dizzy yet? But if the task of trying to chart such a broad sea seems prohibitive, the anthology does its best through the inclusion of a massive 105 short stories. Legendary authors are present, of course—Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Dick—but the strength of the collection lies in the light it shines into lesser-known corners of science fiction's past and present: stories translated into English (Sever Gansovsky's “Day of Wrath” is worth special mention, as is Jean-Claude Dunyach's surreal “Paranamanco”), many for the first time, as well as stories by women (Carol Emshwiller's excellent “Pelt,” C.J. Cherryh's moving “Pots”) and authors of color (Samuel R. Delany and Octavia E. Butler are predictable names, but did you know W.E.B. Du Bois wrote science fiction? Misha Nogha, Ted Chiang, and Manjula Padmanabhan also feature, to name just a few). Teachers wishing for a survey text of SF could hardly do better than this exhaustive volume. The stories defy neat classification beyond being science fiction, resulting in a reading experience as diverse as its author list.

A necessity for those wishing to broaden their understanding of science fiction as a genre...or just those looking for some darn good stories.