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Norman Spinrad. Outward Bound. Jack Vance. The Kragen Poul Anderson The Master Key Cordwainer Smith The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal Roger Zelazny The Graveyard Heart Leigh Brackett. Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon John Brunner. The Last Lonely Man. Gordon R. Dickson. Soldier, Ask Not. Wyman Guin. A Man of Renaissance. Ursula K. Le Guin The Dowry of Angyar Fritz Leiber When the Change Winds Blow. Frederik Pohl The Fiend. Fred Saberhagen The Life Hater Robert Silverberg Neighbor Norman Kagan Four Brands of Impossible

DAW books, with Isaac Asimov and Martin Greenberg editing, published a series of retrospective year's best collection starting in 1939 (my review here) and working their way through to 1963 before Asimov died. The New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA Press) have taken up the baton, with the equally venerable Robert Silverberg and Greenberg editing the issue in hand. And it is quite a handsome hardback to hold in one's hand, with a striking cover, and a high quality of production. So what of the quality of the stories? Well, I was only 4 at the time, so I can't be authorative from a position of having been there, and whilst I own the Merrill anthology for this year, I haven't read it. Silverberg notes that his collection, almost forty years later, is signficantly different from Merrill's, so once I have read that volume I should hopefully have a fairly solid grounding in the short SF of that year! Rather than looking for themes etc., I will provide my usual, start and the front and read until finished review.

Norman Spinrad. Outward Bound.
Originally in Analog March 1964.

Humanity is constrained by the lack of FTL travel, with the two dozen or so planets on which it has settled linked only by trading vessels whose crews spend time in Deep Sleep between planets, and who are thus cut off from the bulk of humanity through the consequences of relativity.

One ship captain is Peter Reed, 50 subjective years in space, almost a thousand years in objective time. Against this backdrop, he takes on board a scientist fleeing those on Earth who are concerned that he is close to a theoretical construct which could enable FTL travel. For if this happens, Earth's domination of the human worlds is threatened.

Trying to keep his ship ahead of the pursuers, Reed agrees to a drastic solution: the scientist and one of his crew will not go into suspended animation between planets, but will work on the theory in order to develop a FTL drive.

With this personal sacrifice, humanity can have the key to the whole galaxy.

Jack Vance. The Kragen.
Originally in Fantastic July 1964.

Starts of intriguingly with a description of a human civilization living afloat on a planet-spanning sea. They are descendants of a prison ship which crash-landed, and have evolved into a strange society with roles/castes clearly defined and harking back to roles back on Earth.

The sea-dwelling creatures of the planet are fearsome, and one mighty specimen, King Kragen is a deity to them, furnishing the beast with food on its regular forays.

One man objects to this, launching a rebellion once he finds a way to killer smaller specimens of kragen.

The intriguing interplay of roles and societal strictures etc. rather falls away to a slight more mundane battle between the two camps, in which those who oppose the aquatic god win the day and humanity is able to challenge for dominance on the planet.

Poul Anderson. The Master Key.
Originally in Analog July 1964

Yarn-spinning from a master spinner of yarns.

In this 'Nicholas van Rijn' tale, Harry Stenvik's son relates in a post-prandial setting, the abortive mission on a far distant planet which left him minus some crewmen and minus some dignity. The complex relationship between two of the species on the planet masked a potentially dangerous perspective on the human visitors by the dominant race.

The key to the tale is in the title in that the dominant race could not see the humans as worthy of dealing with if they were not their own masters.

And trust wily old van Rijn to spot the cause of the problem.

Cordwainer Smith. The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal.
Originally in Amazing Stories May 1964

A dizzyingly poetic Instrumentality story, told as if an age-old epic myth/ballad. Commander Suzdal's crime/glory was to respond to a distress call whilst in deepest space, to use the expertise of the Instrumentality to breed a race of intelligent cat-humans which would spring to his defence.

Roger Zelazny. The Graveyard Heart.
Originally in Fantastic Stories March 1964

Lengthy novella in which the wealthy 'Set' are able to spend most of their lives in cryo, waking once a year to party and socialise. An engineer sees this lifestyle, and one beautiful member in particular, as something to which he aspires. He manages to achieve his aims, marrying his love and enjoying decades of the high-life, safe in the knowledge his personal fortune continues to grow as he sleeps.

However, having achieved this, and seeing the decades flash by, he begins to wonder whether this is a true life indeed. Can humanity be anything other than shallow and cold in the circumstances?

Leigh Brackett. Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon.
Originally in F&SF October 1964

A deceptively simple story in which a visitor from the Earth falls into the trap of believing that some of the more lurid tales about the Martians are simply myth. Under the baleful glare of one of the moons of Mars he witnesses a strange ceremony....

Can what he saw remain believable on his return to Earth?

