SF CORE Best Lists
- Best Modern Science Fiction Books
- Best Science Fiction Series
- Best Stand Alone Science Fiction Books
- Top 25 Underrated Science Fiction Books
- Best Science Fiction by Women
- Best Science Fiction Books for Young Adults
- Best Science Fiction Books for Children
- The Alternative Top 25 Best Science Fiction List
- Top 25 Science Fiction Books
- Top 100 Best Science Fiction Books
- Top 50 Best Science Fiction Movies of All Time
- Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century
- Best Sci-Fi TV Shows of All Time
- Best Science Fiction Graphic Novels
SF ERA Best Lists
- Best Science Fiction Books of 2014
- Best Contemporary Science Fiction Books
- Best New Wave Science Fiction Books
- Best Classic Science Fiction Books
- Best Early Science Fiction Books
- Best Proto-Science Fiction
- Best Modern Science Fiction Classics
SF GENRE Best Lists
- Best Hard Science Fiction Books
- Best Cyberpunk Books
- Best Space Opera Books (OLD AND MERGED WITH NEW)
- Best Dystopian Science Fiction Books
- Best Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction Books
- Best Alternate History Books
- Best Time Travel Science Fiction Books
- Best Robot Science Fiction
- Best Artificial Intelligence Science Fiction
- Top 25 Best Mars Science Fiction Books
- Best Literary Science Fiction Books
- Best Books About Science Fiction
- Best Space Opera Books
- Top 25 Post Human Science Fiction Books
- Top 25 Best Science Fiction Mystery Books
- Top 25 Best Science Fiction Books About the Moon
- Best Non-English Science Fiction Books
- Best Science Fiction Games of All Time
- Best Science Fiction Comic Books
- Best Science Fiction Anime
- Top 25 Military SciFi Books
OTHER Best Lists
Dangerous Visions
![Dangerous Visions](https://www.thebestsciencefictionbooks.com/storage/images_large/617nNu2ButqL._SL500_.jpg)
Author: Harlan Ellison, Ed
Throughout its history, many of the finest and most important works of science fiction have been short stories. Magazines and anthologies have been the lifeblood of the genre for at least 90 years. Magazines like Amazing or Astounding or Asimov's, anthologies like Universe or New Dimensions or Orbit, all deserve a place in any top 100 of the genre. But of all the short story collections the one that surely can't be ignored is Harlan Ellison's groundbreakingDangerous Visions, along with its even more massive companion, Again, Dangerous Visions.The 33 stories in Dangerous Visions won two Hugo Awards and two Nebula Awards; the 42 stories in Again, Dangerous Visionsadded another couple of Hugo and Nebula Awards. But the awards really don't tell the full story.What you find here are writers as varied as Frederik Pohl, Robert Bloch, Larry Niven, Roger Zelazny, Carol Emshwiller, Theodore Sturgeon, Norman Spinrad, Joanna Russ, Gene Wolfe, Kurt Vonnegut, Gregory Benford, Josephine Saxton, Thomas Disch, James Tiptree, Jr., and so on. It's a who's who of the very best science fiction writers, producing some of their very best work."Aye, And Gomorrah" by Samuel R. Delany, in which neutered spacers exploit their androgyny as a sexual fetish for others, is undoubtedly one of the finest stories he ever wrote. "The Word for World is Forest" by Ursula K. Le Guin, in which humans try to exploit the resources of an idyllic world uncaring of the harm it will do to the native inhabitants, is a glorious piece of work.Because Ellison encouraged his contributors to break taboos, to try things that science fiction hadn't done before, it resulted in some of the most original, challenging and brilliant stories in the genre. The two collections together were groundbreaking. Science fiction hadn't seen anything like them before, and hasn't seen anything like them since. The collection defined the American new wave, and changed the genre for a generation.
Similar Recommendations
![](https://www.thebestsciencefictionbooks.com/images/shadow3.png)
There is nothing quite like Dangerous Visions, but any of these original anthology series you can lay your hands on will be well worth your while.
Orbit edited by Damon Knight published a host of award winning fiction by such regular contributors as Gene Wolfe ("The Fifth Head of Cerberus"), Kate Wilhelm ("Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang"), R.A. Lafferty, Ursula K. Le Guin and others. There were 21 volumes in the series.
New Dimensions edited by Robert Silverberg contained such award-winning stories as "Eurema's Dam" by R.A. Lafferty, "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" by James Tiptree, Jr., "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin and "Unicorn Tapestry" by Suzy McKee Charnas. There were 12 volumes in the series.
Universe edited by Terry Carr included such award winners as "Good News from the Vatican" by Robert Silverberg, "The Death of Doctor Island" by Gene Wolfe, "If the Stars Are Gods" by Gregory Benford and Gordon Eklund, "The Ugly Chickens" by Howard Waldrop, "The Quickening" by Michael Bishop and "Paladin of the Lost Hour" by Harlan Ellison. There were 17 volumes edited by Terry Carr and a further three volumes edited by Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber.