The Science Fiction Hall of Fame

"Where Dangerous Visions is a brilliant snapshot of a moment in sci-fi, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame is the whole background of the field. After the Science Fiction Writers of America began giving out the Nebula Awards and publishing annual anthologies of the winners and runners-up, many felt that it was a shame that they couldn’t retroactively give awards to the stories that had come before – the ones that shaped their reading, the ones that taught them what science fiction could and ought to be. So the SFWA members at the time nominated and voted on memorable stories that had stood the test of time. The result was The Science Fiction Hall of Fame . There is simply no better introduction to the whole history of science fiction than this book. One problem with science fiction, however, is length. Not only do you have to tell the story, but also you have to create and reveal a new world. As a result, science fiction tales tend to be markedly longer to tell the same number of events. So in singling out shorter works for The Science Fiction Hall of Fame , SFWA would have to ignore novellas – a length that thrives in sci-fi precisely because it allows room for world development. That’s why there’s a second volume of the Hall of Fame , divided into parts 2a and 2b in some editions. I love all five of these works I have chosen. I have reread all of them, and they hold up well. They were my education in the field, but more importantly they helped shape my vision of what storytelling is, and what it needs to be in order to matter in the lives of readers. Few of these writers wrote primarily to be admired or studied. They wrote to carry the reader into vicarious lives that were worth living. The characters and the worlds they lived in were the stars, not the writer. Having read these works, I’m afraid I became impatient with most – though not all – contemporary literary writing. So be warned. They might have the same effect on you."