Steven H. Silver

Greenberg was a rather maniacal creator of anthologies. His name appeared on a bewildering number of anthologies as co-editor for many years. I have to think that he came up with the idea and the co-editor did all the work. He came up with a lot of good themes such as Catfantastic. I like the idea for this collection - the first published science fiction or fantasy story "the stories that launched the careers of such science fiction masters as ..."

Wikipedia tells me "he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories" from 1974 through 2011, the year of his death. I thought the authors selected were a little odd, although I couldn't help but be impressed at the quality of the first published stories.

The stories in the 2003 collection range from 1919 to 1997 in chronological order, except Anne McCaffrey's is oddly out of place. The stories are (adapted from ISFDB):

13 • Introduction to Wondrous Beginnings • (2003) • essay by Steven H Silver
15 • Introduction to "The Runaway Skyscraper" • (2003) • essay by Betty Dehardit
17 • The Runaway Skyscraper • (1919) • novelette by Murray Leinster
59 • Introduction to "The Isolinguals" • (2003) • essay by L. Sprague de Camp
60 • The Isolinguals • (1937) • shortstory by L. Sprague de Camp
79 • Introduction to "Freedom of the Race" • (2003) • essay by Anne McCaffrey
80 • Freedom of the Race • (1953) • shortstory by Anne McCaffrey
83 • About "Proof," of Course • (2003) • essay by Hal Clement
84 • Proof • (1942) • shortstory by Hal Clement
101 • Loophole • (1946) • shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke
101 • Introduction to "Loophole" • (2003) • essay by Arthur C. Clarke
108 • Deadeye: Writing "The Dead Man" • (2003) • essay by Gene Wolfe
109 • The Dead Man • (1965) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe
114 • Introduction to "We're Coming Through the Window" • (2003) • essay by Barry N. Malzberg
116 • We're Coming Through the Window • (1967) • shortstory by Barry N. Malzberg as by K. M. O'Donnell
119 • Introduction to "The Hero" • (2003) • essay by George R. R. Martin
123 • The Hero • (1971) • shortstory by George R. R. Martin
136 • My (Other) World and Welcome to it: Writing "Lunchbox" • (2003) • essay by Howard Waldrop
141 • Lunchbox • (1972) • shortstory by Howard Waldrop
147 • The Origin of "Ender's Game" • (2003) • essay by Orson Scott Card
157 • Ender's Game • (1977) • novelette by Orson Scott Card
196 • Introduction to "The Emerson Effect" • (2003) • essay by Jack McDevitt
198 • The Emerson Effect • (1981) • shortstory by Jack McDevitt
216 • The Writing of "Much Ado About Nothing" • (2003) • essay by Jerry Oltion
217 • Much Ado About Nothing • (1982) • shortstory by Jerry Oltion
232 • Introduction to "Barter" • (2003) • essay by Lois McMaster Bujold
235 • Barter • (1985) • shortstory by Lois McMaster Bujold
244 • Introduction to "The Xeelee Flower" • (2003) • essay by Stephen Baxter
245 • The Xeelee Flower • Xeelee • (1987) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter
255 • Introduction to "Dance in Blue" • (2003) • essay by Catherine Asaro
256 • Dance in Blue • (1993) • novella by Catherine Asaro
278 • Introduction to "TeleAbsence" • (2003) • essay by Michael A. Burstein
280 • TeleAbsence • (1995) • shortstory by Michael A. Burstein
298 • Introduction to "First Contact Inc." • (2003) • essay by Julie E. Czerneda
299 • First Contact Inc. • (1997) • shortstory by Julie E. Czerneda

I think what surprised me most here is how well done the first story was for 1919 - one hundred years ago - although the theory of what happened and how to fix it was just too screwball. Still, "The Runaway Skyscraper" impressed me. I was also pleased to re-read the original Ender's Game. The original Ender's was a long short story and I read it when it was newish in the late 70's either in a Year's Best collection or a magazine. I had scarcely been reading science fiction for several years and it helped revived my interest in the genre. It amazed me then and still impresses me.

I won't detail my reactions to most of the stories. Each one comes with an intro, usually by the author, that varied in interest. For Hal Clement, an author I like, I was surprised that both his intro and the story were not enjoyable to me. Most of these intros are very good to terrific, giving us a little glimpse back in time to the author's life. In some ways they are the best part of this book. Orson Scott Card writes a very long intro to Ender's Game, giving us a look at his early life and the long path to the story that became Ender's Game. It is also a disturbing read as prejudices and beliefs ooze out even when they aren't brazenly put forth. Creeped me out. I stopped reading Card's stories a long time ago and I still think Ender's Game was one of the best stories to come out of the late 70's but I'll never seek out another one of Card's stories.

I loved George R. R. Martin's intro to "The Hero" in which he also gives us a glimpse at his early life leading to be a writer and the publication of "The Hero". The story itself was pretty good for a first story. Howard Waldrop's intro was also very good. I also enjoyed Jack McDevitt's "The Emerson Effect", a story I would not have encountered without this book. It only appeared in a Rod Serling's Twilight Zone issue of December 1981. Stephen Baxter's short but sweet "The XeeLee Flower', about a small alien artifact that allows the finder to survive a nova was a fun read.

