Any newcomer to sf looking for a place to start could do no better than 'The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume I.' The collection includes some of the very best sf stories from 1929 to 1964, as nominated by members of SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) and chosen by editor Robert Silverberg. They include such classics as:

"Nightfall" Isaac Asimov (perhaps the most famous sf story ever)
"Scanners Live in Vain" Cordwainer Smith
"The Nine Billion Names of God" Arthur C. Clarke

"Flowers for Algernon" Daniel Keyes
"A Rose for Ecclesiastes" Roger Zelazny
just to name a handful

So many other powerhouse writers are also represented: Ray Bradbury, John W. Campbell, Robert A. Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Theodore Sturgeon, James Blish, Alfred Bester, Damon Knight...the list goes on and on and on.

If I could only have one book of sf stories, this would be the one. A classic.

672 pages

Any newcomer to sf looking for a place to start could do no better than 'The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume I.' The collection includes some of the very best sf stories from 1929 to 1964, as nominated by members of SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) and chosen by editor Robert Silverberg. They include such classics as:

"Nightfall" Isaac Asimov (perhaps the most famous sf story ever)
"Scanners Live in Vain" Cordwainer Smith
"The Nine Billion Names of God" Arthur C. Clarke

"Flowers for Algernon" Daniel Keyes
"A Rose for Ecclesiastes" Roger Zelazny
just to name a handful

So many other powerhouse writers are also represented: Ray Bradbury, John W. Campbell, Robert A. Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Theodore Sturgeon, James Blish, Alfred Bester, Damon Knight...the list goes on and on and on.

If I could only have one book of sf stories, this would be the one. A classic.

672 pages

If you ever had an interest in science fiction, you simply must go out and find these books. Classic, defining stories from the days of science fiction when giants walked the earth and there were no special effects, just ideas and the need to tell a story in less then 5000 words.

Read classics like "Flowers for Algernon" and "The Cold Equations" and see what visionaries some of these authors were. Read "Nightfall" and see Isaac Asimov in his prime, or "Mimsy Were The Borogroves" and muse on the time when sci-fi wasn't written to fit on a Taco Bell cup.

Any one of these stories is worth the price of the book. Nothing else to say. Find it, buy it, read it, keep it.

Contents:
Trouble with Water - H. L. Gold
Nothing in the Rules - L. Sprague de Camp
Fruit of Knowledge - C. L. Moore
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius - Jorge Luis Borges
The Compleat Werewolf - Anthony Boucher
The Small Assassin - Ray Bradbury
The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
Our Fair City - Robert A. Heinlein
There Shall Be No Darkness - James Blish
The Loom of Darkness - Jack Vance
The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles - Margaret St. Clair
The Silken-Swift - Theodore Sturgeon
The Golem - Avram Davidson
Operation Afreet - Poul Anderson
That Hell-Bound Train - Robert Bloch
The Bazaar of the Bizarre - Fritz Leiber
Come Lady Death - Peter S. Beagle
The Drowned Giant - J. G. Ballard
Narrow Valley - R. A. Lafferty
Faith of Our Fathers - Philip K. Dick
The Ghost of a Model T - Clifford D. Simak
The Demoness - Tanith Lee
Jeffty Is Five - Harlan Ellison
The Detective of Dreams - Gene Wolfe
Unicorn Variations - Roger Zelazny
Basileus - Robert Silverberg
The Jaguar Hunter - Lucius Shepard
Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight - Ursula K. Le Guin
Bears Discover Fire - Terry Bisson
Tower of Babylon - Ted Chiang

Most are classics. Some of them are otherwise hard to find. This book has again to be reprinted.
Highlights:
Trouble with Water - H. L. Gold
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius - Jorge Luis Borges
That Hell-Bound Train - Robert Bloch
The Bazaar of the Bizarre - Fritz Leiber
And many more. Classic writers; the best of these writers.
If you can find it, buy it immediately.
Too bad there is only one story of each writer. I would love to have seen more of Tanith Lee. Her short stories are_very_hard to come by.
I think this is the best F anthology ever printed. These are multi-functional stories; elements of H too. Very good atmosphere. Fritz Leiber story will......you. Leiber is so good!
Happy hunting!

