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"Science fiction is the characteristic literary genre of the century. It is the genre that stands in opposition to literary modernism." So says David G. Hartwell in his introduction to The Science Fiction Century, an anthology spanning a hundred years of science fiction, from its birth in the 1890s to the future it predicted.

David G. Hartwell is a World Fantasy Award-winning editor and anthologist who has twice before redefined a genre--first the horror field with The Dark Descent, then the subgenre of hard science fiction with The Ascent of Wonder, coedited with Kathryn Cramer. Now, Hartwell has compiled the mother of all definitive anthologies, guaranteed to change not only the way the science fiction field views itself but also the way the rest of literature views the field.

The Science Fiction Century includes stories from the founding fathers of the field, such as H.G. Wells, C.S. Lewis, Jack London, and Rudyard Kipling; beloved mainstays of the genre, such as Philip José Farmer, Roger Zelazny, Jack Vance, and Poul Anderson; noted female writers, including Connie Willis, Nancy Kress, and James Tiptree, Jr.; and writers who have hit their stride in the last two decades, such as Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Michael Swanwick, and James Morrow. Hartwell has also included writers widely recognized outside the genre, such as E.M. Forster, Michael Shaara, and John Crowley; and translations of foreign writers' formative works, including Dino Buzzati and Wolfgang Jeschke. This is must-have anthology for all literary interests.

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A must-have anthology of the literature that has shaped the past 100 years, "The Science Fiction Century" includes stories by such notables in the field as H.G. Wells, C.S. Lewis, Jack London, Roger Zelazny, Poul Anderson, Nancy Kress, William Gibson, and Harlan Ellison.

David G. Hartwell, called "an editor extraordinaire" by Publishers Weekly, is one of science fiction's most experienced and influential editors. As an editor with Berkley Books, Pocket Books, William Morrow, and Tor Books, he has worked with many of the field's best authors and edited many award-winning works. He is the author of Age of Wonders, a nonfiction study of the science fiction field. Among his many anthologies are the bestselling World Treasury of Science Fiction and the World Fantasy Award winner The Dark Descent. He is the holder of a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Columbia University, a winner of the Eaton Award, and has been nominated for the Hugo Award twenty-four times.

This anthology contains 45 short stories, mostly post-World War II and mostly American, representing the earliest writers in the genre (H.G. Wells, C.S. Lewis), Golden Age authors (Poul Anderson, A.E. Van Vogt), hard science and cyberpunk writers (William Gibson, Bruce Sterling), women authors (James Tiptree Jr., Connie Willis), and writers known outside science fiction (Michael Shaara, E.M. Forster). In his introduction, Hartwell places sf in the context of literary history and prefaces each story with a short biographical and bibliographical essay. While he purposely omits certain authors who have been heavily anthologized (Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin), Hartwell has chosen excellent examples representing 100 years of science fiction. Highly recommended for sf and literature collections. Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information.

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Over the past quarter century, Hartwell has built a well-deserved reputation in SF, fantasy and horror as an editor extraordinaire. In addition to discovering many of the leading luminaries in the genre, he has produced a pool of anthologies (The Ascent of Wonder; The Dark Descent; etc.) that attempt to stand as definitive volumes. The Science Fiction Century is another such successful landmark collection. In his introduction, Hartwell makes a strong case that "science fiction is the characteristic literary genre of the century." He defines this SF century as starting in 1895 with H.G. Wells, ably represented in this volume by "A Story of the Days to Come." Frequently showing his academic roots, Hartwell includes several lesser-known female writers (e.g, Mildred Clingerman, Margaret St. Clair), as well as some foreign writers in translation. Mostly, though, the anthology is filled with classic and wonderful stories by well-known authors in the field, including James Morrow, A.E. Van Vogt, James Blish, Connie Willis, Poul Anderson, Roger Zelazny, Bruce Sterling, William Gibson and Harlan Ellison. The volume closes with the sentimentally beautiful "Sail the Tide of Mourning" by Richard Lupoff. While Hartwell's exclusions are sometimes curious (there's no Ursula K. Le Guin, Greg Bear, Theodore Sturgeon or Damon Knight), his selections persuade that this has been a century enriched, as he says, by the "literature for people who value knowledge." (June) Copyright 1998 Publishers Weekly Reviews