The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 2B. edited by Ben Bova. 1973
THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME, VOLUME 2B
RATED 91% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 4.4 OF 5
11 STORIES : 6 GREAT / 3 GOOD / 2 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
Arguably the best anthology series in science fiction history is The Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Published in 3 Volumes: 1, 2A, & 2B. Most people only read Volume 1 which contains some of the genre’s greatest and everlasting stories, stories that with likely be preserved in part because of their inclusion in that anthology.
The Hall of Fame Volume 2 contained the novellas and was so large that it is almost always published as two volumes. I reviewed The Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A at 95% Positive - and even that was probably too harsh. Plenty of stories I rated as Good truly deserved a place on the Great list.
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2B is another superb anthology, but is likely to contain stories that are new to most readers. While incurious modern readers will occasionally rub up against gender and social perspectives that don’t align with their preferences, most readers will find these stories mind expanding with a real sense of wonder.
More than half the stories are rated Great, so I’ll let you discover them within the body of the review below:
THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME, VOLUME 2B
11 STORIES : 6 GREAT / 3 GOOD / 2 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
The Martian Way • (1952) • novelette by Isaac Asimov
Great. One of Asimov’s most epic and most human stories. The humans on Mars scrape out a living capturing Earth’s space junk using water propelled spaceships. Changing politics on Earth scapegoats the Spacers and threatens to remove their access to water, dooming Martian civilization. So a small team head to the rings of Saturn on a beautiful and dangerous mission to drag huge blocks of ice back to Mars.
Earthman, Come Home • [Cities in Flight] • (1953) • novelette by James Blish
Good. An ambitious piece of pulp about giant cities that travel across the universe and one that takes over from a nasty existing planetary government.
Rogue Moon • (1960) • novella by Algis Budrys
Average. The core SciFi concept here is great, but almost completely obliterated by horrible characters, badly written, that are annoying to be around, and dominate almost the novella’s entire world count. The cool idea is that an alien artifact has appeared on the moon and is being explored through the use of doppelgängers that share a mind. Each investigator dies and the person in the lab feels it, but each death gives more information to unlock the mystery path through.
The Specter General • (1952) • novella by Theodore R. Cogswell [as by Theodore Cogswell]
Average. A long story with a very slow start. The Space Marines - coded as native Americans - have spent a long time abandoned on a planet. They have kept their mission, to be expert repairmen for spaceships that never come. Through a series of errors, one marine ends up on the bridge of a Fleet Commander who wants to destroy life on the planet.
The Machine Stops • (1909) • novelette by E. M. Forster
Great. A superb vision of a world where all human experience is controlled by machines. People live in bowels of the earth, isolated from each other but swaddled in the care of the machine. Some rebel and are exiled to the earth’s surface.
The Midas Plague • (1954) • novella by Frederik Pohl
Great. In the future where the poor are forced into extreme consumption, one man finds an ingenious way out.
The Witches of Karres • [Karres] • (1949) • novelette by James H. Schmitz
Good. A Space Captain rescues three slave girls only to find out that they are witches with psychic powers. They get caught up in pulp adventures involving space pirates.
E for Effort • (1947) • novelette by T. L. Sherred
Great. Two men discover a device that lets them spy in on any time or space in all of human history. They use it to make a fortune in Hollywood movies, but when they try to use their device to end war…. that’s when things get challenging.
In Hiding • [Children of the Atom] • (1948) • novelette by Wilmar H. Shiras
Good. A psychiatrist becomes intrigued by a teenage boy who at first seems perfectly normal. Too normal. Slowly, he wins the teenager’s trust and discovers a secret. The boy has an enormous - almost inhuman - intelligence.
The Big Front Yard • (1958) • novella by Clifford D. Simak
Great. A simple repairman trader finds beings in his home that begin by fixing up broken technology and end by transforming his home into one of the world’s most important gateways. A true “sense of wonder” story.
The Moon Moth • (1961) • novelette by Jack Vance
Great. The title refers to a mask worn by the protagonist - a representative of the Home Planets - on the planet Sirene. Sirene has a complex and interesting culture. Masks are worn to represent one’s status. All conversations are sung, accompanied by various instruments that impart emotion and context to what is being said. Any breach in the etiquette can have very serious consequences. Jack Vance does a great job of bringing this society to life. This is culture building at a very high level. Within this context, Vance creates an interesting mystery as the protagonist needs to apprehend a criminal who has just arrived on the planet.
