A collection-and celebration-of the work of Harry Harrison
From his first sale in 1950 on, Harry Harrison has been one of the science fiction world's creative dynamos, working in every subgenre of the field, always bursting with provocative ideas. Parodic one moment, serious the next, Harrison has been called by Brian Aldiss "one of the few authors capable of carrying the old vigor of earlier days forward into a new epoch."
On the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary as a professional writer, Harrison has gathered together fifty of his best stories-one for each year-along with substantial notes and introductory material. 50 in 50 is at once a memoir, a compendium of an engaging body of work, and a look at the history of science fiction in the second half of the 20th century.
“Definitive...Harrison has written well, even magnificently.” —Booklist
“Long overdue...Alternately thrilling and pensive, scary and hilarious, angry and accepting, Harrison’s fictions constitute one of the main monuments in modern SF.” —Paul Di Filippo, Scifi.com
Description:
Fifty stories for fifty years!
A collection-and celebration-of the work of Harry Harrison
From his first sale in 1950 on, Harry Harrison has been one of the science fiction world's creative dynamos, working in every subgenre of the field, always bursting with provocative ideas. Parodic one moment, serious the next, Harrison has been called by Brian Aldiss "one of the few authors capable of carrying the old vigor of earlier days forward into a new epoch."
On the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary as a professional writer, Harrison has gathered together fifty of his best stories-one for each year-along with substantial notes and introductory material. 50 in 50 is at once a memoir, a compendium of an engaging body of work, and a look at the history of science fiction in the second half of the 20th century.
From Booklist
Well! Here's the definitive selection of the prolific and popular Harrison's short fiction. First, there is an autobiographical essay, but thereafter Harrison proffers one story for, if not necessarily from, each year of his career as a published writer. The topics are as wide-ranging as Harrison's interests and, in some cases, dislikes. "Rescue Operation" is an alien-contact classic. "Roommates" preaches on overpopulation and still tells a story. "The Man from P.I.G." and "Captain Honorario Harpplayer" display sardonic, even savage, humor. "The Robot Who Wanted to Know" gives us Harrison poaching in Asimov's territory. And so on across the gamut of Harrison's oeuvre. He has little use for the military and none for religion. His separate introductions to the stories can condescend to the major themes of sf, but this merely makes him the latest in the long list of those who write better fiction than nonfiction. Harrison has written well, even magnificently, and this volume contains some of his really good stuff. Roland Green
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Review
“Definitive...Harrison has written well, even magnificently.” —Booklist
“Long overdue...Alternately thrilling and pensive, scary and hilarious, angry and accepting, Harrison’s fictions constitute one of the main monuments in modern SF.” —Paul Di Filippo, Scifi.com