This is a very big science fiction anthology, the first of two parts. There are 27 stories in Volume One. The editor writes a somewhat meandering introduction and doesn't fully explain the motives behind this collection. One might think it is meant to document the history or progress of science fiction writing through the 20th century, but that is not the stated intent. The intent seems to supplement a number of other anthologies the editor had compiled in the 1980s-1990s. He had highlighted all the famous authors in the other collections and here he wanted to include many of the lesser famous but still, to his mind, noteworthy authors.

I had read perhaps 6 or 7 of these stories before, some fairly recently such as the Jack London and Mildred Clingerman and in particular James Blish's excellent "A Work of Art" and I didn't mind revisiting them. The editor provides a very good introduction to each author and story and I always appreciate that. There is no claim that these are the best stories of the century or anything similar. There are a couple of relatively famous stories in here but I doubt that more than a few could make any science fiction list of 100 best science fiction stories of the 20th century. There are also a number of obscure stories here. So this collection comes across as somewhat odd. A mixture of some very good stories with a few that make you wonder just why they were included and a few I could call just plain weak. Some of this is pretty mediocre. For example, there is a novella from H.G. Wells, "A Story of the Days to Come". The editor states he is the Shakespeare of science fiction. This story however, even though written during his prime period of classic works, is a pretty bland story - it has some interesting things in it but piddles off to an unsatisfactory end. As the title states, it is a story of days to come, two centuries in the future London. I had never heard of it before and I suspect most people would not have. Which is probably why the editor included it. On the other hand, I compared this to E. M. Forster's remarkable story from 1909 "The Machine Stops" which appears a few stories later in the collection. This tale of a dystopian future is quite remarkable and I was quite caught up in it and the sad fate of mankind with a life almost completely controlled by a machine. I knew I had read this long ago but could not remember it so I appreciated having it here to experience it anew.

There's a Pulitzer Prize winning author in here, Michael Shaara famous for his Gettysburg novel "The Killer Angels", here with "2066: Election Day" from 1956. Also, having Hal Clement with "Hot Planet" a science heavy story of the exploration of Mercury is pretty good! Overall I did appreciate this collection as I read stories I was very unlikely to encounter elsewhere and really appreciated several of the stories in here. The weak material only lets me give no better than an average grade for an anthology. There is a second volume which I will get to one day ...

11 • Introduction (1997) • essay by David G. Hartwell
15 • Beam Us Home (1969) • short story by James Tiptree, Jr.
25 • Ministering Angels (1955) • short story by C. S. Lewis
33 • The Music Master of Babylon (1954) • novelette by Edgar Pangborn
51 • A Story of the Days to Come (1899) • novella by H. G. Wells
106 • Hot Planet (1963) • short story by Hal Clement
121 • A Work of Art (1956) • novelette by James Blish
133 • The Machine Stops (1909) • novelette by E. M. Forster
155 • Brightness Falls from the Air (1951) • short story by Margaret St. Clair
160 • 2066: Election Day • (1956) short story by Michael Shaara
171 • The Rose (1953) • novella by Charles L. Harness
226 • The Hounds of Tindalos (1929) • short story by Frank Belknap Long
236 • The Angel of Violence • shortstory by Adam Wisniewski-Snerg (trans. of Aniol przemocy 1978)
245 • Nobody Bothers Gus • (1955) • short story by Algis Budrys
255 • The Time Machine • (1997) • short story by Dino Buzzati (trans. of La macchina che fermera il tempo 1952)
259 • Mother • (1953) • novelette by Philip José Farmer
279 • As Easy as A.B.C. • (1912) • novelette by Rudyard Kipling
298 • Ginungagap • (1980) • novelette by Michael Swanwick
321 • Minister Without Portfolio • (1952) • short story by Mildred Clingerman
327 • Time in Advance (1956) • novelette by William Tenn
346 • Good Night, Sophie (1973) • novelette by Lino Aldani (trans. of Buonanotte Sofia 1963)
363 • Veritas • (1987) novelette by James Morrow
376 • Enchanted Village (1950) • short story by A. E. van Vogt
387 • The King and the Dollmaker • (1970) • novella by Wolfgang Jeschke (trans. of Der König und der Puppenmacher 1961)
429 • Fire Watch • (1982) • novelette by Connie Willis
456 • Goat Song • (1972) novelette by Poul Anderson
480 • The Scarlet Plague (1912) • novella by Jack London ( )

There should be a basic purpose for any collection. I make this point because I cannot comprehend what is trying to be accomplished by this collection. It is titled The Science Fiction Century, so one might assume it is meant to be a comprehensive collection of science fiction for the 20th century. But the actual content does not support such an assumption. The introduction should contain some insight. But it rattles on for three and a half pages, dropping names and mentioning science fiction and the century, without getting to any real point. Only in the last paragraph do we read “In the end this anthology is a collection of attempts to get at the truth of the human condition in this century…” Not enlightening at all, because isn’t that the purpose of any work of fiction?

The reason I ask the purpose of this anthology is that it is not readily apparent from the stories themselves. Yes, they come from various parts of the century and, yes, they talk about the human condition, but they are a mishmash of themes that share only one trait – they are generally unremarkable.

I jumped in with excitement because the collection started with a James Tiptree, Jr. story which I did not immediately recognize – “Beam Us Home”. There are two reasons stories are unrecognized by fans – the story is either an undiscovered gem or it is not up to the skills expected of the author. This story was the latter, and was a harbinger of things to come from this collection.

Even the historical works pulled are evidently not the authors’ best of most famous or, if they are the best or most famous, they are relatively bland.

And then, almost at the end of it all, up jumps Connie Willis’ “Fire Watch” and Poul Anderson’s “Goat Songs” – both great, award-winning stories. Where did these come from and how do they mesh with the rest of the collection?

I have no answer to all these questions. All I have is a sense of dread. I’ve also got Volume 2, and I will feel compelled to read it. And, if it is like this collection, it will not be a pleasant experience. ( )