First published in 1990 by editors Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. This Genre Anthology contains twelve Science Fiction stories that were first published in 1958, ranging in length from Short Story to Novelette. The introduction describes "the world outside reality" first, marking significant historical events, sports trivia, and literary publications. The "real world" is the world of science fiction and fantasy pop culture.
Works in this anthology:
- "The Last Of The Deliverers", by Poul Anderson
- "The Feeling of Power", by Isaac Asimov
- "Poor Little Warrior!", by Brian W. Aldiss
- "The Iron Chancellor", by Robert Silverberg
- "The Prize Of Peril", by Robert Sheckley
- "Or All The Seas With Oysters", by Avram Davidson
- "Two Dooms", by Cyril M. Kornbluth
- "The Big Front Yard", by Clifford Simak
- "The Burning Of The Brain", by Cordwainer Smith
- "The Yellow Pill", by Rog Phillips
- "Unhuman Sacrifice", by Katherine Mac Lean
- "The Immortals", by James E. Gunn
Isaac Asimov Presents: The Great Science Fiction Stories, Volume 20 (1958) provides examples of:
- 20 Minutes into the Future: Robert Silverberg's "The Iron Chancellor": Events in this story take place after 2061, with robots as common as appliances, referred to by year and purpose, much like cars are referred to by year and model.
- Aliens Never Invented the Wheel: Clifford Simak's "The Big Front Yard": Aliens never invented paint, so they're willing to trade the technology behind paint for the technology behind Artificial Gravity.
- Biography: Each story is prefaced by a short description of why this story (from this author) was chosen to represent one of the twelve best stories of the year along with a paragraph from Isaac Asimov's perspective.
- Brain/Computer Interface: Cordwainer Smith's "The Burning Of The Brain": Except for one symbolic lever, the controls of the Wu-Feinstein are either electronic or telepathically controlled.
- Crapsack World: Cyril M. Kornbluth's "Two Dooms": This novella imagines a victorious Axis partitioning North America between a Japanese West and a Nazi East. The Japanese half is made up of fanatic pseudo-samurai ruling over a wretched population of slaves whom they'll murder at the slightest provocation; meanwhile the Nazis are every bit as evil as you would expect (they enjoy torturing prisoners to death) but they're also insane - the protagonist, an American scientist from the 1940s who's become temporally displaced, saves his life by convincing a Nazi commandant that he's really an "Aryan" who's been the victim of a plot by Jewish magicians. This is taken absolutely seriously by the commandant and every one of his officers. note
- Deadly Game: Robert Sheckley's "The Prize Of Peril": This Short Story predicts that shows where people literally risk their lives will become extremely popular, and one of the most popular involves the contestant being hunted by criminals who have been given permission to kill. Viewers can call in to offer advice and help to the contestant—or to their hunters!
- Finale Title Drop: Clifford Simak's "The Big Front Yard": The story ends with Taine making an agreement to allow a lot of government people to use his "front yard", because his house has been transformed into a Portal Door to another world by aliens, which leaves the back and sides of his house on Earth while his front door is on a different planet.
- Game Show Host: Robert Sheckley's "The Prize Of Peril": Mike Terry plays host to the Show Within a Show game show of the same name (Link
). During the show, he makes play-by-play announcements and allows audience members to call in to advise the contestant to help them (or to help their hunters!). - House Fey: Clifford Simak's "The Big Front Yard": Hiram Taine, all-purpose repairman, is finding his work done for him, and his house remodeled. Ratlike aliens, each only four inches high, have been making repairs for him. They stop repairing things when they've finished the remodeling, Taine's house a portal to another world, which the aliens use to trade ideas (technology) between cultures.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: Robert Sheckley's "The Prize Of Peril": (Got filmed in Germany as Das Millionenspiel.) A gameshow contestant has to survive contract killers, and the audience can call in to help the contestant. Or help the hunters.
- Immoral Reality Show: Robert Sheckley's "The Prize Of Peril": (Filmed in Germany as Das Millionenspiel.) A gameshow candidate has to survive contract killers, and the audience can call in to help the contestant. Or help the hunters.
- I Owe You My Life: Cyril M. Kornbluth's "Two Dooms": A Los Alamos scientist trapped in a possible-future version of California saves a drunken peasant from drowning in a ditch. The man announces him to be the scientist's slave, later dying from a sword-stroke meant for his "master".
- Percussive Maintenance: Clifford Simak's "The Big Front Yard": Taine's stove always needs a kick before it'll start working, until the alien House Fey start fixing everything in his home.
- Portal Door: Clifford Simak's "The Big Front Yard": Taine's house has been transformed, with the back and sides of his house on Earth while his front door acts as a portal to a different planet, which the aliens use to trade ideas (technology) between cultures.
