''The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two'' is an English language science fiction two-volume anthology edited by

Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of '' Analog Science Fiction and F ...

and published in the U.S. by Doubleday in 1973, distinguished as volumes "Two A" and "Two B". In the U.K. they were published by

Gollancz Gollancz may refer to: * Gollancz (surname), a Polish-Jewish surname * Victor Gollancz Ltd, a former British publishing house, now used as an imprint by the Orion Publishing Group See also * Gołańcz Gołańcz (german: Gollantsch) is a town ...

as ''Volume Two'' (1973) and ''Volume Three'' (1974). The original U.S. subtitle was ''The Greatest Science Fiction Novellas of All Time''. Twenty-two

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

s published from 1895 to 1962 were selected by vote of the Science Fiction Writers of America, as that body had selected the contents of '' The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929–1964'', a collection of the best-regarded short stories. SFWA had been established in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

and that publication year defined its first annual Nebula Awards. Introducing the collected novellas, Bova wrote, "The purpose of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame anthologies is to bestow a similar recognition on stories that were published prior to 1966 ic and thus never had a chance to earn a Nebula." The selection process generated both a top ten stories and a top ten authors. Although the original publication dates ranged from 1895 to 1962, only two stories were published before 1938, "The Time Machine" by Wells (1895) and "The Machine Stops" by Forster (1909). Theodore Sturgeon reviewed the anthology favorably, praising the decision to issue it in two volumes rather than scale back the contents."Galaxy Bookshelf", ''Galaxy'', May 1973, pp. 170–71. Bova's introduction thanks Doubleday science fiction editor Larry Ashmead for that."Introduction", Ben Bova, ''The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two'', New York: Doubleday, 1973, pp. ix–xi. Identical in volumes Two A and Two B.

Bova's introduction (identical in both volumes) honored 24 works by identifying two that made the cut but were not included. "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1955) was not available for re-publication in 1973, for it had been incorporated in the fix-up novel ''

A Canticle for Leibowitz ''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' is a post-apocalyptic social science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller Jr., first published in 1959. Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the southwestern United States after a devastating n ...

'' (1959) that was still in print. ''

By His Bootstraps "By His Bootstraps" is a 20,000 word science fiction novella by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It plays with some of the inherent paradoxes that would be caused by time travel. The story was published in the October 1941 issue of '' Astoun ...

'' by Robert A. Heinlein (1941) would have been a second work by that author. Those two ranked second and ninth in the voting. The first half, Volume Two A, includes eight of the ten leading stories by SFWA vote and the other two are not in the anthology, as described just above.

Top ten

In the selection process, SFWA members were asked to vote for ten out of the 76 stories on the ballot, selecting no more than one by any one author. In the introduction to the collection Bova reported the top ten stories and top ten authors by number of votes. (As described above, "A Canticle for Leibowitz" and "By His Bootstraps" were not included in the collection.)

Stories

* "

Who Goes There? ''Who Goes There?'' is a 1938 science fiction horror novella by American author John W. Campbell, written under the pen name Don A. Stuart. Its story follows a group of people trapped in a scientific research outpost in Antarctica with shapesh ...

" (1938),

John W. Campbell, Jr. John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

* "

" (1955), Walter M. Miller, Jr. * " With Folded Hands" (1947), Jack Williamson * " The Time Machine" (1895), H. G. Wells * "

Baby Is Three "Baby Is Three" is a science fiction novella by American writer Theodore Sturgeon, first published in the October 1952 issue of ''Galaxy'' magazine. It was later crafted into a full novel, ''More Than Human''. The original novella was voted the ...

" (1952), Theodore Sturgeon * "

Vintage Season ''Vintage Season'' is a science fiction novella by American authors Catherine L. Moore and Henry Kuttner, published under the joint pseudonym "Lawrence O'Donnell" in September, 1946. It has been anthologized many times and was selected for '' ...

" (1946),

Henry Kuttner Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Early life Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...

and

C. L. Moore Catherine Lucille Moore (January 24, 1911 – April 4, 1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, who first came to prominence in the 1930s writing as C. L. Moore. She was among the first women to write in the science fiction and ...

* " The Marching Morons" (1951),

C. M. Kornbluth Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 2, 1923 – March 21, 1958) was an American science fiction author and a member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, W ...

* " Universe" (1941), Robert A. Heinlein * "

" (1941), Robert A. Heinlein * "Nerves" (1942), Lester del Rey

Authors

* Robert A. Heinlein * Theodore Sturgeon * John W. Campbell, Jr. * Walter M. Miller, Jr. * Lester del Rey * C. M. Kornbluth * Jack Williamson * H. G. Wells * Poul Anderson * Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore

Select publication history

First editions * U.S., Volumes "Two A" and "Two B", Doubleday (, xi+529; , xi+527) * U.K. Volumes "Two" and "Three", Gollancz (1973, xi+422pp; 1974, xi+440pp) Later U.S. editions have been called Volumes IIA and IIB.

Series

In the U.K. Gollancz continued the series in 1981 with ''Volume Four'', edited by Arthur C. Clarke, comprising an introduction by Clarke and 16 short stories, novelettes, and novellas published 1965 to 1969 (, 672pp). In the U.S. Avon published identical contents in 1982 as ''Volume III'', crediting Clarke and George W. Proctor as editors (, 672pp, paperback) and followed with Volume IV in 1986, edited by Terry Carr, comprising 14 works published 1970 to 1974 (, xiv+434pp, paperback).

Explanatory notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume Two 1973 anthologies Doubleday (publisher) books Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2 Works by Ben Bova

Contents