THE MANY WORLDS OF SCIENCE FICTION
edited by Ben Bova
Many worlds indeed, but on closer examination they are distressingly similar. For the most part comprised of second-rate stories by first-rate authors, this collection never comes close to fulfilling its stated aim of showing "where it's at in the science fiction world today." In fact it leans heavily towards the war/space adventure genre, and though the stories — with the exception of Andre Norton's "All Cats Are Gray" — are appearing for the first time, they have a rather musty odor about them. The gimmicks are the usual space-time continuum and telepathy stuff, attempts at character development are rudimentary, and worst of all the styles tend towards the self-consciously hard-boiled Americanese of pulp fiction. One saving grace is the inclusion of the amusing "Law-Twister Shorty" by Gordon R. Dickson, but on the whole Bova has unwittingly provided good ammunition for the enemies of SF.