"The Fantasy Hall of Fame" fills an enormous hole in the fantasy world. While many of the best works in the genre are short stories, short stories rarely stay in print for long. This anthology presents the finest tales ever written in the genre; with rare exception, almost any reader's favorites can be found here. Robert Silverberg hasn't done many anthologies in recent years, but he used to put out one every year, and he hasn't lost his touch. Any young reader of fantasy novels looking for a new chunk of his favorite reading material will be ecstatic; any long-time reader will be overjoyed to greet old friends once more. The list of stories included is too long to be included here (which in itself is a good sign!), but my favorites include Robert Bloch's "That Hell-Bound Train" and Anthony Boucher's "Compleat Werewolf." A first-rate collection!

Each and everyone of these stories is a landmark. If you are a fantasy reader, Its the best place to investigate the roots of almost each and everyone of your beloved stories. If you are a beginner, there isnt a better place to start your exploration in this field!

This set of three novellas grouped into a book is a strange and haunting work whose effect lingers long. The stage is Earth far in the future, but an Earth whose pride and will have been shattered by terrible reverses. Silverberg paints a picture of the aftermath of human hubris, whereby pride and technological prowess carried to an extreme have led to the destruction of the continents of North and South America and ultimately to a "bankrupt" earth being placed in celestial "receivership". Beaten down and dispirited, humanity has been splintered in to a number of profession-specific guilds in a reversion to feudal times, with loyalty to guild superceding all other loyalties. The story is told through the experiences of a "Watcher" who has devoted his life to scanning the heavens for the approach of a long anticipated punitive invasion from a planet mortally wronged by human hubris. The book tells of the aftermath of the fateful invasion, resistance to which is rendered impossible by humanity's own divisions, let alone its reversion to a technological stone age. We follow the Watcher as, post-invasion, he seeks a new life and ultimately redemption. The topography is familiar and yet different as Silverberg plays on the names of well known cities (the holy cities of Roum and Jorslem, the romance of Perris in the nighttime). In majestic metaphor, the Watcher, after having his life's vocation rendered meaningless, delves deep into the past for lessons and finally seeks a new redemption, literally and figuratively, in a new united vision of love, tolerance and humanity. A book that is strange, troubling and yet inspiring.

Dave Deubler's review, shown here, is excellent, so I will only add that this is one of Silverberg's best. A must for any Silverberg fan. If you haven't read anything by Silverberg yet, then this one may very well hook you.

In this exquisite gem of a novel, Silverberg introduces us to the world of the far future. In this mysterious and only vaguely familiar land, the social order is dominated by the Guilds, who exercise enormous control over the lives of their members, each of whom plays some small part in a grand scheme whose totality is shrouded in the mists of antiquity. Thus one of the main threads of the story is always "How did things get this way?" Silverberg uses the story of a simple Watcher to reveal a long and complex history of Earth's rise, foolish pride, and subsequent fall. The Watcher's job is to search the skies, but why and for what is not immediately clear. Against a backdrop of magic, sunken continents, alien creatures, ancient wrongs and endless wandering around what we would call the Old World (Roum, Perris, and Jorslem), we come to appreciate the Watcher as a human being. In his love for the Flier Avluela and his loyalty to the Prince of Roum, amidst his failures, betrayals, renewal, and redemption, we see a microcosm of the human race's own journey from arrogance to fear to humility and finally beyond. A quiet melancholy pervades this book, as our protagonist wanders among the remnants of Earth's glory years, now decrepit relics. Yet Silverberg finds a way to conclude with the promise of salvation. Despite the unfamiliarity of the social order and the slightly modified place names, the book is easy reading, even for younger readers. There is no over-abundance of action, or of science, either, really, so perhaps this book won't be a favorite of everyone. There is violent conflict aplenty, but much of it takes place "off-stage" so it won't overpower the fainthearted. The mild sexual content is handled pretty much the same way, making it acceptable reading for all but the most sheltered young teens. In short, Silverberg weaves a spell of quiet mystery, timeless beauty, and eternal human values that is sure to entrance.

