SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

As a husband and father who has two jobs, I find myself with such limited reading time. I like to read novels, but it can take me two weeks to get through a 300 page book that I would have formerly polished off in a couple of days. I have found myself turning frequently to short stories, and I have found myself glad for this happy turn of events. I'm currently working my way through the complete short works of Philip K Dick, Theodore Sturgeon, and J G Ballard. I just finished Paolo Bacigalupi's collection, Pump Six and I'll probably pick up the two-volume set of George R R Martin stories this afternoon. I also like anthologies such as A World Treasury of Science Fiction and The Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

I would love to get any recommendations of great anthologies or single author short story collections. I love all sorts of SF, Fantasy, and Horror, particularly classic stories or newer ones that are blazing new ground in their genres.

You might try Phyllis Gotlieb's Son of the Morning and Other Stories. I enjoyed them very much.

I'm a huge fan of short stories and buy collections all the time. They've been telling us since the '70s that people don't buy story collections, which mystifies me because the degree of difficulty is so much higher and pulling one off is more rewarding. And, if the story sucks, it's over in a few pages. Win-win.

That said, the best collection I've read in the past couple years is Masked, edited by Lou Anders. These are all original stories about superheroes, and the signal-to-noise is incredibly high. There are only a couple clunkers in the bunch, and the ones that are good are *so* good that they buoy everything.

The last story in particular is brilliant on a number of levels. In fact, I have to go find my copy and read it again right now.

Lou Anders has been a solid editor, easily one of the best working today. I enjoyed the collection Fast Forward and picked up the follow-on, but it's still in my to-read pile.

Overclocked by Cory Doctorow is quite enjoyable.

Turning the wayback machine to a future time, you really can't go wrong with story collections by Alan Dean Foster or Larry Niven. Especially Foster's high points (for me), the paired collections With Friends Like These... and Who Needs Enemies?. With has two genuinely great short stories that I kept coming back to: Why Johnny Can't Speed and the title story.

I highly recommend Tales of Known Space and Neutron Star by Larry Niven. There is a genuine sense of play in all of these.

Chris, for classic stories there's no better place than The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus if you've not already read it.

As for single author collections, I always recommend the wonderful works of Cordwainer Smith. His entire short story fiction can be found in one place in The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith.

I love annual Years Best Fantasy and Horror that, until recently, were edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, which started originally in 1988 as Demons and Dreams. They collect some truly stunning short fiction from across the genres.

I'd also recommend Neil Gaiman's collections Fragile Things and Smoke and Mirrors. for my money he's one of the best short story writers around, along with Lucius Shepard and Michael Marhsall Smith.

I also have a thing for some of the collections of oldies - books edited by the likes of Asimov, Pohl and Silverberg. I tend to find them in second hand bookshops a lot, something my city is blessed with an abundance of.

A few of my favorites:

I believe John Varley's two short story collections The Persistence of Vision and Blue Champagne are out of print, but many of the stories are collected in The John Varley Reader.

Also out of print, but still very awesome: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, by James Tiptree Jr.

The Last Defender of Camelot, by Roger Zelazny (my copy is still missing, grrrr)

And of course, Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury, which makes me smile every time I think of it.

This one came out this year and will be on my best of the year I imagine Welcome to Bordertown, but in the way back this series was edited by Terri Windling, which also has in it The Essential Bordertown, Borderland, Finder, in no particular order. Except OP Chris, you're looking for short stories and Bull's Finder is a novel...

Thanks for the great recommendations! Some I have, but others I'll definitely check out. In particular, I've ordered the Penguin omnibus, and I've been looking into Tiptree lately - fascinating character, that one.

I can't recommend Ted Chaing's Stories of Your Life and Others enough. I really wish he wrote more.

Chiang has some other stories - "Exhalation" and "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" are awesome! There are a couple of other stories that I haven't yet read, but yeah, I'd love to see more. Philip K. Dick is one of my favorites.

For slipstream, I recommend Feeling Very Strange. Ted Chiang has a story in it (Hell is the Absence of God).

I just read loved most of the stories in Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis. Then I read the novella by Willis All Seated on the Ground.