John Brunner. The Last Lonely Man.
Originally in New Worlds

The greatest loneliness of them all, death, becomes less feared after a technology called Contact enables individuals to have their minds transferred automatically at death to one with whom they have made a Contract, and have their personalities incorporated into said Contacts.

Except, of course, for those unlucky bozos whom have no Contractual arrangements. One such person appeals to the good nature of Hale, who agrees, slightly under the influence of alcohol, to enter a Contract with him for just a short time. But in that time the loser proves himself to be paranoid. What if Hale cancels the Contract - he will be left alone again. The paranoia proves to much and he takes a drastic step - suicide.

In a chilling denouement, Hale has the personality of the paranoid loser insidiously integrated into his own persona. What if...

Gordon R. Dickson. Soldier, Ask Not.
Originally in Galaxy

Tam Olyn is an Interworld News Network representative, come to cover a conflict on the planet St. Marie between 'Friendles' and 'Exotics', branches of humanity developed through specialisation. (The warlike Dorsai are another branch).

Somewhat impartial through witnessing the murder of his brother in combat, Tam endeavours to bring down those responsible. The motivation for this act is questioned, as humanity struggles to come back together for a combined humanity is greater than the sum of its specialised parts. The story was later expanded into a novel, part of the author's major 'Dorsai' sequence.

Wyman Guin. A Man of Renaissance.
Originally in Galaxy

Imagine Leonardo da Vinci crossed with Errol Flynn. Such a man is the protagonist, on a feudal world of floating islands. His is an artist, but also a master swordsman, wielding the mighty Blade of Hahn. We are introduced as a plot to overthrow a ruler of one island goes awry, and he has to flee for his life. His great plan, to unite three small islands together, depends upon the support of the island he has fled, and two others, one of which has a ruler who is mighty displeased with him.

His intellect is sharper than his sword, and he plots a further attack on the initial island by means of an invention - the submarine. Having achieved the placing of a young man on the throne, the renaissance man finds that his reason does in fact rule his heart, and he is willing to give up his mistress to the new king in order for his plan to go forward.

The story reads somewhat as an excerpt from a novel.

Ursula K. Le Guin. The Dowry of Angyar.
Originally in Amazing Stories, September 1964

An exquisite little gem of a story, very early on in the career of UKLG. More commonly remembered as 'Semley's Necklace' the story relates in elegant simplicity the tale of young Semley, a beautiful young woman married into a noble family in a society in which wealth is a rare commodity. To raise the standing of her husband, she sets out to find her family heirloom, a necklace which by right should have been her dowry. The necklace, wrought by dwarven-types on her planet, is an ancient necklace, and she has to journey deep into the mountains in pursuit of her goal.

Her journey takes her, unknowingly, a greater distance. A distance through space, and (due to relativistic consequences) through time. Her nobility and arrogance prevent her from finding the true cost to her before embarking upon her journey.

Fritz Leiber. When the Change Winds Blow.
Originally in Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 1964

The dark, empty spaces of Mars provide some form of santuary for the protagonist. Sanctuary from memories of nuclear war on Earth.

But he is haunted by demons, fearing the spare spacesuit in his vehicle may be occupied. He is suddenly hurtled pellmell into an epiphinical vision, in which he has to confront his demons.

Frederik Pohl. The Fiend.
Originally in Playboy, April 1964

Deep, deep in space, Dandish is in charge of the cargo of frozen human settlers re-animated an attractive young woman, musing on the possibilities which must ensue. But he finds he does not have the wherewithal to take forward his plan, decades in the plotting, and returns her to her sleep.

Fred Saberhagen. The Life Hater.
Originally in If, August 1964

The third in Saberhagen's 'Berserker' series of stories in which enormous robot spaceship wage a cold, merciless war against humanity and other biological life forms. In this story Carr's remote colony faces imminent destruction from a Berserker. He flies in the face of experience and goes to the enemy vessel to plead the case of love and compassion. Against the odds he returns, but there is a tantalising double-bluff. Has the Berserker chosen to contaminate his ship with a virus in order to wreak destruction without battle?

Robert Silverberg. Neighbor.
Originally in Galaxy, August 1964

Untold wealth, one of only 50 who have Lord status on the planet, wives and offspring almost too numerous to count, and power and authority beyond measure. Such is Holt's lot.

But all of this is as ashes in his mouth, as his nearest neighbor is in fact too near, within sight of his windows. The double-centenarian seethes with malice and hatred. But when the chance to pull the plug on his neighbor comes, he chooses an altogether more insidious revenge.

Norman Kagan. Four Brands of Impossible.
Originally in Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 1964

It's called 'thinking outside of the box' these days. Extremely bright math and science post-grads are enabled to think out of the box. But what if the limits of the box are there for good reason?

Discussion

Conclusion? A strong collection of mostly excellent stories which have stood the test of time well. I for one am waiting eagerly for the 1965 collection.