Reviews for Robert Silverberg's worlds of wonder

The average rating for Robert Silverberg's worlds of wonder based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-03-13 00:00:00 M R This book was recommended to me by a science fiction writer as having useful essays dissecting why science fiction works. They are useful. Robert Silverberg is one of my favorite authors, so I was happy to listen to anything he said. However, some of the stories are real gems that I would not have otherwise come across. Silverberg culled the period from the mid-40s through early 60s--the "Pulp Era"--and found some that stand out as exceptional for that time period. My favorite was Alfred Bester's "Fondly Farenheit". The purposely confused point of view was wonderful--it really created a fantastic vision of the mindset the author was trying to convey (I can't say any more without spoiling a great story). Robert Sheckley's "The Monsters" was also a fabulous blend of horror tropes with science fiction tropes and absurdist humor. I don't usually read this period of science fiction--my favorites are the 60s/70s New Wave, the 80s Cyberpunk, and the neat fusion of styles that has characterized the 90s through the present. So for others who are similarly 1950s-deficient in their reading, get this for the great stories. For those learning to write, the essays are quite useful.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-05-08 00:00:00 Wanda Newton Published as Worlds of Wonder in 1987, Science Fiction 101 still works on several levels: as an autobiography of "one of the most honored Masters in the history of the field" (and you thought Asimov immodest), as an introduction to classic SF short stories mostly from the 1950s, and as entertaining and insightful essays on just what SF is and how it works. Unlike many current authorities, Silverberg places SF inside the fantasy genre. In fact, ignoring the obvious vampires, elves and magic, he argues that it precisely the possibility--however improbably--of SF which distinguishes it from fantasy. And demonstrates his point using several stories which have no overt SF characteristics. Some of the stories are excellent; some less so, and a few irritating poor, but Science Fiction 101 is far better than most SF anthologies you'll find these days. A good read.