Star Science Fiction Stories NO. 1. edited by Frederik Pohl. 1953

Star Science Fiction Stories No. 1

RATED 83% POSITIVE.   STORY SCORE: 3.87 OUT OF 5  

15 STORIES : 3 GREAT / 8 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 1 POOR / 0 DNF 

The back cover hails Star Science Fiction Stories as “One of the Most Highly Praised Anthologies of All Time.” It isn’t that hard to see why. This original anthology has new (in 1953) stories from some of Science Fictions greatest writers: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C Clarke, Fritz Leiber, Clifford D Simak, Lester del Rey, …. I could easily just list the entire list of authors.

What makes this good reading in 2022 is that many of these stories aren’t the most anthologized by these great authors: with the notable exception of the Clarke story. Most everything here is quite enjoyable and is infused with the charming style that is found in so many SF tales of the 1950s.

A good solid read that includes three entries into my list of The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of all Time:

• The Deserter • (1953) • short story by William Tenn. The war between Earth and the worms of Jupiter has been long and brutal. Now, for the first time, a Jovian has deserted and is about to be interrogated. The interrogation is facilitated by a man who spend two years being tortured and questioned by the Jovians. It is being directed by a vicious and effective general. A superb and powerful story of responsibility in war.

• So Proudly We Hail • (1953) • short story by Judith Merril. The rocket will depart tomorrow, taking scientists to the stars in husband and wife couples. For one such couple, the distance between husband and wife is farther that the distance into the stars.

• The Nine Billion Names of God • (1953) • short story by Arthur C. Clarke. Monks receive a computer to help them discover all the names of God, but the result might be more universal than they expected. Just because this is well know, doesn’t mean it isn’t great. Clarke accords more respect for religion in this story than he would normally in his work.

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STAR SCIENCE FICTION STORIES NO. 1 IS RATED 83% POSITIVE  

15 STORIES : 3 GREAT / 8 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 1 POOR / 0 DNF  

How do I arrive at a rating?

1. Country Doctor • (1953) • novelette by William Morrison

   Good. A country doctor - basically a veterinarian on a foreign planet must go inside of a giant ‘space cow’ to diagnose the illness.

2. Dominoes • (1953) • short story by C. M. Kornbluth

   Average. A greedy stock broker travels to the future to find out when the big stock market crash is coming.

3. Idealist • (1953) • short story by Lester del Rey

   Good. A man wakes up aboard a space station that was supposed to prevent war and finds himself surrounded by death and destruction.

4. The Night He Cried • (1953) • short story by Fritz Leiber

   Poor. A shape-shifting tentacle alien pretends to by a beautiful woman to meet Slickie Millane.

5. Contraption • (1953) • short story by Clifford D. Simak

   Good. A boy stuck on a farm in an abusive situation with his Aunt and Uncle find a contraption in the blackberry patch and starts a friendship with whatever is inside.

6. The Chronoclasm • (1953) • novelette by John Wyndham (variant of Chronoclasm)

   Good. A man - mistaken for a knight - is approached and told to ‘send back Tavia.” Years later, he will meet her for the first time and have to rescue her from her pursuers.

7. The Deserter • (1953) • short story by William Tenn

   Great. The war between Earth and the worms of Jupiter has been long and brutal. Now, for the first time, a Jovian has deserted and is about to be interrogated. The interrogation is being facilitated by a man who spend two years being tortured and questioned by the Jovians. It is being directed by a vicious and effective general.

8. The Man with English • (1953) • short story by H. L. Gold

   Average. An angry shopkeeper falls and hits his head. Now, he all of his nerves are reversed.

9. So Proudly We Hail • (1953) • short story by Judith Merril

   Great. The rocket will depart tomorrow, taking scientists to the stars in husband and wife couples. For one such couple, the distance between husband and wife is farther that the distance into the stars.

10. A Scent of Sarsaparilla • (1953) • short story by Ray Bradbury

    Good. What if your attic was time machine into the nostalgia of your warm summer past.

11. "Nobody Here But ..." • (1953) • short story by Isaac Asimov

    Good. A scientist wants to date a woman, but a computer achieving sentience throws a wrench in that play. Light, quaint, and humorous.

12. The Last Weapon • (1953) • short story by Robert Sheckley

    Average. A group of criminal-types find a cache of dangerous weapons on Mars. Suspenseful until a cheesy, mediocre ending.

13. A Wild Surmise • (1953) • short story by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore

    Good. A troubled man alternates from moments when thinks he is a human, on earth, with a pyschiatrist and a world where is something very different, Insectoids, and he needs to estivate.

14. The Journey • (1953) • short story by Murray Leinster

    Good. A young man gets a low level job on a spaceship to Pluto because he wants to see the stars. He finds that it isn’t what he expected, but almost finds something good that he wasn’t looking for.

15. The Nine Billion Names of God • (1953) • short story by Arthur C. Clarke

    Great. Monks receive a computer to help them discover all the names of God, but the result might be more universal than they expected.