I have read almost all of Silverberg's novels written before 1980, and believe that "Dying Inside" is his best. It is unfortunate that it is out of print, but one can find it with a bit of effort. My daughter found a used copy in a small bookstore in NYC -- I have since re-read the book and found it even more poignant than the first time I read it. Readers not interested in science fiction should take the plunge into the genre with this book, as it explores the psychological aspects of alienation that can result from possessing a rare quality (or affliction). The main character of the story, David Selig, struggles with his relationships with others because of his ability to know exactly what they are thinking, feeling, etc. He learns that even his parents aren't always loving despite what they say. His unique loneliness is heartbreaking. Take the time to find this book. You may conclude that it is one of the most powerful science fiction novels ever written.

"Dying Inside," by Robert Silverberg, is an amazing masterpiece on the subject of alienation which, unfortunately, seems to have fallen out of the public consciousness in the 1990's. David Selig is a telepath who is losing his power. He is also losing his only source of feedback for human emotion and real contact with other human beings. Reduced to hacking out term papers for otherwise engaged Columbia University students, Selig's superhuman powers serve only his prurient, voyeuristic interests. Selig has never realized the potential of his power and his regrets are underscored by his constant referral to T.S. Eliot's masterpiece of modern anti-heroic poetry, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Although he is becoming trapped within himself, Selig has a reconciliation with his normal sister and his fading power, which is ultimately affirmative and uplifting. Silverberg won the Hugo Award for "Dying Inside" and the book secured his place as a master of modern fiction. Although Selig is superhuman, he is really Everyman, trying to define himself in a vast and confusing world. His story is a personal and painful, yet rewarding, trip into the human conscience. While exploring basic questions from the entire range of man's emotional experience, "Dying Inside" remains grounded in the eternal modern question of the consequences of action, inaction and the value of human existence. In interviews, Silverberg has revealed how emotionally draining it was to write this book. His personal sacrifice should be rewarded with a periodic reprinting of this powerful and urgent portrait.

Along with THE BOOK OF SKULLS and DOWNWARD TO THE EARTH, this is 1 of Silverberg's very best novels, & 1 of the finest science fiction novels of the 70s. An intimate portrait of a telepath losing his powers, the book Dscribes the depression of that loss, as well as the exaltation of David Selig's gift. The brilliant writing U can almost take 4 granted -- it's Silverberg. What's really stunning is the painfully up-close, intimate, personal portrait U'll get of Selig & the people in his life. It's so vivid, indelible -- U'll feel like U've met this person. There's even a happy ending. It makes 4 an amazing, rewarding mind-movie. An all-time classic -- the fact that it didn't win either a Hugo or a Nebula Award (which both went to Isaac Asimov's 2nd-rate THE GODS THEMSELVES) is 1 of the major lapses of R time.

Definately a fascinating book from a anthropological perspective. Silverberg does a fine job of creating an alien culture, going into great detail about its language, customs, politics and religion. Doesn't seem dated like so much SF though the whole psychedelic drug thing does play a role in this book as it does in several of his other novels that were written in the late 60's/early 70's. Out of the many Silverberg books I've read this one ranks highly.

Synopsis: The world in this book has two seemingly distinct intelligent beings living on it. One is elephant-like, the other large hairy ape-like beings. They have no technology but they have language. At one time the Earth controlled the planet and used these beings to work for them. A few years after relenquishing control, a man who was once a manager there (Gunderson) returns to atone for his sins against the native beings. This story is about his quest for that atonement through a native ritual called rebirth.

This book is classic Silverberg. It reminds me a lot of "Son of Man", my favorite book, also written by Silverberg. This book was written a year or two before SOM and contains a lot of the same abstractness and originality that I like, just not as much. You can definitely see the idea of SOM forming throughout this book. It is well written and the world that he creates in this book is as diverse as our own. It is full of fantastic and deadly creatures. He does a great job developing the cultures of the two native intelligent beings living on the planet. He does a fantastic job of portraying Gunderson's inner journey. If you like SOM, you'll like this book; and vise versa. Even though it's not as good as SOM I still give it 5 stars. If you like great science fiction, READ BOTH OF THESE BOOKS!

This is the book that changed my pleasant love for reading into a deep desire to experience the best of science fiction literature. Vivid, lush and exotic. Rich with compassion and ideas. A complete sensory and soulful immersion into a truly alien world.

