User:DoctorWho42/Introduction to Best SF: 1967
"Introduction to Best SF: 1967" or "Introduction to The Year's Best Science Fiction No. 1" is an essay by American author Harry Harrison. It was published in the 1968 short story anthology Best SF: 1967 edited by Brian Aldiss and Harry Harrison.
Publication history
[edit]The introduction first appeared in the 1968 book Best SF: 1967 or The Year's Best Science Fiction No. 1 edited by Brian W. Aldiss and Harry Harrison.[1]
Content
[edit]Old science fiction fans should be happy. The Queens Science Fiction League (est. 1939) used the motto "Boost Science Fiction." If it was SF, it had to be good hence it should be promoted. There are now more SF books published per week than ever. It is more necessary to separate the good from the bad. Kingsley Amis noted in New Maps of Hell (1960) there was a reluctance to enforce critical standards. Harrison attempts to apply these standards to this volume. Brian W. Aldiss surveyed the British magazines and started a report on the year in science fiction which turned into an analysis. James Blish's critical spirit permeates the book. Blish's guidelines grew from their correspondence. He previously criticised his stories under a pen-name. He clears the field by shooting down the other entrants. His attitude pays off. Harrison reflects on Blish's "Credo." He focuses on the first guideline. In Best SF: 1967, only two stories don't conform but they are short-shorts under a thousand words. One is a "real what-is-it" by J. G. Ballard that Blish might even enjoy. The other is a fantasy political parable by a best-selling author of the 1920s. He moves on to the second guideline. The book is focused on fiction and the short story. Science fiction remains the field where writers can experiment with the short story and get paid in doing so. He touches on the third guideline. He admits honestly all the stories in this volume are ones he wanted even the high-priced ones. He remains honest on the fourth guideline. He received help in choosing stories from Brian W. Aldiss and Thomas A. Dardis, the VP of Berkley Publishing Corporation. Dardis did not overrule any of his choices. He thanks the editors Frederik Pohl, Judy-Lynn Benjamin, and Edward L. Ferman for contacting writers. He chose the best and most readable stories from 1967. There were no restraints on story length. Hence his choice for Silverberg's "Hawksbill Station" which is over 17,000 words. There were also no restrictions on sources. The stories are from Amazing, Analog, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Galaxy, and If. The British magazine New Worlds, Playboy, Knight Magazine, Ambit, and the semiprofessional Australian Science Fiction Review. The Shackleton story is from the magazine Titbits. It was a pleasure collecting the stories. He hopes the reader finds it is also a pleasure to read.
Reception
[edit]See also
[edit]- "Introduction to Best SF: 1968" or "Introduction to The Year's Best Science Fiction No. 2"
References
[edit]- ^ Benson, Jr., Gordon; Stephensen-Payne, Phil (August 1989). Harry Maxwell Harrison: A Stainless Steel Talent (4th, Revised Ed.). Leeds, West Yorkshire: Galactic Central Publications. p. 37. ISBN 1-871133-13-0.
External links
[edit]- Introduction (Best SF: 1967) title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Introduction (The Year's Best Science Fiction, No. 1) title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database