The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1, 1929-1964

The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time Chosen by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of America

By: Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg - editor

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, L. J. Ganser, Richard Ferrone

Length: 28 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

The definitive collection of the best in science fiction stories between 1929 and 1964. 

This book contains 26 of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. They represent the considered verdict of the Science Fiction Writers of America, those who have shaped the genre and who know, more intimately than anyone else, what the criteria for excellence in the field should be. 

The authors chosen for the Science Fiction Hall Fame are the men and women who have shaped the body and heart of modern science fiction; their brilliantly imaginative creations continue to inspire and astound new generations of writers and fans. 

In "The Roads Must Roll", Robert Heinlein describes an industrial civilization of the future caught up in the deadly flaws of its own complexity. "Country of the Kind", by Damon Knight, is a frightening portrayal of biological mutation. "Nightfall", by Isaac Asimov, one of the greatest stories in the science fiction field, is the story of a planet where the sun sets only once every millennium and is a chilling study in mass psychology. 

Originally published in 1970 to honor those writers and their stories that had come before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame, Vol. One, was the book that introduced tens of thousands of young listeners to the wonders of science fiction. Too long unavailable, this new edition will treasured by all science fiction fans everywhere. 

This collection also includes an introduction by Robert Silverberg and stories by Stanley G. Weinbaum, John W. Campbell, Lester del Rey, Theodore Sturgeon, Lewis Padgett, Clifford D. Simak, Fredric Brown, Murray Leinster, Judith Merril, Cordwainer Smith, Ray Bradbury, C. M. Kornbluth, Richard Matheson, Fritz Leiber, Anthony Boucher, James Blish, Arthur C. Clarke, Jerome Bixby, Tom Godwin, Alfred Bester, Daniel Keyes, and Roger Zelazny. 

The complete list of narrators includes Oliver Wyman, L. J. Ganser, Richard Ferrone, Pete Larkin, Graham Halstead, Eliza Foss, Fred Berman, Michael David Axtell, Michael Braun, Rick Adamson, Gabriel Sloyer, Amanda Leigh Cobb, Neil Hellegers, Mark Boyett, David Shih, Alex Bloch, Jeff Gurner, and Tom Burka.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. 

©2017 Robert Silverberg (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

CHAPTER LIST to Help Find Stories

Update: THEY FIXED IT !!! Chapter titles are now in the app !!! ******* Here’s a CHAPTER LIST to help find stories. I wish that Audible would do this for books of short stories, essays, and poems. ———————————- Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. One Edited by Robert Silverberg —-- Contents by Audible Chapter —- 01: Introduction: Robert Silverberg 02: A MARTIAN ODYSSEY, Stanley G. Weinbaum 03: TWILIGHT, John W. Campbell 04: HELEN O'LOY, Lester del Rey 05–06: THE ROADS MUST ROLL, Robert A. Heinlein 07–08: MICROCOSMIC GOD, Theodore Sturgeon 09–10: NIGHTFALL, Isaac Asimov 11–12: THE WEAPON SHOP, A. E. van Vogt 13–14: MIMSY WERE THE BOROGOVES, Lewis Padgett 15: HUDDLING PLACE, Clifford D. Simak 16: ARENA, Fredric Brown 17–21: FIRST CONTACT, Murray Leinster 22: THAT ONLY A MOTHER, Judith Merfil 23–28: SCANNERS LIVE IN VAIN, Cordwainer Smith 29: MARS IS HEAVEN, Ray Bradbury 30–31: THE LITTLE BLACK BAG. C. M. Kornbluth 32: BORN OF MAN AND WOMAN, Richard Matheson 33: COMING ATTRACTION, Fritz.Leiber 34: THE QUEST FOR SAINT AQUIN, Anthony Boucher 35–40: SURFACE TENSION, James Blish 41: THE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD, Arthur C. Clarke 42: IT'S A GOOD LIFE, Jerome Bixby 43: THE COLD EQUATIONS, Torn Godwin 44: FONDLY FAHRENHEIT, Alfred Bester 45: THE COUNTRY OF THE KIND, Damon Knight 46–47: FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON, Daniel Keyes 48–51: A ROSE FOR ECCLESIASTES, Roger Zelazny

Fun to listen; hard to find

A good listen but there is no index or TOC to return to a story. I've run into this before in Audible poetry and other compilations. It can't be that difficult to list titles instead of a useless list of "chapters" and it would be a significant benefit to the listener.

