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Loading... The 1981 Annual World's Best SF (1981)by Donald A. Wollheim (Editor), Arthur W. Saha (Editor)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. F/SF As is usual for his annual World's Best collections, Wollheim selects 10 of the best stories of the preceding year, 1980 in this case. This series ran for 26 years (1965-1990) until the editor's death. The included stories are: vii • Introduction • essay by Donald A. Wollheim 1 • Variation on a Theme from Beethoven • novelette by Sharon Webb 30 • Beatnik Bayou • novelette by John Varley 64 • Elbow Room • novelette by Marion Zimmer Bradley 81 • The Ugly Chickens • novelette by Howard Waldrop 105 • Prime Time • short story by Norman Spinrad 119 • Nightflyers • novella by George R. R. Martin 181 • A Spaceship Built of Stone • short story by Lisa Tuttle 199 • Window • short story by Bob Leman 217 • The Summer Sweet, the Winter Wild • short story by Michael G. Coney 230 • Achronos • short story by Lee Killough Waldrop's 'The Ugly Chickens' is a "cute' story I have read before. Zoological science fiction. It won the 1981 Nebula award for novelette. I wouldn't call this a strong year for science fiction of science fantasy stories based on this collection. I did like the first story pretty well. Sharon Webb speculates on the death of the arts and artists when immortality is achieved for humans in the future. The solution that humanity came up with is presented here. A young boy needs to choose between music or immortality. I don't think this story has appeared anywhere else but this anthology since the early magazine publication in 1980. Varley's 'Beatnik Bayou was a flop for me. I didn't even bother to read the last couple pages of that story. I skipped the Marion Zimmer Bradley story. The other stories were OK and I think my two favorites were 'A Spaceship Built of Stone' by Lisa Tuttle which was an old-fashioned romance science fiction story with a subtly creepy edge about the Anasazi people in modern times and what looks to be a silent invasion. Then, Bob Leman's 'Window' was odd but good also. It completely twists and turns into a nightmare at the end. This story was adapted into an episode of a TV series in 2001 and starred Bill Pullman! Although not exactly the written story, you can watch it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aAY57plRYQ The actual story is better than the television adaptation, but I think it is kinda cool that it exists at all. Overall for 40 year old stories I can't complain. There are some good and interesting ideas in here, although most of this is quite forgettable. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesWorld's Best SF (1981) Belongs to Publisher SeriesDAW Book Collectors (432) Science Fiction Book Club (5524) Contains
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