The Hugo Winners Vol 1 and 2 1955-1972 Isaac Asimov, ed.

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame 1 - Robert Silverberg, ed.
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume 2A - Ben Bova, ed.
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume 2A - Ben Bova, ed.

The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein
Expanded Universe - Robert A. Heinlein

That should keep you busy for a while.

Strange Trades

Absolutely fanrastic short stories and one novelette (novella?)

The Complete Alpha Dreamer by Al Philipson (editor). An eBook collection featuring stories by several authors (including 3 by Philipson himself).

There's one story in there that I don't think qualifies as SF/F involving Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty, but the other 33 stories (it's a BIG volume) vary from good to great.

I loved Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century.

May I suggest the immortal:
Dangerous Visions
Again, Dangerous Visions

One of my favorite collections of speculative fiction, 1st published in the '40s and still in print is Grate Tales of Terror and the Supernatural

The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party
Crown of Stars
The Best of Robert Silverberg

Two of my favourite single-author collections are I, Robot (Isaac Asimov) and The Last of the Dragons and Some Others (E. Nesbit).

TH MISTRESS' SPARROW IS DEAD, ALL DAVID LEAVITT COLLECTIONS, THE PENGUIN BOOK OF GAY SHORT STORIES, and more. OH AND ALSO THE BEST SHORT STORIES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, a Filipino anthology of magnanimous literature of Filipino writers in English.

Peggy wrote: "A few of my favorites:

I believe John Varley's two short story collections The Persistence of Vision and Blue Champagne are out of print, but many of the stories are ..."

I'd have a hard time choosing between Gibson's Burning Chrome and The John Varley Reader.

Oh, yeah, you can't go wrong with John Varley. Burning Chrome has a couple truly great short stories in it, "Johnny Mnemonic" and one of my all-time favorite stories, the heart-rending "Dogfight."

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler whose novel Wild Seed we are discussing elsewhere on this group.

I didn't know that Butler had written short stories! I'll have to check that out.

Random wrote: "I can't recommend Ted Chaing's Stories of Your Life and Others enough. I really wish he wrote more."

OMG! I love his work!

stormhawk wrote: "The Hugo Winners Vol 1 and 2 1955-1972 Isaac Asimov, ed.

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame 1 - Robert Silverberg, ed.
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume 2A - Ben Bova, ed.
The Science Fiction..."

Yes, I vote for all of these. :D

A couple of additional one's I'll recommend are:

http://www.amazon.com/Sense-Wonder-Ce...

and


The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction

Though not a great fan of short stories because, by their nature, they lack depth. I have read many of the anthologies and Hugo awards.

One I liked over all was put together by Carol and Frederik Pohl called Jupiter. It was printed in the early '70's and had some of the masters in it.

Clarke, Asimov, Rothman, and Anderson to name a few. That was one of the ones that stood out.

I vote for Evolution of Insanity. This book is not sci-fi or fantasy per se.. It is genre-less. There are elements of fantasy and sci-fi but just read it so you can decide for yourself.

What I have to say about this book is that it has a huge mistake! Why so? Just read my review =P

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Merle wrote: "Though not a great fan of short stories because, by their nature, they lack depth. "

I don't know, I'm not sure I agree. It's true that the short story may not be a great form for deep and comprehensive world-building, which probably just takes a lot of pages. But I think it can be a great vehicle for exploring an idea, concept, or character in great depth.

I suspect that many of the collections named here support my point, but the one that jumps to mind is Her Smoke Rose Up Forever--short stories that I consider to be very deep. Sure, in some of them the characters are flat, or the idea is simple, but each story does something very well and with great depth.

Though the short story is not my favorite form either, I think it can provide an opportunity for an author to pare the story down to its essential elements, and to highlight the depth of those elements.

I've written and had a few SS published, not saying they can't be useful. I use them to explore ideas.

I just feel that I want more depth than can be provided from many of them. I often feel I'm just getting into it when it ends.

Being retired I have the time to sit and read Stephen King's 'It' or other extended works.

