The Road to Science Fiction

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The Road to Science Fiction is a series of science fiction anthologies edited by American science fiction author, scholar and editor James Gunn. Written for use in the classroom to teach the evolution of science fiction literature, the series is now available as mass market publications.

The six-volume set collects many of the most influential works in the field. Originally published by Signet and then by White Wolf Games Studio, Volumes I through 4 are currently being reprinted in paperback by Scarecrow Press.

Contents

[edit] Volume I: From Gilgamesh to Wells

(Signet, February 1979; Scarecrow Press, December 2002)

Contents:

[edit] Volume 2: From Wells to Heinlein

(Signet, 1979; Scarecrow Press, September, 2002)

Contents:

[edit] Volume 3: From Heinlein to Here

(Signet, February 6, 1979; Scarecrow Press, May 2002)

The best work published from 1940 to 1977.

Contents:

[edit] Volume 4: From Here to Forever

(White Wolf, January 1997; Scarecrow Press, 2003)

Stories selected for their quality of writing.

Contents:

[edit] Volume 5: The British Way

(White Wolf, March 1998)

Influential British SF published prior to 1986

Contents:

  • Preface by James Gunn
  • Introduction (all introductions by James Gunn)
  • Beginnings: From Frankenstein to Dorking
  • From The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir George Tomkyns Chesney -- Blackwood's May, 1871
  • A Matter of Perspective
  • From Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott -- London: Seely & Co., 1884
  • The Craving for Catastrophe
  • From After London; or, Wild England by Richard Jefferies -- Cassell's, 1885
  • The Medium and the Message
  • "The Doom of London" by Robert Barr -- The Idler November 1892
  • Fin de Siècle
  • "A Corner in Lightning" by George Griffith -- Pearson's Magazine March 1898
  • The Man Who Invented Tomorrow
  • "The Country of the Blind", by H. G. Wells -- The Strand April 1904
  • Currents in the Mainstream
  • "As Easy as A.B.C." by Rudyard Kipling -- The London Magazine March 1912 (+1)
  • The Great War and Its Aftermath
  • "A Negligible Experiment", by John D. Beresford -- Signs and Wonders, Putnam, 1921
  • More Things in Heaven and Earth
  • "The Horror of the Heights", by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- The Strand November 1913
  • "The Rat", by S. Fowler Wright -- Weird Tales March 1929
  • excerpt from The Star Maker, by Olaf Stapledon -- London: Methuen, 1937
  • "The Great Fog", by H. F. Heard -- The Great Fog and Other Weird Tales, Vanguard, 1944
  • "Hobbyist", by Eric Frank Russell -- Astounding September 1947
  • "Dreams Are Sacred", by Peter Phillips -- Astounding September 1948
  • "Made in U.S.A." by J. T. McIntosh -- Galaxy April 1953
  • "The Star (Star of Bethlehem)", by Arthur C. Clarke -- Infinity Science Fiction November 1955
  • "The Emptiness of Space [Troons]", by John Wyndham -- New Worlds November 1960
  • "The Voices of Time", by J. G. Ballard -- New Worlds October 1960
  • "The Drowned Giant", by J. G. Ballard -- The Terminal Beach, London: Gollancz, 1964
  • "The Totally Rich", by John Brunner -- Worlds of Tomorrow June 1963
  • "Mouth of Hell", by David I. Masson -- New Worlds January 1966
  • "The Discontinuous" by D.G. Compton
  • "It's Smart to Have an English Address" by D. G. Compton -- sf Impulse February 1967
  • "The Muse", by Anthony Burgess -- The Hudson Review Spring 1968
  • "The Nature of the Catastrophe" by Jerry Cornelius, by Michael Moorcock -- New Worlds January 1970
  • "The Power of Time", by Josephine Saxton -- New Dimensions I, ed. Robert Silverberg, Doubleday, 1971
  • "Mason's Life", by Kingsley Amis -- The Sunday Times (London), 1972
  • "Settling the World", by M. John Harrison -- The New Improved Sun, ed. Thomas M. Disch, Harper, 1975
  • "Working in the Spaceship Yards" by Brian W. Aldiss -- Punch April 9 1969
  • "Appearance of Life", by Brian W. Aldiss -- Andromeda 1, ed. Peter Weston, London: Futura, 1976
  • "An Infinite Summer", by Christopher Priest -- Andromeda 1, ed. Peter Weston, London: Futura, 1976
  • "Custom Fitting [Sector General]", by James White -- Stellar #2, ed. Judy-Lynn del Rey, Ballantine, 1976
  • "Written in Water", by Tanith Lee -- Perpetual Light, ed. Alan Ryan, Warner Books, 1982
  • "The Great Atlantic Swimming Race", by Ian Watson -- IASFM March 1986
  • "And He Not Busy Being Born", by Brian M. Stableford -- Interzone #16 1986

[edit] Volume 6: Around the World

(White Wolf, July 1998)

Contents:

  • Preface by James Gunn
  • Introduction (All introductory essays by James Gunn)

FRANCE

  • excerpt fromJourney to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
  • "The War of the Twentieth Century" by Albert Robida
  • "Another World" J.-H. Rosny-Aîné
  • "The Dead Fish" by Boris Vian
  • "Heavier Than Sleep" by Philippe Curval
  • "The Valley of Echoes" by Gérard Klein
  • "The Knot" by Élisabeth Vonarburg

GERMANY

SCANDINAVIA AND FINLAND

EASTERN EUROPE

  • "R.U.R." by Karel Capek
  • "The Hunt" by Stanislaw Lem
  • "The Divided Carla" by Josef Nesvadba
  • "That Invincible Human Spirit, or, The Golden Ships" by Alexandr Kramer
  • "The Neuhof Treaty" by Ovid S. Crohmalniceanu

RUSSIA

  • "The Strangers" by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
  • "Share It With Me" by Kirill Bulychev

ITALY

SPAIN AND LATIN AMERICA

INDIA

  • "Einstein the Second" by Laxman Londhe

CHINA

  • "The Mirror Image of the Earth" by Zheng Wenguang
  • "The Professional Writer in China" by James Gunn
  • "Corrosion" by Ye Yonglie

JAPAN

  • "Beyond the Curve" by Kobo Abe
  • "Take Your Choice" by Sakyo Komatsu
  • "The Legend of the Paper Spaceship" by Tetsu Yano

[edit] References