This book is truly a collection of great stories from between the years of 1929 and 1964. I am glad they reprinted this book because my older version is yellowing. I hope one day they will reprint a new hard back copy and I will buy it also.
Even though this book is packed from cover to cover with intriguing stories, I bought it for one story in particular "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett. First published in 1943 ("Lewis Padgett" was a pseudonym employed by Henry Kuttner and his wife, C. L. Moore)
My first encounter with this story was a vinyl record recording with William Shatner later it is replaces with a cassette tape. I believe this book is the only surviving form of the story.
Unthahorsten is experimenting with time travel and sends two black boxes back into the past. He had to put something in them so as a last minute thought places his old toys in them. They do not return so he forgets them. It is too late the mischief is done. One is found by children in 1942. The other well look at the title for a clue.

I have the Avon paperback first edition from 1971, it's falling apart from re-readings over the years. While not all the styles may be to all tastes, there are no duds in this collection. It's great to see it's available again. Highly recommended. By the way, if you don't mind paying a small fortune, I think this and the two companion volumes (edited by Ben Bova and out of print elsewhere) are available as a leather-bound set from Easton Press.

Long out of print, these 26 stories include classics from the big names of the second third of the 20th century - Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Roger Zelazny. Playful, speculative or cautionary, they home in on the futuristic preoccupations of their day. Robert Heinlein's "The Roads Must Roll" explores the flaws inherent in a perfectly mechanized society, Theodore Sturgeon's "Microcosmic God," posits a scientist who creates a new life form for his own edification and the only woman represented, Judith Merrill, has a cautionary tale about radiation, "That Only A Mother."

Isaac Asimov's "Nightfall," imagines a dire fate for a planet that plunges into night only once every 2,500 years, Ray Bradbury's "Mars Is Heaven!" describes a fateful first contact for hapless Americans, and Roger Bixby's "It's a GOOD Life" gives us the mortal fear of powerful children.

The earliest stories are mostly of historical interest - their encounters with aliens and thinking robots are a bit heavy handed in the prose department - but most are still fresh and timeless. These are stories that inspired a generation of writers and readers, spawning imitations and movies and Twilight Zone episodes. A must for genuine sci-fi fans.

This story presents the characters an escape from their future, dystopian world. The theme includes other life forms whirling around distant stars. In his rather zany story Silverberg presents us with a rather [weak] cast of characters who become drugged with their dreams of other worlds. The character's dull, purposeless lives are overwhelmed by their visions. Within the story's parameters these dream worlds are said to exist in some objective manner as shown by photos returned from an extraterrestrial probe. The material can be interpreted in several ways: as positing the existence of parallel worlds, as merely subjective dream material of the characters, or as pure, naked fantasy. It seems that Silverberg uses a mere fig leaf of science to cover this naked fantasy.

Tom O'Bedlam is the most engaging and puzzling character. The author asks the reader to view Tom as possessing a telekinesis that enables him to transport people out of their bodies and into extraterrestrial worlds. Tom becomes the gateway or worm hole entrance to these dream worlds. Although Tom is portrayed as crazy or faking craziness, the reader is asked to accept Tom's killing of people as actually releasing them from the pain of their worldly life. The reader is asked to accept Tom's power to propel them to a kind of other world heaven. The willy nilly story becomes confusing when Tom transports both willing souls and unwilling souls out of their bodies-all types: a salvation seeker, a would be suicide and would be killer are all sent to a non human afterlife. All characters who Tom randomly touches are transported, leaving behind a corpse whose face is painted with a Crossing smile.

One of the most beautiful, thought-provoking sci-fi novels ever written. To put it quite simply, this book is brilliant; easily ranks as one of Silverberg's best novels...

Written during Robert Silverberg's artistic/creative peak (the 1980's), this book deals with the complex issues of personal faith, spiritualism and religion... it is at times violent, passionate, poetic, sensual, symbolic & profound... and it will leave you speechless...

Silverberg also introduced some of his most sympathetic, likable characters here... anyone who has ever faced an obstacle or dealt with a disability (mental or physical) will surely find inspiration in the character of Tom.

I've had my hardback copy for 15 years; it's one of my all-time favorite novels and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning what GOOD sci-fi is all about.

