FRIDAY’S FORGOTTEN BOOKS #682: THE BEST FROM FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, 15th SERIES Edited by Edward L. Ferman

Edward L. Ferman succeeds Avram Davidson as editor with this volume. My favorite story in this anthology is Fritz Leiber’s “Four Ghosts in Hamlet.” Perhaps the most famous story in The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction, 15th Series is Roger Zelazny’s “The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth” about a fishing expedition on Venus.

R. A. Lafferty’s “Hog-Belly Honey” presents his usual comic silliness. Zenna Henderson’s touching story of The People, “No Different Flesh,” begins with a flying baby and ends in hope. The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction, 15th Series shows Edward L. Ferman can assemble a quality anthology in the manner that Anthony Boucher and Avram Davidson did for years. GRADE: B+

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13 thoughts on “FRIDAY’S FORGOTTEN BOOKS #682: THE BEST FROM FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, 15th SERIES Edited by Edward L. Ferman

  1. Jerry House

    Oops! You accidently changed the editor’s nationality in your header, George.

    Another great anthology with classic stories from Leiber and Zelazny. I also loved the Goulart, Davison, Wilson, Lafferty and Henderson stories. Nothing in this anthology is less than entertaining; and that includes the poetry. Ed Ferman was off to a great start!

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    1. george Post author

      Jerry, the demonic WORDPRESS spellchecker changed “Ferman” to “German” without asking me for permission! I also liked the five cartoons by Gahan Wilson.

      Reply
  2. Fred Blosser

    I remember the Asimov, Goulart, and Zelazny but none of the others. 1965 was a tough year for choosing a “Best Of” collection for F&SF that wouldn’t have run another hundred-plus pages. Among the notable stories that didn’t make this cut — Poul Anderson’s three Gunnar Heim novellas, Brian Aldiss’ “The Saliva Tree,” Larry Niven’s “Becalmed in Hell,” and Jack Vance’s “The Overworld.”

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  3. Steve Oerkfitz

    Good collection. Not great. I would have preferred several of the ones Fred mentioned, especially the Vance and Niven. The Aldiss was probably too long to be included.

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  4. Todd Mason

    Ferman loved that Leiber story more than any other he was able to publish, I think…he included it in the 30th Anniversary issue/anthology. The Davidson story rivals it for me, and I like other stories by both writers better, but this was a good selection from ELF’s first run as editor, even when part of it was as ghost-editor for his father. The Asimov has gotten to be one of the most famous stories in the book over the decades, and I’d say both the Asimov and Zelazny, the alpha and omega, have slipped back into a relative obscurity with today’s readers–the Henderson might spark recognition in the echo of the eventual collection/fix-up title. And it was younger Ferman’s idea to hire Gahan Wilson for a monthly cartoon (as well as buying the occasional story and book review’column from him, so all that credit as well.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Todd, I agree with your assessment of THE BEST FROM FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, 15TH SERIES. Adding Gahan Wilson to the mix was an act of genius!

      Reply
      1. Todd Mason

        Mea culpa–Ferman bemoaned Not having a Leiber or a Bloch in the 30th anniversary anthology/issue (they had nearly the same content, Davis Publications-style). Where he did single it out among the Leibers he published was in THE BEST FANTASY STORIES FROM FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, from Octopus Books (when no sensible non-instant remainder publisher snapped it up)(Octopus was among the better and more adventurous publishers in that discount field).

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