F&SF Forum » The Stories

1. Gordon Van Gelder
   Editor/Publisher

   For anyone who's curious, here are the contents of the 60th anniversary anthology that Tachyon Publications is bringing out:

   THE VERY BEST OF F&SF

   Of Time and Third Avenue Alfred Bester
   All Summer in a Day Ray Bradbury
   One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts Shirley Jackson
   A Touch of Strange Theodore Sturgeon
   Eastward Ho! William Tenn
   Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes
   Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut
   This Moment of the Storm Roger Zelazny
   The Electric Ant Philip K. Dick
   The Deathbird Harlan Ellison
   The Women Men Don't See James Tiptree, Jr.
   I See You Damon Knight
   The Gunslinger Stephen King
   The Dark Karen Joy Fowler
   Buffalo John Kessel
   Solitude Ursula K. Le Guin
   Mother Grasshopper Michael Swanwick
   macs Terry Bisson
   Creation Jeffrey Ford
   Other People Neil Gaiman
   Two Hearts Peter S. Beagle
   Journey into the Kingdom M. Rickert
   The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate Ted Chiang

   Posted 3 months ago #

2. Gordon Van Gelder
   Editor/Publisher

   The first review of the book is from Keith Brooke at THE GUARDIAN (UK): http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/22/best-fantasy-science-fiction-van-gelder

   Posted 3 months ago #

3. Gordon Van Gelder
   Editor/Publisher

   And here's a blog post from Jeff Ford that shows the cover (which is similar to the cover of the 60th Anniversary issue): http://14theditch.livejournal.com/275456.html

   Posted 3 months ago #

4. DaveTruesdale
   Member

   Very impressive. If this isn't going to become a collector's item, I don't know what will.

   Posted 3 months ago #

5. Gordon Van Gelder
   Editor/Publisher

   Here's the publisher's page for the book: http://www.tachyonpublications.com/book/Very_Best_of_FandSF.html?Session_ID=new

   Posted 2 months ago #

6. GSH
   Member

   It's hard to imagine better cover illustration. I can't quite make out the signature on the web photos. Who's the artist?

   Posted 2 months ago #

7. Gordon Van Gelder
   Editor/Publisher

   The artist is David Hardy.

   Posted 2 months ago #

8. RobinA
   Member

   And it's going to be available from the Science Fiction Book Club. I just ordered it through their website. (It's actually the first book I ordered from them in about five years!) Looking forward to reading it!

   Posted 2 months ago #

9. Gordon Van Gelder
   Editor/Publisher

   Here's a blog post about the book from Michael Swanwick: http://floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2009/08/in-which-i-dwell-among-immortals.html

   Posted 2 months ago #

10. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    And here's another blog post from Michael: http://floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2009/09/in-which-i-valiantly-attempt-to-be.html

    Posted 2 months ago #

11. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    In case you didn't check out Michael Swanwick's blog, here's a direct link to The Agony Column's podcasts in celebration of our 60th Anniversary: http://bookotron.com/agony/Current/Current_Podcast_Audio.html

    Posted 2 months ago #

12. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    PUBLISHERS WEEKLY review of the anthology:

    The Very Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology Edited by Gordon Van Gelder. Tachyon (IPG, dist.), $15.95 paper (476p) ISBN 978-1-892391-91-9

    F&SF editor Van Gelder has assessed, culled and organized the magazine’s best stories to produce this definitive volume of work from speculative fiction’s top authors, from Alfred Bester’s “Of Time and Third Avenue” (1951) to Ted Chiang’s “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” (2007). Hauntingly sad tales are laid alongside hopeful tales of the far future and heroic tales of honor and duty, but all have an intensity of emotion and draw the reader in with vibrant characters, fully realized settings and ingenious writing. Van Gelder’s introductory disclaimer that this contains “two dozen of our best stories” rather than the best two dozen stories may explain the lack of inclusions from the 1980s. For sheer reading pleasure, this anthology is unparalleled. (Oct.)

    Posted 2 months ago #

13. TJR357
    Member

    I'm going to my local bookstore and picking this up today. They have one copy on hold for me.
    I can't wait.

    Posted 2 months ago #

14. TJR357
    Member

    And I bought it.
    And it's awesome.

    Posted 2 months ago #

15. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    Book reviewed by "Grey_Area" (aka Chris Hsiang) at io9.com: http://io9.com/5354917/60-years-of-strange-parables-and-unsettling-discoveries-in-one-volume

    Posted 2 months ago #

16. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    And here's a nice blog review of the book: http://visionsofparadise.blogspot.com/2009/09/very-best-of-f.html

    Posted 2 months ago #

17. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    Blgger posts about the anthology and other things: http://charles-tan.blogspot.com/2009/09/essay-support-our-zines-day.html

    Posted 2 months ago #

18. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    John O'Neill at BLACK GATE blogs about the book: http://www.blackgate.com/2009/09/24/the-very-best-of-fantasy-science-fiction/

    Posted 1 month ago #

19. BrianCrowley
    Member

    I was pretty impressed with M. Rickert's story this month (it was my favorite from Oct/Nov) so I can't wait to read her story that made the "very best of collection".

    Posted 1 month ago #

20. John ONeill
    Member

    Hey Gordon!

    Thanks for letting people know about my blog post. I came by here to mention it last week... but it took me this long to remember my password. :)

    Still making my way through the book, and enjoying it tremendously.

    John

    Posted 1 month ago #

21. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    Sure thing, John. Thanks for blogging about the book.

    By the way, I'll bet your password is . . . Bosco!

    Posted 1 month ago #

22. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    Faren Miller gives the book a nice review in the Oct. 2009 LOCUS:

    "It's a glorious selection. . . . not a dud in the bunch."

    Posted 1 month ago #

23. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    Andy Wheeler offers a brief blog post about the book here: http://antickmusings.blogspot.com/2009/10/reviewing-mail-week-of-103.html

    Posted 1 month ago #

24. econtheory
    Member

    While not a long time reader I've acqired a fairly decent collection of F&SF in a short time, which makes me at least able to say I've been reading this mag for 'years.' One thing which I've found surprising is, here is a collection that many of you may own either most of the stories or have read them before at the least, and yet there is real excitement and anticipation for this anthology. What great readers, what a great magazine! Perhaps this will supplant the annual Year's Best as the Locus winner of the year.

    Posted 1 month ago #

25. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    Reviewed by Rod Lott at Bookgasm: http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/sci-fi/fantasy-science-fiction-sixtieth-anniversary/.

    Posted 1 month ago #

26. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    Another blog review of the book: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/zzassortedanthologies.html#vb60

    Posted 1 month ago #

27. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    And another: http://mervih.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/the-very-best-of-fantasy-science-fiction-60th-anniversary-anthology/

    Posted 1 month ago #

28. robertbrown
    Member

    In his blog, Swanwick claims "Mother Grasshopper" was his first story to appear in the mag. Can this be true? Didn't he send Ferman anything? Could he have been rejected?

    I have been rejected by F&SF many, many times, by at least three editorial regimes. The thought that Swanwick was rejected many, many times by those same regimes makes me feel a whole lot better.

    Posted 1 month ago #

29. SHamm
    Member

    Unless I am mistaken, "Mother Grasshopper" was a reprint from the small-press collection A Geography of Unknown Lands. The first original Mr. Swanwick sold to The Magazine of was "The Madness of Gordon van Gelder" (March 2000).

    Posted 1 month ago #

30. Gordon Van Gelder
    Editor/Publisher

    Sam Hamm is correct on all counts. I have no idea if Michael submitted anything to F&SF before I reprinted "Mother Grasshopper."

    Posted 1 month ago #

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