"The Isolinguals" by Sprague de Camp is kind of a cute story but I couldn't help but feel there was a clever idea that could have been handled better. Overall this is a really good anthology. The only three stories I didn't care for were the ones by Clement and Bujold which really surprised me, and the one by Czerneda which just did not click with me. (I'm actually surprised that Bujold's short was published anywhere but it made it into a Rod Serling TZ issue (like McDevitt's)). I also really liked Asaro's "Dance in Blue." An impressive debut.… (mais)

This is an anthology of early stories from well-established writers of speculative fiction, some of them nowadays big names such as Ursula Le Guin, Robin Hobb, Peter S. Beagle and Charles De Lint. Most of the stories are the first genre story the author got paid for to be published, but not necessarily the first that was ever published. I didn't exactly have overly high expectations before starting - I simply purchased it to complete my collection of the Ki and Vandien stories and thought it might be a nice curiosity and that it would probably be mostly interesting or helpful for people wanting to become authors themselves. As it turned out I enjoyed reading the book quite a lot, and certainly not any less than any other fantasy anthology that I've read.

It is perhaps noteworthy that of the 16 authors, 14 are female and a great number of the protagonist are girls and women as well. Each story is preceded by an author's note which, excluding a couple of them that were slightly off-topic or spoilery, were very useful in understanding the context in which each story was created. For whatever reason, the stories have been arranged in a chronological original publication order, starting from the late 40's and ending in the late 90's - and I think it’s important to note that. It would feel wrong to be too critical of these stories or compare them to each other - not only because they are “early efforts” but because they are from such a wide period of time.

Having said that, here are my notes on the individual stories:

- People of the Crater by Andre Norton
I found the premise interesting but very much agreed with the author’s note that if feels more like a rough outline than a real story. The plot basically follows a paint-by-the-numbers prophecy and the hero’s machismo comes off as badly dated. Not perhaps the the strongest story to open the anthology.

- My Daughter's Name Is Sarah by Peter S. Beagle
This was short and sweet and well crafted, but I was left wondering why it was included in this collection as it didn’t seem to me like a genre story.

- April in Paris by Ursula Le Guin
Having always appreciated Le Guin as a quite serious writer, I was surprised (positively!) about the humour in the story. The anthology really feels like it is kicking off here.

- The Fires of Her Vengeance by Susan Shwartz
Having previous knowledge of the Darkover universe would have probably eased me into this faster but this was my first glimpse of that world. I found the way this story treats the main character’s rape quite disturbing - although I can see how other people could see it as empowering. I want to point out that the anthology was published in 2003 so this is hindsight, but the author’s note gushing about MZB didn’t help matters.

- The Fane of the Grey Rose by Charles de Lint
I loved the language in this story, it set it apart without feeling too Ye Olde Days. And there was a sweetness to the story that carries through the sadness.

- Bones for Dulath by Megan Lindholm
It’s difficult for me to review this one without bias because I was already familiar with the world and the characters and happen to think Ki is one of the most delightful characters I’ve ever met. The only thing I can say is I wanted to immediately abandon the rest of the book and go reread the other Ki and Vandien stories!

- The Unicorn Masque by Ellen Kushner
I feel like I will re-read this story in the years to come, that there were layers and meaning I didn’t necessarily find in just one reading. I also felt I wanted to discuss it with someone and compare thoughts.

- The Stuff of Heroes by Esther Friesner
This is, thankfully, a very short one. I usually quite like the trope it employs, but somehow was left cold this time - maybe it was just too tropey?

The Ulfjarl's Stone by Mickey Zucker Reichert
This was neatly crafted and I enjoyed the change of setting from the generic fantasy lands to my familiar cold and dark north. Very well written, it was easy to feel sympathise with the protagonist.

- Rending Dark by Emma Bull
This was exciting, fun, and I loved the characters. I would gladly read more stories set in this world.

- A Different Kind of Courage by Mercedes Lackey
A sweet although somewhat predictable story where the Lesson takes precedence over Plot - what happened to the package they were delivering? Compared to the other Darkover story in this book, I found it easier to understand the world-specific terminology.

- Third Time Lucky by Tanya Huff
Amusing although again a bit too predictable. I found the main character intriguing and would probably enjoy more stories about her.

- Sing by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
I liked this one very much and thought it was quite clever. The author’s note definitely added to it.

- Birthright by Michelle West
Bittersweet but left me with mixed feelings. Maybe felt a bit rushed towards the end.

- The Jewel and the Demon by Liane Norman
Author’s note almost ruined this one as it gives away too much of the plot. I liked the characters, but found the way the demon spoke really irritating.

- The Raven's Quest by Fiona Patton
Before I realised the stories were arranged by publication date, I simply thought they intentionally saved the best for the last. Genuinely moving, well paced and written, there’s nothing I didn’t love about this story!… (mais)

http://nhw.livejournal.com/205953.html

Nice idea, getting the first published story of numerous well-known sf authors - to be specific, Murray Leinster, L Sprague de Camp, Anne McCaffrey, Hal Clement, Arthur C Clarke and so on, and publishing it in an anthology together with an introduction by the author in question (or in one case from his daughter). The stories are a bit variable in quality, but less than one might have thought, and the autobiographical material from each author more than makes up for it, especially for those who have since died (de Camp and Clement).

I did wonder what the rationale for choosing particular authors was. Why Clarke, but not Asimov or Heinlein? Why include authors as recent as Catherine Asaro (first story published 1993), Michael Burstein (1995), Julie Czerneda (1997)? And there's a definite leaning towards the hard end of the sf spectrum. None of these are necessarily bad things but it would have enlightened me if the editors had explained them. As it is the choice looks a little strange - and why is the Ann McCaffrey story apparently out of the order-of-initial-publication sequence that seems to link the rest?… (mais)