The 1978 Annual World's Best SF. edited by Donald A. Wollheim
The 1978 Annual World’s Best SF is rated 85%.
AVERAGE STORY: 3.80
10 Stories : 1 great / 6 good / 3 average / 0 poor / 0 DNF
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1977 was the year that Star Wars changed the public conception of science fiction forever. Editor Donald Wollheim comments on it in the introduction. He hopes that some who have enjoyed the movie will slake their desire with literary science fiction, but he fears that there will be an inevitable decline.
This collection definitely stays away from the space opera and offers us an offbeat collection of tales. In fact, the greatest of this stories is pure horror, grounded in bleakly possible sci-fi reality.
“The Screwfly Solution” by Raccoona Sheldon. A.K.A. James Tiptree Jr A.K.A Alice Sheldon. This is a stark and raw feminist horror fable that uses the epistolary format for terrifying effect. Brutal anti-woman murder cults are springing up around the world. Strangely, the dispersion of these cults follows what would be expected if an agent of some kind was released in the atmosphere. Through this hellscape, a husband and father tries to return home to his family, but what will he do when he arrives.
The 1978 Annual World’s Best SF is rated 85%.
1 great / 6 good / 3 average / 0 poor / 0 DNF
How do I arrive at a rating?
In the Hall of the Martian Kings by John Varley. 1976
Good. A Martian expedition finds themselves stranded after a disaster and must come up with a way to survive together for years until help can arrive.
A Time to Live by Joe Haldeman.
Average. A very wealthy man is awakened from cryogenic sleep by far future beings.
The House of Compassionate Sharers by Michael Bishop.
Good. A rebuilt man who has a phobia of the human body get treatment at an interesting facility that doubles as an offbeat brothel.
Particle Theory by Edward Bryant.
Average. Cool character story of a man coming to grips with cancer and dwelling upon the death of his wife.
The Taste of the Dish and the Savor of the Day by John Brunner.
Average. A strange dinner with an old gourmet acquaintance becomes a conversation about the greatest - and most dangerous - meal in the world.
Jeffty is Five by Harlan Ellison.
Good. In his own world, Jeffty stays five even as everyone else gets older.
The Screwfly Solution by Raccoona Sheldon.
Great. A masterpiece of feminist horror. Something is confusing the sex drive of men, driving then to murder all women.
Eyes of Amber by Joan D. Vinge
Good. An assassin on an alien world takes a human probe as her ‘demon’ and what starts as scientific examination becomes something more.
Child of the Sun by James E. Gunn
Good. An amnesiac time-traveler, a kidnapped girl, and an apocalyptic Los Angeles devastated by the Oil Crisis.
Brother by Clifford D Simak.
Good. One twin brother left for the stars and one stayed on the farm. Tonight the space brother will return.
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