The Playboy Book of Science Fiction

Forget this was published by Playboy, if you need to, these are stories by geniuses of this genre. One of the top science fiction anthologies ever published. Maybe the best. Certainly the best I've ever read.

Playboy is world renown for their displays of superior female flesh, eye candy for those who indulge themselves in the finer (or seedier, however you want to view it) vices that our short lives have to offer. However, the age-old phrase "I just buy it for the articles" has long been as well deserved as their reputation for fleshy treats. Aside from foldouts and photo shoots, Playboy has consistently offered up some of the best journalism available, in their interviews, articles, and fiction contributions. So when the Playboy publishers decide it is time to offer up, in book form, collections of the fictional material available from their magazine publication, it is well worth your while to sit up, take notice, and buy the book. In this 1998 collection, you will find such sci-fi treats as Ray Bradbury's `Lost City Of Mars', where you are taken by yacht through the Martian canals to an abandoned city, designed to deliver whatever you wish for. Ursula K. LeGuin's `Nine Lives' takes a brand new look at cloning, and puts you inside one's mind. Kurt Vonnegut's `Welcome To The Monkey House', is a wonderful story of a bizarre underground faction that is ready to buck the system of removing overpopulation. Walter Tevis writes an ethereal and haunting love story in `The Apotheosis Of Myra', a tale of ever-waking and undying love. Philip K. Dick's `Frozen Journey', is about a long bout of consciousness during space travel, and a computer's efforts to stay off a human's insanity. Joe Haldeman takes a personal and terrifyingly psychological look into the mind of a cyborg in `More Than The Sum Of His Parts', and there is even Stephen King's `The Word Processor', originally published long ago in his collection called The Skeleton Crew. These tantalizing teasers are just the beginning of Playboy's collection of twenty-five superb science fiction stories, some merely skirting the edges of possibility and some plunging right off the cliffs of sanity into the endless pool of imaginary fantasy and delusion. With such authors as Arthur C. Clark, Frederick Pohl, Damon Knight, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Larry Niven, Chet Williamson, and even one short written by none other than Billy Crystal (yes, the comedian). I cut my teeth on Sci-Fi reading Playboy's 1966 collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, still far superior to any other collection I have encountered, and after tasting such sweet science fiction, it was inevitable that I grow fonder of the genre as time passed. If you find a copy of the rare and out of print 1966 collection, by all means grab it up as quick as you can. In the meantime, make sure to pick up this 1998 collection before it becomes as rare as the '66 version. Oh, and Enjoy!

I read a lot of these when they first came out, but it was nice to have them all together in one book. Plus there were a couple I missed. I also recommend the AREA 51 series and THE ROCK by Robert Doherty if you're looking for some fun, current sci-fi novels.