The full title of SPECULATIONS 17 (1982) is Stories Written Especially for This Volume By Well-Known Science Fiction Authors, But Their Names are Concealed by a Code and It’s Up to You to Figure Out Who Wrote What.
I’m a sucker for these kinds of gimmick books! Here’s the list of the 17 SF writers who contributed to this volume:
- Isaac Asimov
- Scott Baker
- Alan Dean Foster
- Phyllis Gotlieb
- Zenna Henderson
- Joe L. Hensley
- R. A. Lafferty
- Alice Laurance and William K. Carlson
- Jacqueline Lichtenberg
- Roger Robert Lovin
- Rachel Cosgrove Payes
- Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzberg
- Mack Reynolds
- Joanna Russ
- Robert Silverberg
- Jack Williamson
- Gene Wolfe
Isaac Asimov writes an insightful introduction explaining the growing popularity of Science Fiction–and this is 1982!–and predicting a bright future for the genre. Asimov also writes story introductions and is careful not to supply any hints as to the identity of the authors. If you’re looking for something fun and different, give SPECULATION 17 a try. (If you GOOGLE Isaac Asimov and SPECULATIONS 17, you’ll get a link to a Wiki page that identifies the writers of the stories without having to crack the Code.) GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Foreword: The Scope of Science Fiction, Isaac Asimov — ix
- Nor Iron Bars a Cage — 1
- Surfeit — 23
- The Winds of Change — 44
- Harpist — 59
- Great Tom Fool, or The Conundrum of the Calais Customhouse Coffers — 75
- The Hand of the Bard — 95
- The Man Who Floated in Time — 111
- Flee to the Mountains — 122
- Last Day — 135
- The Newest Profession — 140
- A Break for the Dinosaurs — 160
- Event at Holiday Rock — 168
- A Touch of Truth — 173
- “Do I Dare to Eat a Peach?” — 182
- …Old…As a Garment — 189
- Flatsquid Thrills — 198
- The Mystery of the Young Gentleman — 205
- Biographies of the Authors — 231
- To Break the Code — 239