Has anyone else noticed that what happens in this book is spookily like what actually happened in San Diego about 10 years later in the Heaven's Gate mass suicide? i.e. a cult that believes they will be transported to a distant planet if they kill themselves. I would suppose Silverberg himself must have noticed the similarity and I am wondering if anyone knows what comment he had on it.

The book rates an 8 instead of a 9 or 10 because it could have had at least one startling story in it. Since Stanley's short story, CHILDREN OF CRECHE, back in another earlier volume, there have been some near-contenders to such a slam-bang ending, but none have come even close. Still this omnibus offers some above-average short stories -- stories without the gum-smacking, philosophically idiotic messages that the previous three volumes were heavily caught up in. There's more intelligent stories evident in this volume than in the previous three volumes.

I love short story anthologies and this is a book packed with good stories. from "Blade of the Bunny" to a thought provoking "The Price of Tea in China" every story is a must read. The tales are mixed with thoughtful tips and hints for new writers and the whole book makes a worthwhile text for anyone trying their hand at writing.

Okay, I admit I'm biased, since my story "Cyclops In B Minor" is one of the stories contained in this volume. But you're not likely to find a more enjoyable anthology this year. This one's got everything: Hard SF, Urban Fantasy, Space Opera... It just doesn't get any better.

Asimov in his introduction to the short story, put it as a "tear-jerker" and his second favoutite story. It is my all-time favourite though - a wonderful read. The novel is good - there is some expansion on the Neanderthal times from where the boy is brought as a specimen to today's world. But what is truly relevant here is the way the maternal feelings grow in Nurse ???(whats her name) and how mutual love develops between the two. The finale is brilliant. I would recomment all to read this one. There is nothing special in the "Silververg" part as I see it. The short story of Asimov is what carries the thing through - and so, you may as well read the short story. Its his finest tale.

"A remarkably moving and chilling tale of what happens when past and present collide..." A charming and nostalgic trip into the past when SciFi really had a plot...

Wow, Asimov and Silverberg really know how to tell a story. This is the best sf novel I've read in a long time.

In 1979 I was given a book report assignment. Having not been much of a reader, I went aimlessly looking through my school library for a book with a cool picture on it. It must have been fate that put this book in my path. Twenty years and over fifty Silverberg books later, I credit it for showing me the possibilities that exist in science fiction.

The book is written on a fifth or sixth grade level and is chock-full of adventure and intrigue. (I remember staying up late at night just to read as much as I could!) It tells the story of an underground city which submerged to live through a world-wide glacial event. Seven men make radio contact with another city and are expelled as this is against the law. The men must make their way across the ice covered land to find shelter in another underground city. But they find that there is much more than just ice going on in the world.

I loved this book and would reccomend it to anyone (especially children) who want to become science fiction readers or just readers in general.

I first read Time of the Great Freeze as an assignment in my 6th grade English class over 20 years ago. I recently purchased a used copy through Amazon so my own 6th grader would have the opportunity to read it, and we read it together.

I still believe it's the best sort of SF for readers who are just beginning to explore the genre. It's a quick read, easy to follow and understand, and filled with tension and drama. It's also a hopeful novel.

Engulfed in a futuristic ice age, people are living in huge underground cities where they have become isolated, stagnated, and suspicious. When seven men are ordered to leave one of the underground cities on charges of treason for contacting another city via radio, they must learn to exist in the "real" world.

I would recommend this book to everyone. And if you, like me, read it as a kid, buy it for your own kids. It's well worth it and superior to much of the material for teens that's available now.

I also first read this book in the late 60's. I have lamented giving my copy away years ago. I recall that the book was very exiting, written in a first-person narrative from the point of view of a young man (part of the group forced out). I remember being very intrigued with the descriptions of the society underground (at the time I felt it was a metaphor for conventionalism). The scenes regarding the process of digging up through the ice to the surface were extremely appealing to me at the time--I still recall this part of the book the most clearly. This was one of Silverberg's more "minor" works, mainly because it was more accessible to younger readers, I think, than much of his other work. Still, I would very much like to own a copy of it again! I think a reprinting in paperback targeted for the "Young Adults" section would prove the enduring market value, and the prescience, of this story.