20th Century Science Fiction-

The definitive anthology of 20th-century science fiction has been attempted often before. Allowing for the fact that no one volume can include all the crucial works produced during the last 100 years, there have been many worthwhile attempts; but David Hartwell's impressive volume is by far one of the most successful, with a really intelligent and balanced picture of a genre; Hartwell manages to convey (in just 23 stories) some of the astonishing range and ambition of the best science fiction. Many of the great stories are here: William Tenn's compelling, science-based time travel tale 'Time in Advance' and Harlan Ellison's quirky cult story, 'Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman'; not to mention John Wyndham's classic 'Consider Her Ways', reminding the reader that British contributions to the SF genre have been crucial from H G Wells onwards. Hartwell has cast his net wide, including both such classics of interplanetary exploration as Hal Clement's 'Hot Planet', and even reaching back to Rudyard Kipling's famous 'As Easy as ABC'. The juxtaposing of the stories is done in masterly fashion, so that the various universes of time and space through which the reader is exhilaratingly plunged have a tremendous sense of contrast. There are those who will say (and rightly, too) that many famous stories should have been included in any anthology that bears this name, but any collection like this has to remain a snapshot of a sprawling genre, and few SF aficionados who pick up this highly entertaining volume will put it down feeling cheated. (Kirkus UK)