I considered saving Hank Davis’ collection, The Baen Big Book of Monsters, for a future FFB but I just can’t resist sharing this wonderful book with you. The Baen Big Book of Monsters takes me back to the Sixties when publishers would assemble stories around some theme and serve it up to an enthusiastic reading audience. This book reminds me of Forrest J. Ackerman’s monster anthologies. In fact, Ackerman edited and wrote a great introduction to Monsters, an anthology of A. E. Van Vogt’s classic SF monsters. As you can see from the Table of Contents, this anthology is a mix of old and new. I enjoyed rereading some of these great stories as well as encountering some new writers. If you’re looking for a theme anthology with plenty of variety, you’ll like The Baen Big Book of Monsters. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: “Size Matters” by Hank Davis
“The Shining Ones” by Arthur C. Clarke (Playboy, August 1964)
“All About Strange Monsters of the Recent Past” by Howard Waldrop (Shayol #4, Winter 1980)
“The Monster-God of Mamurth” by Edmond Hamilton (Weird Tales, August 1926)
“Talent” by Robert Bloch first (If: Worlds of Science Fiction, July 1961)
“The End of the Hunt” by David Drake (New Destinies VIII, Baen Books, 1989)
“Ooze” by Anthony N. Rud (Weird Tales, March 1923)
“The Valley of the Worm” by Robert E. Howard (Weird Tales. February 1934)
“Whoever Fights Monsters” by Wen Spencer – New
“Deviation from a Theme” by Steven Utley (Galaxy, May 1976)
“The Eggs from Lake Tanganyika” by Curt Siodmak (Amazing Stories, July 1926)
“The Dunwich Horror” by H.P. Lovecraft (Weird Tales, April 1929)
“From Out the Fire” by Sarah A. Hoyt — New
“Beauty and the Beast” by Henry Kuttner (Thrilling Wonder Stories, April 1940)
“The Island of the Ud” by William Hope Hodgson (The Red Magazine, May 15, 1912)
“A Single Samurai” by Steven Diamond — New
“Planet of Dread” by Murray Leinster (Fantastic, May 1962)
“An Epistle to the Thessalonians” by Philip Wylie (Finnley Wren, 1934)
“The Monster of Lake Lametrie” by Wardon Allan Curtis (Pearson’s Magazine, September 1899)
“The Giant Cat of Sumatra” by Hank Davis — New
“Greenface” by James H. Schmitz (Unknown Worlds, August 1943)
“Tokyo Raider” by Larry Correia – New
Good to see Hank Davis’s name. A former Dapa-emmer makes good.
Bill, according to BAEN BOOK’s publishing schedule, Hank Davis will be doing more themed anthologies.
Bill beat me to it, almost word for word.
Get out of my brain!
Jeff, great minds think alike.
I might be interested if I hadn’t already read 14 of them, some more than once. I wish he’d mined some new material besides the few brand new ones. As for Hank Davis, he was working at Baen when I joined the APA, I believe, or at another publisher. His ‘zine was named something like “The Bishop and the Actress”, wasn’t it?
Rick, you’re right about THE BAEN BIG BOOK OF MONSTERS containing many familiar stories. I had fun rereading them. Hank Davis could have been more adventurous.
Rick, it was “As the Actress Said to the Bishop” I believe.
Bill beat me to it, and Jeff beat me to saying Bill beat me to it. A slacker just can’t win around here.
Oh, and as for the book, I have no interest in the subject matter.
This collection really covers a lot of ground in terms of chronology and it has a wonderful list of contributors – thanks George, very appetising!
Sergio, I thought Hank Davis assembled a nice anthology. Rick’s right, though. A few more “adventurous” stories would have made it even stronger.