- Proportionately Ponderous Parasites: Brian W. Aldiss's "Poor Little Warrior!": In this Short Story (link), a time-traveling big game hunter kills a brontosaurus (sic), only to be killed by the vermin swarming off its carcass.
- Robot Maid: Robert Silverberg's "The Iron Chancellor": The titular robot is named "Bismarck", after the German dictator who earned the title of "Iron Chancellor" for his strictness. This Bismark is a robot cook who puts the entire family on a frighteningly strict diet.
- Shout-Out: In the introduction, multiple works are mentioned as being first published or becoming hits in 1958:
- Anatomy Of A Murder, by Robert Taylor
- Auntie Mame
- Attack Of The Fifty Foot Woman
- Attack of the Puppet People
- "Ballad Of A Teenage Queen", by Johnny Cash
- The Big Time, by Fritz Leiber, won a Hugo Award.
- "Bird Dog"
- The Blob, starring Steve McQueen
- The Brain Eaters
- The Brain from Planet Arous
- Mel Brooks is referenced.
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, starring Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor.
- The Colossus Of New York
- Dear Abby, by Abigail Van Buren
- Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternack
- The Donna Reed Show
- The Edge Of Time, by Donald A Wollheim
- Escapement
- Flower Drum Song
- Friend Without A Face
- From The Earth To The Moon
- From The Year 5000
- Gigi, for winning the Useful Notes Academy Award for "Best Picture".
- Ice Palace, by Edna Ferber
- IF gained Damon Knight as their new head editor.
- Imagination Science Fiction stopped publishing this year.
- I Married a Monster from Outer Space
- Immortality Delivered, by Robert Sheckley
- The Incredible Shrinking Man won the Hugo Award for Outstanding Movie.
- Infinity Science Fiction stopped publishing this year.
- Invaders From Earth, by Robert Silverberg
- It! The Terror from Beyond Space
- The Languages of Pao, by Jack Vance
- The Lincoln Hunters, by Wilson Tucker
- Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov
- The Lost Missile
- The Magazine Of Fantasy And Science Fiction did many things this year; absorbing Venture Science Fiction, hiring Isaac Asimov as a Contributing Science Editor to write Non-Fiction columns, and replacing Anthony Boucher with Robert Mills as head editor.
- Night of the Blood Beast
- Of Men And Monsters, by William Tenn
- Only In America, by Harry Golden
- "Or All The Seas With Oysters", by Avram Davidson, won a Hugo Award.
- The Path Of Unreason, by George O Smith
- Peter Gunn
- "Pink Shoe Laces"
- Elvis Presley was drafted for the American military this year.
- The Queen OF Outer Space, starring Zsa Zsa Gabor
- Science Fiction Quarterly stopped publishing this year.
- Science Fiction Adventures stopped publishing this year.
- Separate Tables, directed by Delbert Mann
- 77 Sunset Strip
- She Demons
- South Pacific
- The Space Children
- Space Travel stopped publishing this year.
- The Space Willies, by Eric Frank Russel
- The Spider Terror
- Star Science Fiction, edited by Frederik Pohl, only published one issue.
- Strange World Of Planet X
- Theodore Sturgeon's The Cosmic Rape (a Novel) and A Touch Of Strange (a collection).
- The Sundial, by Shirley Jackson
- Sunrise at Campobello, starring Ralph Bellamy as FDR.
- Terror From Beyond Space
- "Tom Dooley"
- Touch of Evil, directed by Orson Welles
- The Trollenberg Terror
- "Twilight Time", by The Platters
- Undersea City, by Frederik Pohl and Jack Wiliamson
- Vanguard Science Fiction, edited by James Blish, only published one issue.
- Vertigo, directed by Alfred Hitchcock
- Wanted: Dead or Alive
- War Of The Satellites
- War of the Colossal Beast
- The Young Lions
- Unusual User Interface: Cordwainer Smith's "The Burning Of The Brain": The entire wall of laminated star charts aboard the Wu-Feinstein, which aids the telepathic Go-captain. It proves to fail catastrophically at the worst time.
- Weight Loss Horror: Robert Silverberg's "The Iron Chancellor": A family purchases a Robot Maid they name Bismark to oversee their diet. The diet starts off far too spartan, so they try to adjust its programming and short something out. Bismark no longer remembers what their target weight is, so it will continue to diet them until they die of malnourishment.
- We Will Spend Credits in the Future: Robert Silverberg's "The Iron Chancellor": When Mr Carmichael purchases a new robocook (roboservitor), he spends ten twenty-credit vouchers as a down payment on the purchase.
