Book Review: Masterpiece: The Best Science Fiction of the (20th) Century edited by Orson Scott Card

Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century
edited by Orson Scott Card (813.08 Car)

This collection, released in 2001, was overseen by author/editor Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game), and in addition to an introductory essay to open the book, Card contributes a biographical essay about each of the included authors before their stories. My Lincoln science fiction club recently read and discussed it for our 200th monthly book discussion.

 

There are 27 stories included in this moderately hefty volume (the trade paperback was 432 pages). Authors included are: Isaac Asimov • Arthur C. Clarke • Robert A. Heinlein • Ursula K. Le Guin • Ray Bradbury • Frederik Pohl • Harlan Ellison • George Alec Effinger • Brian W. Aldiss • William Gibson & Michael Swanwick • Theodore Sturgeon • Larry Niven • Robert Silverberg • Harry Turtledove • James Blish • George R. R. Martin • James Patrick Kelly • Karen Joy Fowler • Lloyd Biggle, Jr. • Terry Bisson • Poul Anderson • John Kessel • R.A. Lafferty • C.J. Cherryh • Lisa Goldstein • Edmond Hamilton. I had read several of the included stories previously, as I’ve been a life-long fan of science fiction, however quite a few in this collection were new to me. There were a few “clunkers”, which haven’t really held up well in the decades since they were originally published — either with regards to scientific developments or lack of good representation of female, or non-caucasian characters.

 

The collection is divided into thirds, roughly, with the first third featuring “classic” or “Golden Age” stories, the second third is New Wave (late 1960s to late 1970s) and the final third focusing on the “modern era” (the 1980s and 1990s). Some of the stories are incredible stand-outs! Oddly enough, the collection has a melancholy tone to it — a majority of the stories have sad or depressing endings.

 

None-the-less, enough of these stories are excellent, and highly representative of the times they were written in, and I have no problem giving this book a recommendation as a good introduction to short science fiction of the 20th century.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the multi-volume Science Fiction Hall of Fame series, where the selections were made from a survey of writers, editors, publishers and fans — unlike the Masterpieces collection, where Orson Scott Card was the sole selector.)

 

( Wikipedia entry for Masterpieces anthology )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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