Kim Stanley Robinson is best known for his excellent science fiction novels like his Mars trilogy: Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars. Robinson also wrote the under-rated Three Californias Trilogy: The Wild Shore, The Gold Coast, Pacific Edge (but that’s a topic for another FORGOTTEN BOOKS Friday). Most readers head for the novels. Yet, Robinson also wrote some dazzling short stories. Thanks to Night Shade Books, we have the just published collection, The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson. The title is no misnomer. Some of Robinson’s best writing can be found in these pages. Many of these stories hard to find. Now, they’re in one convenient package. Robinson also threw in a new, original story. There are hours of reading pleasure to be found here.
Table of Contents:
Venice Drowned
Ridge Running
Before I Wake
Black Air (World Fantasy Award Winner)
The Lucky Strike
A Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions
Arthur Sternbach Brings The Curveball To Mars
The Blind Geometer (Nebula Award Winner)
Our Town
Escape from Kathmandu
Remaking History
The Translator
Glacier
The Lunatics
Zurich
Vinland the Dream
“A History of the Twentieth Century, with Illustrations”
Muir On Shasta
Sexual Dimorphism
Discovering Life
Prometheus Unbound, At Last
The Timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic, 1942 (First Publication)
Afterword by Kim Stanley Robinson
(This completes the August 2010 portion of my Short Story Reading Challenge. I will read and review one short story collection per month in 2010. To find out more about the Short Story Reading Challenge, be sure to click: “http://theshortstorychallenge.blogspot.com/”>Short Story Reading Challenge.
I’ve always meant to try his books but haven’t so far. Maybe the stories are a good place to begin. What about his ‘global warming’ trilogy? Have you read that?
I confess I’m about six Kim Stanley Robinson novels behind, Jeff. They’re on the stack. But they’re looooong!
I very much enjoyed Robinson’s THE YEARS OF RICE AND SALT, which is an alternative history of the last 700 years or so, where all of Europe was wiped out by the bubonic plague so that the Middle East and China became the explorers and colonizers. A challenging read, but a worthwhile one.
I have THE YEARS OF RICE AND SALT on my Read Real Soon stack, Deb. Robinson seems to be able to write about any subject with ease.
Sounds like a great collection, George.
Most publishers aren’t eager to put out short story collections by writers best known for their novels, Patti. I’m glad Night Shade Books took the risk with THE BEST OF KIM STANLEY ROBINSON.
Well, Night Shade is specializing in short story collections these days…and not so much in paying royalties, apparently.
As I totter toward premature senescence, I recall the Old Days of 1978 when KSR and James Patrick Kelly and Andrew Weiner and such were all still pretty new on the scene…and all publishing the earlier of these stories in F&SF and such. There were more magazine buyers in those days, and more anthologies! Do I have a lawn?!?
Due to Blogspot games, few have yet seen my review for this week, of HOTWIRE, rathe than that of last week, of horror-boom artifacts.
Short story collections are notorious money-losers, Todd. That’s why most publishers won’t even consider them. Yes, Night Shade has some problems which I hope they work out. I’ve been a buyer of their excellent books for years. But growth brings problems and growing too quickly magnifies those problems.
Another great choice, George. I’ve been a fan of Stan’s work since his short stories began to first appear. I particularly liked The Lucky Strike and Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars. His novels, especially the California trilogy and the Mars books are all pretty wonderful. And his book on the Novels of Philip K. Dick is an interesting early academic look at PKD.
THE BEST OF KIM STANLEY ROBINSON deserves a wide audience, Scott. I find his work smart and compelling.
Looks great! I’d missed that Night Shade was doing this, as I hadn’t gone to the website since the no-rights, non-payment stories broke.
I would have thought that you would know that your brother, Kim Stanley ROBINSON, would have a book coming out, Rick.
Well, since the two of us fought over that game of marbles back in ’54, we haven’t talked much.
I bet Mom always liked you best, Rick.
I suspect short story collections don’t lose as much money as some publishers claim…though I’ve always been puzzled by those who make a great show of not liking short fiction.
I can’t remember the last time a short story collection made the Best Sellers list, Todd.
Well, George, bestsellers lists are fictional constructs…which is why they tend to leave off romances published as such. One needn’t lose money on a book that doesn’t make them.
You would think that TOR or ACE or BAEN Books would have published THE BEST OF KIM STANLEY ROBINSON, Todd. Major publishers today seem to have a “home-run” mentality. They want to publish books that sell a zillion copies. That’s why they tend not to publish poetry or short story collections. Small presses have different ideals and business models.