Wondrous Beginnings

edited by Steven H Silver and Martin H. Greenberg

"delightful science fiction anthology" -Harriet Klausner, The Best Reviews

"the stories are remarkably good for debuts or otherwise." -Don D'Ammassa, Chronicle, 12/02

"memorable stories that should entice readers to search for more novels by the contributing authors." -Kelly Rae Cooper, Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine

"But more importantly, each story here is worth reading on its own merits, without any reference either to larger currents or even to the future careers of the authors. . . These stories are an amazingly accomplished bunch. . . But even if the premise of this volume was stripped away, the reader would still have a top-notch collection of speculative thrills to enjoy." -Paul Di Filippo, SciFi Weekly, 1/7/03

"great fun, providing insight into an author's beginnings and the chance to discover someone new." -Mark Graham, Rocky Mountain News, 3/28/03

Wondrous Beginnings

The cover illustration combines a photograph of Saturn from Voyager 2 with an image of Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt taken by Eugene Cernan.

Table of Contents

  • Murray Leinster, The Runaway Skyscraper, 1919
  • L. Sprague de Camp, The Isolinguals, 1931
  • Anne McCaffrey, Freedom of the Race, 1953
  • Hal Clement, Proof, 1942
  • Arthur C. Clarke, Loophole, 1946
  • Gene Wolfe, The Dead Man, 1965
  • Barry N. Malzberg, We're Coming Through the Windows, 1967
  • George R.R. Martin, The Hero, 1971
  • Howard Waldrop, Lunchbox, 1972
  • Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game, 1977
  • Jack McDevitt, The Emerson Effect, 1981
  • Jerry Oltion, Much Ado About Nothing, 1982
  • Lois McMaster Bujold, Barter, 1985
  • Stephen Baxter, The Xeelee Flower, 1987
  • Catherine Asaro, Dance in Blue, 1993
  • Michael A. Burstein, TeleAbsence, 1995
  • Julie E. Czerneda, First Contact, Inc., 1997

The writers included in this volume are a real "who was and is who" in the field of science fiction, from such masters of science fiction's Golden Age as: Murray Leinster, L. Sprague de Camp, Hal Clement, and Arthur C. Clarke, to a number of today's hottest-selling and award-winning authors such as Anne McCaffrey, Gene Wolfe, George R.R. Martin, Orson Scott Card, Lois McMaster Bujold and Stephen Baxter.

How and where did these writers get their start? Now you can find out by reading the stories that began their careers, some well-known classics, others long unavailable. Each story includes an introduction by the author--or in the case of Murray Leinster, by his daughter--which offers insight into the genesis of both the particular story and the individual writer's career. And all of them serve as fascinating examples of just what makes science fiction the popular genre it has long been and still remains today.

Wondrous Beginnings was released from DAW Books in January, 2003. It is DAW book number 1245. ISBN: 0-7564-0098-8. $6.99. 316pp.

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