Best, varied, entertaining, thoughtful, all star narration

This is the single best audio book I have ever listened too and I own 800. I’m immediately ordering volume 2. It doesn’t matter if you are an SF fan. I’ve never before listened to an anthology where every single story is astounding and yet so varied. Stretch your mind. This is my first triple 5 star review, will likely be yours too.

Better Than Old Time Radio

These stories were extraordinary for three reasons. 1) They were like listening to old time radio shows from the past only better since the narrative was spoken, 2) Each story gave an incredible peek into the time period they were written in. Pay attention to the time the story was written in order to get the full impact of the story. 3) The stories all have a meaning within themselves. The truths they reach are autonomous, they exist for their own being, and they help one understand one’s own existence all the more because they help in partially resolving the ‘paradox of the ego’ (a J.S. Mills expression).

My wife and I would listen to these together as we were in bed tucked in for the night. They made for a perfect end for our days. I like Robert Heinlein and have listened to gobs of his stories over the years, but I did not realize how much of a dick he was in 1940 and how much he was opposed to the working person out of ‘first principles’ as was illustrated by his story featured in this book. It made me reassess his other works through a different lens than I had previously.

To enhance the story and its meaning we would do a Wiki on ‘Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume I’ and look up the story background and plot summary for each short story featured. That added immensely to our listening pleasure.

More fun than old time radio, stories with meaning that transcend the ordinary, and a historical window that was more edifying than time travel and a perfect bed time companion, one cannot ask for more than that with ones entertainment!

Excellant Collection

If you could sum up The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1, 1929–1964 in three words, what would they be?

Thrilling, Imaginative, Heart-rending

What did you like best about this story?

The stories were original and poignant.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've listen to other narrators, and these are among the best.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Out There

Any additional comments?

This is one of the best sci-fi anthologies I've encountered.

Glitchy but great

An amazing collection of great sci-fi that enthralled and captivated the mind. However, the book doesn't react well on the app and you can't bookmark or choose chapters. Going back to a favorite story is impossible.

Brilliant short SF stories

Although these stories were written between 1920 and the 1950s, they have aged really well. I found myself moved by a number of them in their view of humanity and our possibilities.

The heart and soul of science fiction

I’ve always felt the short stories appearing in the pulp magazines were the heart and soul of science fiction. These twenty-six tales are the one the Science Fiction Writers of America voted as the best published before 1964. This anthology comes as close to that goal as it’s possible to achieve with a poll of experts. The narrators has showcased these stories in the best way possible.

Prepare To Think And To Be Entertained

Almost all of the stories here deal with big ideas that really make you think, wonder and contemplate. A brief summary of my favorites (very minor spoilers): 1) Nightfall - How might our understanding of nature be different if we had six suns instead of one and night only occurred once every 2000 years? 2) Flowers for Algernon - A mentally retarded man is not only cured but made into a super genius. 3) The Roads Must Roll - Ever ride on one of those fast moving conveyor belts at the airport? Imagine that being our primary means of transportation on a large scale. 4) Mars is Heaven - Explorers land on Mars and are astounded by their unexpected hosts. 5) First Contact - A ship has a surprise first contact with an alien race in deep space. Is mutually assured destruction inevitable? I took a star off the overall rating because some stories were rather lame. The main offenders being: 1) Twilight - An empty tale where nothing happens. Think Wall-E but with all the good parts removed. 2) That Only A Mother - I feel like the author was going for a massively shocking ending here, but it wasn't shocking at all. The entire concept seems almost laughable when compared to something like Flowers for Algernon. 3) The Weapons Shop - A rather run of the mill sci-fi story. Not terrible, but not very interesting either.

