The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories
List Price:
Our Price: $11.33
You Save: $8.62 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.60 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Editor: Tom ShippeyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-04-17
ISBN: 0192803816
Number of pages: 624
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories
Book Review: Science fiction story collection keeper!
Summary: 5 Stars
That fact that this collection would get produced again after about 10 years is a sign that this book is selling well enough that it deserves a re-release with a different cover. I'd always been a fan of science fiction, but never really tried to get into it until I read most of the stories in it. With only 30 pages left to read, I'm interested in finishing the rest of the book now.
Shippey's selection of stories is excellent whether you are a science fiction fanatic or an amateur. What's good about short stories is that they are short enough so that if you don't like them, you can move on to the next one, and if you really like it, you can look for longer works by that particular author. The book is thick enough to include a span of stories which vary in plot and complexity greatly. More general ideas such as how the world may be like in the future, whether the world will end or not, how a part of the future may be like in the future, government policies, religion, standardized tests, alien invasions, sickness, the afterlife, and even sex are a few big concepts in the science fiction stories presented. At least one of these stories may even bring some disgust or creative joy to your taste buds. More specific plot stories which are not necessarily tuned in to a social global theory are also included such as search for treasure and visiting alien planets. Something for everyone pretty much in the science fiction genre.
Summary of The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories
This is the definitive collection of the twentieth-century's most characteristic genre--science fiction. The tales are organized chronologically to give readers a sense of how the genre's range, vitality, and literary quality have evolved over time. Each tale offers a unique vision, an altered reality, a universe all its own. Readers can sample H.G. Well's 1903 story "The Land Ironclads" (which predicted the stalemate of trench warfare and the invention of the tank), Jack Williamson's "The Metal Man," a rarely anthologized gem written in 1928, Clifford D. Simak's 1940s classic, "Desertion," set on "the howling maelstrom that was Jupiter," Frederik Pohl's 1955 "The Tunnel Under the World" (with its gripping first line, "On the morning of June 15th, Guy Burckhardt woke up screaming out of a dream"), right up to the current crop of writers, such as cyberpunks Bruce Sterling and William Gibson, whose 1982 story "Burning Chrome" foreshadows the idea of virtual reality, and David Brin's "Piecework," written in 1990. In addition, Shippey provides an informative Introduction, examining the history of the genre, its major themes, and its literary techniques.Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Killing Groundby JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowningby Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancyby Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princessby Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Saharaby Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.70
Price in other shops:
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towersby J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Marsby Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
Dawn (Xenogenesis, Bk. 1)by Octavia E. Butler
Aspect; Published: 1997-04-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.39
Price in other shops:
The Year of the Floodby Margaret Atwood
Anchor; Published: 2010-07-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophersby Leonard Koren
Imperfect Publishing; Published: 2008-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops:
The Time Machine (Norton Critical Editions)by H. G. Wells
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2008-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.34
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbusby Orson Scott Card
Tor; Published: 1997-02-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Footfallby Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Del Rey; Published: 1986-04-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.20
Price in other shops:
The Left Hand of Darknessby Ursula K. Le Guin
Ace Trade; Published: 2000-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops:
The Lathe Of Heaven: A Novelby Ursula K. Le Guin
Scribner; Published: 2008-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.84
Price in other shops:
Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the 20th CenturyAce Trade; Published: 2004-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.02
Price in other shops:
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1: 1929-1964Orb Books; Published: 2005-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.77
Price in other shops: