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The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame Volume 2 B edited by Ben Bova
01/07/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: TOR/Forge. 528 page hardback. Price: $29.95 (US), $32.95 (CAN). ISBN: 978-0-7653-0532-9. Buy The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame Volume 2 in the USA - or Buy The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame Volume 2 in the UK  check out website: www.tor-forge.com
This volume contains a dozen stories, four of which I've read before and re-read again, apart from enjoyment but also to see if they all match as being worthy of being called classics. I should also point out that this book was originally released in 1973 so you're not going to see anything beyond that point. Although it says these are all novellas, two of them, 'Rogue Moon' and 'Earthman, Come Home', were released as novels originally and a third, 'The Martian Way', part of an Asimov anthology used as its main title.
All of the stories used pre-date the Nebula Awards and as such are the ones most likely to have won had they been around. It's a shame that for the various years they were released there is no indication who would have been the likely runners-up. I shan't cover them all here just the ones I consider really outstanding.
So let's start with Isaac Asimov's 'The Martian Way'. The colony on Mars suddenly finds it won't be receiving its water supply from Earth anymore. The solution is to mine the asteroids around Saturn for the resource. In many respects, I'm not entirely sure if this is one of Asimov's best. It's a nice solution story but more on talk than action.
'Earthman, Come Home' by James Blish is part of his 'Spindizzy' four novels. This one deals with the Okie city of New York landed on a world when they are short on resources and have to cope with a proctor/slave relationship. Blish was very clever to centre mostly on the Mayor, Amalfi, then the population. I often wonder with all those further adventure stories current authors are paid to do based on earlier works why this reality hasn't been investigated. It doesn't have to be about New York but any of the other okie cities out there.
Algis Budrys' 'Rogue Moon' is one of my real favourites. An alien artefact is discovered on the Moon with a series of dangerous traps before getting inside it. Mankind has developed a teleportation device which will copy men onto the Moon who will share memories with the original for a time. This works long enough to unravel some of the traps before they are killed which tends to be rather traumatic for the original sharing the thoughts. Choosing the right man for the job becomes the hardest challenge. This is a superb story with realistic characters and if you haven't read it before then is work the price of admission alone.
'The Midas Plague' by Frederick Pohl was written in 1954 and I have to confess that I've never come across before but, oh boy, I wish I had. This is a topsy-turvey world where you literally have to spend your wealth rather than save it. A sad state of affairs if you're very wealthy. When you get into this story you have to adjust your thinking but it's a brilliant concept.
T.L. Sherred's 'E For Effort' tells of a device that can scan the past which two entrepreneurs with a developing social conscience dub and mix in with some currently filmed footage to sell as films. Again, this is very much under-played as to what they are doing but is great on characterisation and the 40s film industry.
'In Hiding' by Wilmar H. Shiras is about a young super-intelligent boy and the double-life he leads. For his grand-parents, he plays the pre-teen but through correspondence and such he can show his real maturity. This is a finely realised story that is also extremely clever. It couldn't be anything else really.
Clifford Simak's 'The Big Front Yard' tells the story of a repairman in middle America who gets some hidden tiny alien guests who repair and restore things for him before introducing themselves. Again, this is very much under-played but realistic reactions. It's the kind of story that would make a superb film with little needing to be changed.
If you can find over half the stories in any anthology to your liking then you know you're going to have a satisfying read. If you haven't seen any of these stories before then you are going to have a real treat. More so, when you consider most are over fifty years old and still work. Don't give this one a miss.
GF Willmetts
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