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A review by sjstuart
17 X Infinity by William Tenn, Frederik Pohl, Richard Goggin, Idris Seabright, Groff Conklin, Theodore Sturgeon, Alan Nelson, Howard Fast, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Hollis Alpert, Rudyard Kipling, E.M. Forster, Henry Gregor Felsen, Hal Draper, Herbert Gold, Ray Bradbury, Evelyn E. Smith
3.0
This is a nice collection of vintage sci-fi, but is definitely a bit dated.
There are some absolute classics in here. "The Machine Stops", by [a:E.M. Forster|6472669|E.M. Forster|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1345510639p2/6472669.jpg] (yes, the author of [b:Howards End|3102|Howards End|E.M. Forster|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328865265s/3102.jpg|1902726]), is one of the best sci-fi stories ever written, and has aged very well, considering that it is over 100(!) years old. "Cato the Martian" is a clever and entertaining story by Howard Fast that can teach you something about ancient Roman history, as well as human attitudes, despite not featuring a single human character.
Other stories are just puzzling. [a:Isaac Asimov|16667|Isaac Asimov|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1341965730p2/16667.jpg], who was prolific but rarely disappointing, is represented here by "Strikebreaker", a silly story about handling human waste in a space colony. [a:Frank Herbert|58|Frank Herbert|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1168661521p2/58.jpg] was apparently not always as masterful or as serious as when writing [b:Dune|53773|Dune|Frank Herbert|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|3634639]. His contribution here is "A-W-F Unlimited", a snappy but ridiculous and sexist farce. And [a:Rudyard Kipling|6989|Rudyard Kipling|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1183237590p2/6989.jpg] (yes, that Rudyard Kipling) writes "As Easy as A. B. C.", a confusing tale about the American penchant for independence taken to extremes in a dystopic future ruled by reluctant government despots wielding Edisonian wizardry.
Most of the stories show their age. Every one of them was written before 1963, with several from the 50s and two from before World War I. Who knew that mediocre 1950s science fiction sounds just like a modern writer making a mediocre attempt at setting a 1950s mood. "'The Moogislanders!' My-ex-ex cried, reaching frantically for his molecule pistol. 'Run for your life!'" A large fraction of the stories -- and editorial comments sandwiching them -- are obsessed with the atomic bomb and its consequences. And most of the stories also portray the female characters as either humble domestic help, airheaded blondes, or tough broads. The men are mostly caricatures, too, but usually more flattering ones.
If you can view the caricatures as a sociological commentary of the times, though, and get past the dated comedy and dialogue, there are enough gems to be make it worth digging through.
There are some absolute classics in here. "The Machine Stops", by [a:E.M. Forster|6472669|E.M. Forster|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1345510639p2/6472669.jpg] (yes, the author of [b:Howards End|3102|Howards End|E.M. Forster|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328865265s/3102.jpg|1902726]), is one of the best sci-fi stories ever written, and has aged very well, considering that it is over 100(!) years old. "Cato the Martian" is a clever and entertaining story by Howard Fast that can teach you something about ancient Roman history, as well as human attitudes, despite not featuring a single human character.
Other stories are just puzzling. [a:Isaac Asimov|16667|Isaac Asimov|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1341965730p2/16667.jpg], who was prolific but rarely disappointing, is represented here by "Strikebreaker", a silly story about handling human waste in a space colony. [a:Frank Herbert|58|Frank Herbert|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1168661521p2/58.jpg] was apparently not always as masterful or as serious as when writing [b:Dune|53773|Dune|Frank Herbert|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|3634639]. His contribution here is "A-W-F Unlimited", a snappy but ridiculous and sexist farce. And [a:Rudyard Kipling|6989|Rudyard Kipling|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1183237590p2/6989.jpg] (yes, that Rudyard Kipling) writes "As Easy as A. B. C.", a confusing tale about the American penchant for independence taken to extremes in a dystopic future ruled by reluctant government despots wielding Edisonian wizardry.
Most of the stories show their age. Every one of them was written before 1963, with several from the 50s and two from before World War I. Who knew that mediocre 1950s science fiction sounds just like a modern writer making a mediocre attempt at setting a 1950s mood. "'The Moogislanders!' My-ex-ex cried, reaching frantically for his molecule pistol. 'Run for your life!'" A large fraction of the stories -- and editorial comments sandwiching them -- are obsessed with the atomic bomb and its consequences. And most of the stories also portray the female characters as either humble domestic help, airheaded blondes, or tough broads. The men are mostly caricatures, too, but usually more flattering ones.
If you can view the caricatures as a sociological commentary of the times, though, and get past the dated comedy and dialogue, there are enough gems to be make it worth digging through.