The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century
Del Ray, May, 2001.
Trade Paperback, 544 pages.
ISBN: 0345439899
Editors Harry Turtledove and Martin H. Greenberg
took on a difficult project when they decided to
select the very best military SF stories of the
20th century for this anthology. The pieces they selected
all certainly qualify as excellent: thirteen stories
by such luminaries in the field as Philip K. Dick,
Orson Scott Card, Joe W. Haldeman, Arthur C. Clark
Anne McCaffrey, C.J. Cherryh, George R. R. Martin
are all represented here. A unifying theme
seems to be short stories which led to greater
things. The short story which inspired the brilliant, novel-length
form of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is here, as
is the McCaffrey short story which started the Dragonriders of
Pern phenomenon (which is really a novella). "Hero" by
Joe Haldeman led to The Forever War.
The book represents older stories written in the 1950s through more recent ones, such as "Scapegoat," C.J. Cherrah's interesting tale about communication and the misunderstandings of war. While some of the stories seem a bit dated in the technological department, they nevertheless hold their appeal because of the authors' skill with characterization and imagination. This is an excellent anthology that is a must-have for fans of the military SF subgenre.
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This review was published in the July, 2001 of The Internet Writing Journal.
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