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. ( )

"Nightflyers" is the most entertaining of the ten stories, a SciFi psycho-thriller. "A Spaceship Built of Stone" is a different take on passive alien invasion, not unlike illegal immigration. All of the stories had some element of interest. ( )

Another mixed bag. Not my favorite era in sf; a little too philosophical/ meta-physical. I was impressed by A Spaceship Built of Stone by Lisa Tuttle. ( )