Well, here we go with another of Harry Harrison's 'Best SF' anthologies, this one (246 pp, Berkley Books) published 50 years ago, in September 1969. The cover art is by Paul Lehr.
Harrison provides his usual matter-of-fact Introduction, noting that the success of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey has opened the eyes of the Literary Establishment to the maturity and sophistication of sf and will, hopefully, motivate the Establishment to accept sf as a valid literary endeavor on the part of its most skilled practitioners.
My capsule summaries of the contents:
Budget Planet, by Robert Sheckley: a rather underwhelming effort to cast the Creation as the equivalent of a real estate haggle. I have never felt that Sheckley's humorous approach to sf was all that impressive, and this story certainly doesn't change that assessment.
Appointment on Prilla, by Bob Shaw: On a remote planet, an Away Team confronts a malevolent alien. One of the best stories in the anthology.
Lost Ground, by David I. Masson: this story borrows its concept from Fred Hoyle's 1966 novel October the First is Too Late. In a patch of rural England, different acres represent different periods of time; traversing these acres can be hazardous. The story tries to do too much, leading to to an increasingly confusing plot. It doesn't help matters that Masson employs an oblique, overwritten prose style.
The Annex, by John D. MacDonald: Harrison fawns over the fact that MacDonald has deigned to write a SF story, his first 'in over ten years'. Unfortunately, 'The Annex' is a labored allegory with a denouement that most readers will see coming long before the story's end.
Segregationist, by Isaac Asimov: now Harrison fawns over the fact that Dr. Asimov has, over the past year, published ten (TEN !) books. What Harrison won't reveal is that just about all of these ten books are ghost-written.
Anyways, the story: in the future, people can elect to have their hearts replaced with artificial devices. Which can, in some circumstances, be a dilemma........the 'surprise' ending succeeds.
Final War, by K. M. O'Donnell (Barry Malzburg): in his introduction to this novelette, Malzburg admits it is an homage to Joseph Heller's Catch 22. And yes, 'Final War' does address the absurdity of the military system. A more competent author could have done this in five pages, but Malzburg requires 34........making this one of the most tedious and underwhelming stories in the anthology.
Harrison includes five reviews of 2001: A Space Odyssey, by editors such as Ed Emshwiller, and authors, like Samuel R. Delaney and Lester del Rey. These remind us how influential 2001 was when it first appeared.
The Serpent of Kundalini, by Brian W. Aldiss: this is one of the short stories that later would be compiled to make up the 1969 fix-up novel Barefoot in the Head.
The hero, a young man named Charteris, wanders a near-future UK in the aftermath of a war that used psychedelic drugs as weapons. There is much use of figurative language, designed to impart to the reader the psychological fallout of such a scenario. Probably because it's short, the story holds together, something that many of Aldiss's New Wave pieces were not wont to do.........
Golden Acres, by Kit Reed: an elderly couple find that their new Retirement Community is a little too perfect. One of Reed's best stories and one of the best entrants in this anthology.
Criminal in Utopia, by Mack Reynolds: in a future USA, Rex Moran decides to do the impossible: commit not just one, but a series of crimes, and get away with it. A competent tale, infused with humor.
One Station of the Way, by Fritz Leiber: what if the Christmas Story was a legend inspired by the actions of aliens ?
In his introduction to this story, editor Harrison declares that 'Leiber is not a lesser writer', but 'One' is the worst story in the anthology, mainly because Leiber's prose is so appallingly bad, even by the standards of SF of the late 60s. For example, at one point in a dialogue exchange, a character says something 'titteringly'.........?!
Sweet Dreams, Melissa, by Stephen Goldin: another Talking Computer story. It tries to be Poignant, but falls flat.
To the Dark Star, by Robert Silverberg: a team of scientists observes the formation of a black hole. Since in '68 the term 'black hole' hadn't yet come into use, this story deserves credit for its determination to use cutting-edge physics as its theme.
The House that Jules Built, by Brian Aldiss: this is an Afterword by co-editor Aldiss. It's as good an example as any of Aldiss's highly inflated sense of his own self-importance. In labored prose, Aldiss invokes a Scholarly Tome titled Victorians and the Machine: The Literary Response to Technology by Herbert L. Sussman, and its relevance to the angst rising in Western society as the decade of the 60s comes to its end.
The verdict ? The presence of too many duds means that I can't recommend searching out 'Best SF: 1968'. For series completists only.
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