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Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the 20th Century | 
 enlarge | Creator: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Ace Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 70775
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0441011330
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.087620805
EAN: 9780441011339
ASIN: 0441011330
Publication Date: March 2, 2004
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century may not include every reader's choices for the top science fiction of the 20th century, but it lives up to its title. Editor Orson Scott Card has assembled 27 standout stories by the biggest names and best writers in the genre. Not surprisingly, most of these stories have been anthologized or collected elsewhere, and some (like Arthur C. Clarke's "Nine Billion Names of God," Harlan Ellison's "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman," and Robert A. Heinlein's "All You Zombies--") have been reprinted innumerable times. In addition, Card has previously placed some of these selections in his retrospective 1980s anthology Future on Ice. While some stories in Masterpieces lack fine prose and well-rounded characters, they are solid and engrossing entertainments. Other selections combine literary and science fiction virtues to produce a superior blend, and some of these stories--"Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson, "Snow" by John Crowley, "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" by Harlan Ellison, "Face Value" by Karen Joy Fowler, "Tourists" by Lisa Goldstein, and "The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin--are art. Masterpieces isn't an anthology for the well-read fan. However, it is a great book for the new or intermediate science fiction reader. --Cynthia Ward
Product Description
An overview of the best science fiction short stories of the 20th century as selected and evaluated by critically-acclaimed author Orson Scott Card.
Featuring stories from the genre's greatest authors:
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, and Edmond Hamilton
Download Description
"A virtual who's who in a century of imaginative fiction, this new hardcover collection includes classic and influential stories by: Brian W. Aldiss * Isaac Asimov * Greg Bear * Gregory Benford * Octavia E. Butler * Arthur C. Clarke * Philip K. Dick * William Gibson * Joe Haldeman * Robert A. Heinlein * Ursula K. Le Guin * Anne McCaffrey * Frederik Pohl * Mike Resnick * Kim Stanley Robinson * Pamela Sargent * Robert Silverberg * Clifford D. Simak * John Varley * Roger Zelazny With a new critical essay by Orson Scott Card, Masterpieces is a glimpse of the greatest works that mixed science with fiction...and changed the way we think about ourselves, our future, and our place in the universe. Featuring bold, brave, and breathtaking stories, this definitive collection will stand the test of time in this century and in those to come."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 One Masterpiece, more than one yawner July 27, 2008
We loved Sand Kings, a couple of other stories were okay and most were too boring to finish. My son and I thought this book would be a nice collection of interesting stories - but overall we were disappointed. If this is the best, I should have been a writer.
 Solid and Diverse Sci Fi Collection January 27, 2008
This collection of 27 stories, edited by Orson Scott Card, a science fiction writer of acclaim in his own right, is divided into three sections: "The Golden Age", "The New Wave", and "The Media Generation". Many of the giants of the genre are represented here. Mr Card provides a useful general inroduction to the volume and separate introductions for each story. Story selection is good, for the most part. I personally enjoy "concept driven" or "character driven", as opposed to "technology driven", Sci Fi and these stories fit that description. Some of the selections, especially in the first section, have been frequently anthologized and may be familiar to a well-read Sci Fi fan. However, many stories are not so well-known, especially in the two later sections. There is a fairly high proportion of "gems", worthy of multiple reads, in this volume. (To be fair, there are also a few duds, in my opinion.) Overall, for the money, a great buy.
blech December 10, 2007
The lead review by McDorman really set the tone. I was grievously unpleased by this putative collection of masterpieces. Some of the stories were good, most were poor, but, overall, very few stood out as obvious examples of science fiction. Frankly, some of my more creative sci-fi-oriented dreams--turned into a few pages of prose--could stand honorably aside many of these "masterpiece" entrants. I can scarcely believe that Orson Scott Card couldn't find better alternatives for one or two (or fifteen?!) of these selections; I wonder whether he was "on the take" from moribund authors or publishers, or who knows what.
The more anthologies one buys, the more disappointed one finds oneself. Honestly, even the best collections of anthologies suffer from a solid 20% "dud factor."
 How could I be disappointed? November 6, 2004
2 out of 10 found this review helpful
Look at the names on that list. Each is like revisiting an old friend. I recommend this collection for anybody seeking a book to introduce another to really good science fiction.
Some Outstanding, but not all are true masterpieces June 4, 2004
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
There are some excellent stories in here; some of them are amongst the best science fiction tales ever spun. Unfortunately there is a lot of "fine" and even mediocre examples as well. One could easily rate the individual stories here at between one and five stars. I give it a generous four stars due to a few of the standouts in the collection.Several key authors are missing entirely from the book (and Card apologizes for this in his Introduction). The "Media Generation" chapter includes a couple of stories ("Bears Discover Fire" by Bisson and "Tourists" by Goldstein), that, while fine stores, are not science fiction under almost anyones' definition. I think Card could have chosen better stories by Asimov and Bradbury. There are enough good stories to make the book worth purchasing. Of these, I include: "A Saucer of Loneliness," by Theodore Sturgeon, "The Nine Billion Names of God," by Arthur C. Clarke, "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" by Harlan Ellison, "Passengers," by Robert Silverberg, "Inconstant Moon," by Larry Niven, "Sandkings," by George R. R. Martin--and the superlative story "Pots" by C. J. Cherryh. The net of this is that I think there is some excellent material here, but that it is neither a comprehensive sampling of twentieth century science fiction nor a true set of masterpieces. Of course, Card chose stories that affected him deeply, without turning this into another compilation driven by awards, and one has to respect that as well.
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