The Hugo Winners, Volume One. edited by Isaac Asimov
THE HUGO WINNERS, VOLUME ONE
RATED 94% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 4.33 OUT OF 5
9 STORIES: 4 GREAT / 4 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
When looking at my blog analytics for 2021, it was obvious that any of my reviews that mentioned the Hugo Awards were incredibly popular. [2021 Short Story Nominees, 2021 Novelette Nominees, Hugo Award Winners from Asimov’s Science Fiction.]. So in the interest of chasing the Almighty Click - and reading more great stories - I decided to work my way through The Hugo Winners: a four-volume set edited by Isaac Asimov.
The results were not disappointing. This first volume is packed with excellent stories that speak to some of the best Science Fiction. being written in this era. Asimov’s introductions are a little bit weird as they are either Asimov making everything about himself and his (at the time) lack of a Hugo Award or they are an attempt at self-deprecating humor. A bit strange, but the stories are superb.
The Great Stories from this Book Include:
The Darfsteller • (1955) • novella by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Stage actors have been replaced by tape-driven automatons. An actor-turned-janitor puts a plan in motion to perform on the stage one last time.
Exploration Team • [Colonial Survey] • (1956) • novelette by Murray Leinster. Spectacular planetary adventure story full of wild adventure and dangerous aliens. A man and mutated semi-intelligent Kodiak bears has been living illegally on a planet deemed off-limits by the rest of human civilization. A solitary officer of the Colonial Survey arrives and instigates a perilous mission to find a well equipped colony across the mountains that may already be overrun by the dangerous local wildlife.
The Big Front Yard • (1958) • novella by Clifford D. Simak. A simple repairman trader finds beings in his home that begin by fixing up broken technology and end by transforming his home into one of the world’s most important gateways. A true “sense of wonder” story.
Flowers for Algernon • (1959) • novelette by Daniel Keyes. Told in first person journals, a mentally handicapped man has his intelligence increased by scientific experimentation. But is this a blessing or a curse? Arguably, the greatest Science Fiction story ever written.
THE HUGO WINNERS, VOLUME ONE IS RATED 94% POSITIVE
9 STORIES : 4 GREAT / 4 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
How do I arrive at a rating?
The Darfsteller • (1955) • novella by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Great. Stage actors have been replaced by tape-driven automatons. An actor-turned-janitor puts a plan in motion to perform on the stage one last time.
Allamagoosa • (1955) • short story by Eric Frank Russell
Good. Fun, but slight tale of a spaceship crew that has their shore leave cut short when they are going to be audited. The manifest claims they had something called an offog, but no one knows what that is.
Exploration Team • [Colonial Survey] • (1956) • novelette by Murray Leinster
Great. Spectacular planetary adventure story full of wild adventure and dangerous aliens. A man and mutated semi-intelligent Kodiak bears has been living illegally on a planet deemed off-limits by the rest of human civilization. A solitary officer of the Colonial Survey arrives and instigates a perilous mission to find a well equipped colony across the mountains that may already be overrun by the dangerous local wildlife.
The Star • (1955) • short story by Arthur C. Clarke
Good. A science-minded priest loses his faith with the discovery of a supernova that killed a beautiful civilization.
Or All the Seas with Oysters • (1958) • short story by Avram Davidson
Good. A bicycle shop owner and his playboy partner start to speculate about what kinds of life might be hiding in plain sight.
The Big Front Yard • (1958) • novella by Clifford D. Simak
Great. A simple repairman trader finds beings in his home that begin by fixing up broken technology and end by transforming his home into one of the world’s most important gateways. A true “sense of wonder” story.
The Hell-Bound Train • (1964) • short story by Robert Bloch (variant of That Hell-Bound Train 1958)
Average. A man tries to outsmart the conductor of a train to Hell. He’s not as clever as he thinks.
Flowers for Algernon • (1959) • novelette by Daniel Keyes
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?
The Longest Voyage • (1960) • novelette by Poul Anderson
Good. Seafaring explorers on a distant world discover a civilization that claims they have a prophet who fell from the stars in his ship.
