altheaann

This anthology is introduced as being all about "space opera" and grand dramatic romances of the future... however, very few of the stories in the anthology actually fit into that concept, in my opinion. It comes across as more of a random selection of stories, mostly from the pulp magazines of the 50's. The book was worth reading – the story "Brightness Falls From the Air" alone made it worthwhile – but it also contained some of the most offensive content that I've seen published. (The virulently homophobic "The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal").

· 6 • Been a Long, Long Time • R. A. Lafferty • ss Fantastic Dec '70
Short, humorous piece involving the amount of time it would take monkey with typrewriters to re-create the works of Shakespeare. (A very long time). Mediocre.

· 14 • The Possessed • Arthur C. Clarke • ss Dynamic Science Fiction Mar '53
Well, written, effective story - unfortunately quite spoiled by the common misconception about lemmings. (They don't really commit mass suicide.)

· 20 • Protected Species • H. B. Fyfe • ss Astounding Mar '51
Nice, classic-style sci-fi yarn. Gung-ho industrialist explorers (who shoot aliens for no good reason) vs. conservationist scientist (who wants to protect an interesting species) - and a nice end twist.

· 23 • All the Way Back • Michael Shaara • ss Astounding Jul '52
Good story by this Pulitzer-Prize-winning author. Mankind has finally reached the stars - and found a beautiful, earth-type planet, seemingly void of higher life forms. It's too good to be true - there has to be a catch. And of course, there is.

· 60 • The Star Plunderer • Poul Anderson • nv Planet Stories Sep '52
A bunch of human slaves on an alien spaceship stage a rebellion and take over. The story suffers from the fact that there's no real reason for it to be a sci-fi story. It could just as easily have been historical fiction or something, moved into space to sell to an SF market. It also features annoyingly fifties-style assumptions about gender roles.

· 90 • Foundation [Foundation] • Isaac Asimov • nv Astounding May '42
An excerpt from the books - it's sadly been long enough since I read these that I don't recally exactly where the excerpt was from (the very beginning?). Works OK as a short piece. Under the pretext of a grand Encyclopedia project, a group of brilliant men (of course) have been gathered on a backwater planet. They have no idea that their real work will be to create a legacy that will help civilization back to its feet after an inevitable collapse...

· 127 • We're Civilized • Mark Clifton & Alex Apostolides • ss Galaxy Aug '53
Heh heh. A fun (but not too strikingly original) take on the old idea that as other forms of life may seem insignificant to us, humanity may seem equally insignifigant to more advanced aliens.

· 146 • The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal • Cordwainer Smith • ss Amazing May '64
As I said before, this is a really offensive story, in ways that really can't be excused by the time period. Radiation on a colony planet causes all the women to die off. Men learn how to reproduce with implanted artificial wombs. But the single-sex society is made up of homosexual "monsters" with both violent and effeminate traits. They are "crazy," hate even the legend of women, and aspire to seek out the rest of humanity and kill all women.
It's up to Commander Sudzal, a monogaous, heterosexual Earthman, to foil this plot and defeat these perverts.
Really awful.

· 165 • The Rebel of Valkyr • Alfred Coppel • nv Planet Stories Fll '50
OK, this story also has really old-fashioned gender roles, and some statements that would rankle with even the mildest feminist... but it's also rather charming, in a Flash Gordon-meets-Conan the Barbarian kind of way. Sexy wenches, bold warriors, spaceships, warlocks, and royal intrigue.

· 215 • Brightness Falls from the Air [contest story] • Idris Seabright • ss F&SF Apr '51
OK, you can make excuses for stories based on the year they were written in - and then you come across something like this which blows all those excuses to hell. This is just an amazing story. Idris Seabright was a pseudonym of the author Margaret St. Clair. The story is a wrenchingly emotional look at the exploitation of an alien species for entertainment, and an indictment of humanity's tendency to devalue and use up things of true value and beauty... repeatedly. It's one of the best short stories I've read. I'm definitely going to look for more of her work.
I'm not sure if Tiptree's novel of the same name was intentionally named after this story. It does also deal with aliens who have been exploited by humans, but is not related in any other definite way.

· 223 • Immigrant • Clifford D. Simak • na Astounding Mar '54
Only the best and the brightest are allowed by the alien inhabitants to immigrate to the legendary planet of Kimon - and no one ever chooses to return, although they send fabulous wealth and frequent letters back home. But when he arrives, after hard and long study, Selden Bishop discovers that the aliens seem to regard the humans as nothing more than amusing pets... Is this the whole story?
Good story.

· 289 • Resident Physician [Sector General] • James White • nv New Worlds Sep '61
A space doctor picks up a stranded alien with a mysterious ailment. Can he figure out what's wrong with his patient? Pretty basic.

· 318 • Age of Retirement • Mal Lynch • ss Astounding Apr '54
In the future, the Space Patrol is 'manned' by children, who, after enforced 'retirement, ' go on to school.

· 325 • Planting Time • Pete Adams & Charles Nightingale • ss Antigrav: Cosmic Comedies.
On an alien planet, a lonely spaceman encounters strange, hallucinogenic flowers that resemble beautiful women. This makes for a potentially extremely embarassing situation - but the guy is resourceful, and finds a way to turn this to his advantage. Pretty funny story.