The 5th Annual of the Year's Best S-F. edited by Judith Merril. 1960
The 5th Annual of the Year's Best S-F. is rated 93%.
AVERAGE STORY: 4.10
20 Stories : 5 great / 12 good / 3 average / 0 poor / 0 DNF
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This is an exceptional anthology which contains arguably the greatest Science Fiction short story and the greatest Fantasy story ever written … in the same collection! There are five great stories here and 12 good stories that range from entertaining diversions to seriously interesting. Even the average stories in this book aren’t that average. They are very short essays that might have been interesting at the time, but are forgettable today.
I strongly recommend this anthology. It is one of the best “Best of the Year” volumes I’ve come across. There is, however, a weird focus by editor Judith Merril on calling out Kingsley Amis for his criticism of science fiction in an article. Not sure what is up with that.
The Great Stories:
“The Shoreline at Sunset” by Ray Bradbury. 1959. So other work of Fantasy hits me a powerfully as Bradbury’s story of a mermaid that washes ashore and changes the lives of a few young men. Bradbury was a master of mood and emotion, showing in brief beautiful perfection of this fable.
“Flowers For Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. 1959. There may not be a more complete work of Science Fiction. This bittersweet novella tells the story of a mentally handicapped man who undergoes scientific experimentation to become more intelligent. Another near perfect story. Deeply complex characters. Exceptional and innovative prose styling. It has sometime important to say about the value of human beings and the value of science. A true masterpiece.
“A Death in the House” by Clifford D. Simak. 1959. This is Simak at his most Simak. A rural man treats a dying alien with dignity and respect, even when no one else in the world will. A tale of decency, integrity, and sacrifice. Probably a forgotten gem.
“Day At the Beach” by Carol Emshwiller. 1959. A quietly bleak tale of dystopia. It might be Saturday and in an attempt at normalcy, a family tries to spend a simple day at the beach. But nothing is normal about the state of this world. Flashes of horror amongst attempts at humanity.
“The Man Who Lost the Sea” by Theodore Sturgeon. 1959. So much style here! A young boy and a dying astronaut and the ocean and you.
The 5th Annual of the Year's Best S-F. is rated 93%.
20 Stories : 5 great / 12 good / 3 average / 0 poor / 0 DNF
How do I arrive at a rating?
“The Handler” by Damon Knight. 1960
Good. A fun little story about the ‘little people’ behind the ‘great ones.’ In Hollywood and life.
“The Other Wife” by Jack Finney. 1960
Good. Charming, but dated, fantasy about alternate worlds and alternate wives.
“No Fire Burns” by Avram Davidson. 1959.
Average. The first Davidson story that I could actually finish. Mediocre tale of physiological testing with a decent twist ending.
“No, No, Not Rogov!” by Cordwainer Smith. 1958
Good. A riveting Cold War tale of secret Soviet KGB science experiments and the people who undertook them.
“The Shoreline at Sunset” by Ray Bradbury. 1959
Great. Lives are forever changed with a mermaid washes ashore. A masterpiece of mood.
“The Dreamsman'“ by Gordon R. Dickson. 1959
Good. A man visits a young couple who has been projecting their psi-powers.
“Multum in Parvo” by Jack Sharkey. 1959
Good. Funny with lots of puns. This are ‘historical frictions.’
“Flowers For Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. 1959
Great. Told in first person journals, a mentally handicapped man has his intelligence increased by scientific experimentation. But is this a blessing or a curse?
"What Do You Mean . . . Human?" by John W. Campbell Jr.
Good. Nonfiction. Using Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics as a starting point, Campbell tries to create a mental structure by which humanity is defined. And that isn’t so easy.
“Sierra Sam” by Ralph Dighton. 1960
Average. An associated press article about man-like devices for testing.
“A Death in the House” by Clifford D. Simak. 1959
Great. A rural man discovers a dying alien and treats it with respect.
“Mariana” by Fritz Leiber. 1960
Good. A bored housewife starts flicking switches and pieces of her world start to disappear.
“An Inquiry Concerning the Curvature Of the Earth's Surface and Divers Investigations of a Metaphysical Nature” by Roger Price. 1958.
Average. A very short essay about “Flat Earthers.”
“Day At the Beach” by Carol Emshwiller. 1959
Great. A quietly chilling dystopian apocalypse tale of a mother who just wants the whole family to go to the beach.
“What the Left Hand was Doing” by Randall Garrett
(as Darrel T. Langart.). 1960Good. A James Bond—esque story about extracting a captured scientist from a future China.
“The Sound Sweep” by J. G. Ballard. 1960
Good. A mute young man who sweeps up the sound residue of a resonating audio technology has a friendship with a washed up prima-donna who wants nothing more than to sing out loud again.
“Plentitude” by Will Worthington. 1959
Good. A family that lives in the wild is intensely affected by a trip to ‘the city’ where people have are changed in horrific ways. Intense and sharp vignette.
“The Man Who Lost the Sea” by Theodore Sturgeon. 1959
Great. A literary masterpiece of a dying astronaut and his entire life.
“Make a Prison” by Lawrence Block. 1958
Good. A peaceful society tries to build a prison for a murderer. A fun, little gimmick story.
“What Now, Little Man?” by Mark Clifton. 1959
Good. The goonies have no problem with working as human slaves and dying to be human food, but now a human is teaching them to talk and think.
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