The Great SF Stories Books

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The Great SF Stories is a series of short story anthologies produced by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. The anthologies constitute short science fiction stories selected from the Golden Years of Science Fiction.

The Golden Age is a period ranging from 1938 to 1946 during which science fiction as a genre piqued public interest, thus leading to the publication of some of the best science fiction stories the arena has ever seen.

There have been plenty of debates about the proper definition of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. It is generally agreed that the term refers to a period during which Hard Science Fiction took root and space operas featuring heroes that contended with enemies using scientific and technological advancements became commonplace.

It was during this period that prominent science fiction figures like Isaac Asimov, Hal Clement, and Bertram Chandler gained fame.

Isaac chose to stretch his definition of the Golden Age to encompass the 1950s and even the 1960s because it was around that time that the United States and the Soviet Union began to explore space.

With the gap between reality and science fiction closing, science fiction figures like Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein took an interest in educating the masses about real science. It became the norm for the political beliefs and scientific views of such authors to bleed into their literary efforts.

It was around that time that the so-called age of New Wave Science Fiction began.

With The Great SF Stories, Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg wanted to take their favorite stories from the Golden Years of Science Fiction and collect them in anthologies for contemporary masses to consume.

The first Great SF Stories anthology was not the first of its kind and it definitely wasn’t the last. Numerous other authors have attempted to collect the best stories the Golden Age has to offer into anthologies, and while most of them typically succeed, they tend to cover the Golden Age using broad strokes. They also tend to emphasize particular areas of interest.

The Great SF Stories series has always stood out because it is so detailed, using 25 different volumes to publish over three hundred stories from each and every year that constituted the Golden Age (1939-1963).

Asimov’s intention was to bridge the gap between past and contemporary writers who couldn’t communicate because they simply did not have the same perception of the Science Fiction genre, the result of growing up reading a vastly different collection of science fiction stories.

Asimov’s fans believe he has done a better job than most to educate contemporary readers about the styles and concepts of science fiction from the 1930s and 1940s.

Best The Great SF Stories Books

The Great SF Stories series has become a mainstay of the science fiction arena, a recommendation often made to new science fiction fans looking to expand their Horizons, with some of the best books in the series including:

Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories Volume 2: This anthology from Greenberg and Asimov constitutes science fiction stories from 1940. The anthology features stories like Farewell to the Maser (Harry Bates) and Old Man Mulligan (P. Schuyler Miller).

It might come as a surprise for some to learn that Heinlein does not feature in this volume. But that isn’t a slight on the part of Asimov and Greenberg. Rather, they couldn’t get the rights to reprint him. But that doesn’t diminish the quality of the anthology which makes use of stories from Sturgeon, Leiber, and Del Rey to mention but a few.

Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories Volume 3: This anthology from Asimov and Greenberg attempts to collect and present some of the best short stories in science fiction from 1941. Readers can look forward to stories like Mechanical Mice, Shottle Bop and Microcosmic God from the likes of Maurice A. Hugi and Theodore Sturgeon.

Some readers have been known to use this volume to prove that 1941 was the best year in the entire Golden Age of Science Fiction.

Other Book Series You May Like

“The Science Fiction Hall of Fame” by Doubleday is another great collection. This anthology was initially published by Doubleday and then reprinted by Avon Books. The anthology was created to collect the greatest short stories of all time in the science fiction genre. The stories within were voted upon by the Science Fiction Writers of America.

You may also enjoy “The Mammoth Book” series by Mike Ashley. This series of volumes edited by Mike Ashley and published by Robinson attempts to provide audiences collections of the best shorts stories from the science fiction genre. The series sometimes plays with themes outside of science fiction.

What Is The Next Book in The Isaac Asimov Presents The Great Sf Stories Series?

There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Isaac Asimov Presents The Great Sf Stories Series. The newest book is The Great SF Stories 24 and was released on January, 1st 1992.

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