Merle wrote: "Though not a great fan of short stories because, by their nature, they lack depth. ...."

I would disagree vehemently with that statement. Many short stories are much more "in depth" and affecting than most novels which tend to ramble around and don't necessarily have much depth, but a lot of breadth. :)

Merle wrote: "I've written and had a few SS published, not saying they can't be useful. I use them to explore ideas.

I just feel that I want more depth than can be provided from many of them. I often feel I'm ..."

And to each his own, I feel completely different on the matter. I don't want to spend endless hours reading about characters I'd never care to know if real life, but certainly would spend half-an-hour reading about the same if it was presented in an interesting manners.

As I said, to each his own, it' why we have various forms of literature, entertainment, communication.
But I still maintain that you are wrong about depth, you are talking about breadth, not depth.

Jeff wrote: "I suspect that many of the collections named here support my point, but the one that jumps to mind is Her Smoke Rose Up Forever--short stories that I consider to be very deep. Sure, in some of them the characters are flat, or the idea is simple, but each story does something very well and with great depth. ."

Those stories are absolutely amazing.

I am currently reading and loving Somewhere Beneath Those Waves by Sarah Monette.

With his passing last night I will add

Ray Bradbury's Stories of Ray Bradbury

:(

Frost and Fire, There Will Come Soft Rains, The Foghorn...

I just picked up Bradbury's The October Country. He is a master!

The Year's Best SF anthos edited by Gardner Dozois are absolutely fantastic. There have been multiple favorites in every edition I've read every time.

The original Science Fiction Hall of Fame collection was a big deal for me in my early teens.

If you like really old fantasy, how about all the Andrew Lang [insert color here] fairytale books? I don't know how many of those exist, but they have some amazing stories in them.

The Orange Fairy Book

Apeman Spaceman
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23...

Have you tried Manifest Destiny? It's an oldie, but the stories hold up very well. I read it first in my teens and the stories stayed with me. I was surprised when I came back to it 20 years later I was surprised that I enjoyed them just as much.

Chris wrote: "As a husband and father who has two jobs, I find myself with such limited reading time. I like to read novels, but it can take me two weeks to get through a 300 page book that I would have formerl..."

I don't think these were mentioned here but some 10 years ago there was an anthology of fantasy short stories in two parts: Legends and Legends II. I think they are perfect for a quick intro to contemporary fantasy. The books have a little bit for everyone: Stephen King, Raymond Feist, Anne McCaffrey and many more.

The Stories of Ray Bradbury. This giant collection addicted me to science fiction when I was in middle school. The sad thing is after thirty years, I know them all by heart now. I wish I could do like Holly (from Red Dwarf) and wipe my memory of them, so I could read them fresh again.

Tony wrote: "The Stories of Ray Bradbury. This giant collection addicted me to science fiction when I was in middle school. The sad thing is after thirty years, I know them all by heart now. I wish I could do l..."

True!

With each new book I sometimes feel as if I'm chasing that first buzz I got when I read my first mind-blowing short story.

Along the lines of Ray Bradbury, let's add the work of another great from years gone by: Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008). His Tales from the White Hart was always one of my favorite short-story collections.

Some recommendations:

Fantasy:
was great. I haven't read the two others that I own, but I'm sure they are great also. ( and
was very good.
is another that I'd highly recommend.

The following have some good to great stories, but overall I found to be just ok:
and .

Horror:
was one of my favorite short story collections ever, I'd highly recommend it.
is another favorite, Legend is great and so are some of the other short tales.
some great ones here (and some pretty bizarre ones as well.)

And of course there are the many Stephen King short story and novella collections:

, , , , , , , , and .

I second Jaq's Thieves World books as well as Merle's Asimov's Robot stories. I would like to see more short story anthologies written. While I love reading and writing novels, there are times when I enjoy a quick story.

Dealing in Futures by Joe Haldeman. 'Love his style.

I recently voted for a story by that author in our May group reading poll over in the Short Fiction reading group, but got out-voted in favor of The Yellow Wallpaper. That's a great story, too, for sure, but I feel like we need more sci-fi and fantasy fans in the group!!! ;-)