The Hugo Winners, Volume Two. edited by Isaac Asimov

THE HUGO WINNERS, VOLUME TWO

RATED 82% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 3.71 OUT OF 5

14 STORIES: 3 GREAT / 8 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 2 DNF

After the joy of reading The Hugo Winners, Volume One (94%), I jumped headfirst into the second volume. Immediately, I came across a lot that I didn’t connect with. The stories had gotten a lot longer and seemed to be stylistically more in line with epic fantasy - even when they were technically Science Fiction ( both Vance, 1st Anderson, McCaffrey, and the Silverberg). There was also the obvious influence of Harlan Ellison’s Dangerous Visions - an anthology I respect more than enjoy.

Which leads us to the highest number of DNF’d stories in an anthology for awhile. I continue to struggle with SF from the 1960s. That makes me a bit sad.

Isaac Asimov’s introductions are once again a bit off-putting and a bit sexist in describing Anne McCaffrey, but offering a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at figures in the SF world of the 1960s. So many anthologies exclusively praise the included authors, which makes the quite distinctive.

Buy Your Own Copy Here.

Only three of these stories made My Great List:

• Soldier, Ask Not • [Childe Cycle] • (1964) • novella by Gordon R. Dickson. A reporter, driven by hate and revenge, tries to influence the outcome of a war between two factions of humanity. The depiction of a humanity that has become specialized due to living on different worlds was a great idea. The suspense and intrigue was very enjoyable.

• I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream • (1967) • short story by Harlan Ellison. Ellison has created a vision of scientific Hell. Five people - the last on the planet - are tortured, transformed, and humiliated by a Computer Intelligence that is built for War and knows only how to hate.

• The Sharing of Flesh • (1968) • novelette by Poul Anderson. A woman witnesses the murder of her husband by a tribesman on a primitive planet that he was studying. She sets off for vengeance and ends up studying the tribe as part of that quest. The vicious attack at the beginning on the story absolutely grabs hold and propels the scientific investigation throughout.

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THE HUGO WINNERS, VOLUME TWO IS RATED 82% POSITIVE

14 STORIES : 3 GREAT / 8 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 2 DNF

How do I arrive at a rating?

1. The Dragon Masters • (1962) • novella by Jack Vance

   DNF. While SF, this felt too cluttered with too many identical characters and a literary tone of epic fantasy. Bounced off this long story early, but feel kinda bad about it.

2. No Truce with Kings • (1963) • novella by Poul Anderson

   Good. In a post-apocalyptic Western USA, collectivists and independents go to war with a band of psychic humans caught in the middle. With aliens watching.

3. Soldier, Ask Not • [Childe Cycle] • (1964) • novella by Gordon R. Dickson

   Great. A reporter, driven by hate and revenge, tries to influence the outcome of a war between two specialized factions of humanity.

4. "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman • (1965) • short story by Harlan Ellison

   Good. The Harlequin disrupts the perfectly scheduled work as a protest and is hunted by the Ticktockman.

5. The Last Castle • (1966) • novella by Jack Vance

   Good. Various races of aliens have been enslaved by human, who live in luxury. The technician Meks, start a rebellion and overrun 8 of the 9 high-tech ‘castles’ in which the humans live.

6. Neutron Star • [Known Space] • (1966) • novelette by Larry Niven

   Good. Fun puzzle story where a spaceship pilot is hired to explain how the crew of a ship could be destroyed while nothing penetrated the shields.

7. Weyr Search • [Dragonriders of Pern short fiction] • (1967) • novella by Anne McCaffrey

   Good. Science Fiction on the thinnest technicality, this is the story of two Dragonriders who travel to an oppressed and broken down Hold and find a young girl to join their forces.

8. Riders of the Purple Wage • (1967) • novella by Philip José Farmer

   DNF. A very experimental, vulgar, sexually transgressive, and impenetrable story from the famous anthology “Dangerous Visions.” May have felt special in 1967 with lots of psychedelics, but not today. Plus it is too long for as annoying.

9. Gonna Roll the Bones • (1967) • novelette by Fritz Leiber

   Good. An unpleasant man plays dice with death in a hellish casino. A simple concept, but full of beautiful prose.

10. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream • (1967) • short story by Harlan Ellison

    Great. Ellison has created a vision of scientific Hell. Five people - the last on the planet - are tortured, transformed, and humiliated by a Computer Intelligence that is built for War and knows only how to hate.

11. Nightwings • (1968) • novella by Robert Silverberg

    Good. A Watcher (who watches the skies for signs of alien invasion), a Flyer (a young girl with beautiful wings), and a Changeling (who belongs to no Guild) arrived at the ancient city of Roum. They soon get entangled in the affairs of the Prince of Roum and a situation that make change the world.

12. The Sharing of Flesh • (1968) • novelette by Poul Anderson

    Great. A woman witnesses the murder of her husband by a tribesman on a primitive planet that he was studying. She sets off for vengeance and ends up studying the tribe as part of that quest.

13. The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World • (1969) • short story by Harlan Ellison

    Average. An experimental story that includes a killing spree, a statue on a planet, the draining of a violent dragon, and the dumping of that violence “Crosswhen” to Earth.

14. Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones • (1968) • novelette by Samuel R. Delany

    Good. A wild ride as a small time crook works his way up through a series of interactions and parties. Pretty groovy 1960s style.