The Great SF Stories Volume 1, 1939. edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. 1979
1939 is seen as the start of science fiction’s Golden Age with the start of John W. Campbell’s editorship of Astounding Magazine. This collection is the first in a series of retrospective collections highlighting the editors’ picks for best of the year.
This collection is ostensibly the selections of Isaac Asimov, but is most liked dominated by Martin H. Greenberg with Asimov contributing short paragraphs that bring his personal perspective on the stories and their authors. There is a lot of perspective on offer since this collection was assembled in 1979.
Despite a few iconic stories (Black Destroyer, Heavy Planet, I Robot), this isn’t a great collection. Many of the stories are difficult to appreciate in 2020. Some are too silly and fantastic. Some have outdated ideas about women. Some are minor stories by authors who go on to do much better work later.
The Great Stories Volume 1, 1939 is rated 73%.
1 great / 12 good / 3 average / 0 poor / 4 DNF.
How do I arrive at a rating?
"I, Robot" by Eando Binder
Good. One of the earliest robot stories with a strong parallels to Frankenstein. Smart and clever. Unrelated to the Isaac Asimov robot collection of the same name.
"The Strange Flight of Richard Clayton" by Robert Bloch
Good. A space launch and a broken instrument board makes one man’s space voyage very difficult.
"Trouble With Water" by Horace L. Gold
DNF. Fantasy story about a gnome that controls water and swims with his ears.
"Cloak of Aesir" by Don A. Stuart
DNF. Powerful matriarchs who own the earth talk about their interactions with a all black human. Boring and maybe racist.
"The Day is Done" by Lester del Rey
Good. A touching story about the last neanderthal at the end of his life.
"The Ultimate Catalyst" by John Taine
Average. Scientist fools a dictator in the Amazon by injecting snake blood into fruit.
"The Gnarly Man" by L. Sprague de Camp
Good. The strange long life of a circus performer brings out the worst in a number of scientists.
"Black Destroyer" by A. E. van Vogt
Great. A masterpiece of a thriller told in alternating viewpoints. An intelligent cat-like monster stalks a spaceship full of explorers who arrive to investigate a dead civilization. Suspenseful, smart, violent, and propulsive.
"Greater Than Gods" by C. L. Moore
Good. A man must choice between two women for marriage, but messages from the future far futures show that each path leads to disaster and dystopia
"Trends" by Isaac Asimov
Good. Scientist who wants to travel to space must fight against fundamentalist anti-science furor.
"The Blue Giraffe" by L. Sprague De Camp
Good. A creative story of a man who must investigate an African wildlife preserve where all the animals are experiencing extreme mutations.
"The Misguided Halo" by Henry Kuttner
DNF. Fantasy tale of a man who accidentally gets a halo from an angel.
"Heavy Planet" by Milton A. Rothman
Good. Awesome and action-packed story. On Heavyplanet, one man tries to salvage a ship that crashed into the ocean. It might hold secrets for flight and even space travel if it isn’t destroyed by a competing country.
"Life-Line" by Robert A. Heinlein
Good. A scientist invents a machine that can predict the moment of a person’s death. Obviously, this gets him into all kinds of trouble.
"Ether Breather" by Theodore Sturgeon
Average. Live color television isn’t accurately depicting what the cameras were pointing at.
"Pilgrimage" by Nelson Bond
Good. In the far future, a young woman goes on a pilgrimage to become the Great Mother of her people. Along the way she meets a man unlike any in her world. He might hold the key to this planet’s past.
"Rust" by Joseph E. Kelleam
Good. Melancholy story of war robots after there are no wars left.
"The Four-Sided Triangle" by William F. Temple
Average. Scientist tries to settle a love-triangle by reproducing the woman involved.
"Star Bright" by Jack Williamson
DNF. Man wishes - and recieves - the power to create things with his mind.
"Misfit" by Robert A. Heinlein
Good. A group of misfit young men are part of a military crew sent for grueling work on an asteroid.