A great primer for SF history

A great foundation for modern sci-fi. Some stories were truly awesome in scope of imagination while others were a tad weaker. but all in all, a very good mix of styles and topics. I think both those beginning to read sci-fi and literary veterans will equally enjoy it. At times the readings suffered from antiquated ideas and speech patterns but that's trifling over small things. Two example were how many times I heard the term "atomic" or flawed ideas about space from stories prior to our development of space travel, but I was never driven mad by it either. One really nice thing was the absence of graphic sex, gore, and strong cursing. I would not say kid friendly but fairly tween friendly if you feel they are ready for the intellectual challenge that these stories will bring. Loved the variety of stories. No one story wore you out because of their shorter nature. From stories that were ahead of their time socially, one that showed years ago what would happen in a world ruled by SJW's, to attitudes that seemed like AMC's "Mad Men" with rockets! No topic was safe either. Gender, religion, what it was to be human along with all it's glory and failings were there too. So stop reading this and buy the book already. If you've read this much then I know you'll love it. So get in your rocket, crank up that artificial gravity, n' fire up the atomic motors! Were going to the FUTURE!!!

Frustrating delivery from audible...

A whole bunch of amazing stories, narrated clearly...the only problem is, there is no chapter labels and many of the stories spill over into 2-5 chapters. Don't let this deter you though as there is a chapter guide available on the website, goto library and click "view pdf" I'll paste the contents below... Enjoy! Track Title 1 Introduction 2 A Martian Odyssey 3 Twilight 4 Helen O'Loy 5 The Roads Must Roll 6 The Roads Must Roll, continued 7 Microcosmic God 8 Microcosmic God, continued 9 Nightfall 10 Nightfall, continued 11 The Weapon Shop 12 The Weapon Shop, continued 13 Mimsy Were the Borogoves 14 Mimsy Were the Borogoves, continued 15 Huddling Place 16 Arena 17 First Contact, 1 18 First Contact, 2 19 First Contact, 3 20 First Contact, 4 21 First Contact, 5 22 That Only a Mother 23 Scanners Live in Vain 24 Scanners Live in Vain, 1 25 Scanners Live in Vain, 2 26 Scanners Live in Vain, 3 27 Scanners Live in Vain, 4 28 Scanners Live in Vain, 5 29 Mars is Heaven! 30 The Little Black Bag 31 The Little Black Bag, continued 32 Born of Man and Woman 33 Coming Attraction 34 The Quest for Saint Aquin 35 Surface Tension 36 Surface Tension, 1 37 Surface Tension, 2 38 Surface Tension, 3 39 Surface Tension, 4 40 Surface Tension, 5 41 The Nine Billion Names of God 42 It's a Good Life 43 The Cold Equations 44 Fondly Fahrenheit 45 The Country of the Kind 46 Flowers for Algernon 47 Flowers for Algernon, continued 48 A Rose for Ecclesiastes, 1 49 A Rose for Ecclesiastes, 2 50 A Rose for Ecclesiastes, 3 51 A Rose for Ecclesiastes, 4

Audible, please add chapter headings....

...as this is currently unusable. Few people want to have to download a PDF before they can figure out what story they want to hear. EDIT: Audible have added chapter headings, making navigation a breeze. Many thanks.

WHY no chapter information??

A fabulous collection of stories but with no way of seeing what you are listening to, which story is which or who is reading what. Laziness Audible!

Klunky to the point of uselessness.

I ordered this and its sequel volume on the presumption that Audible had bothered themselves to format it in some way. They haven't. As a result you've no idea what's on the file. it's a total of 43 hours of continuous speech, and labled "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2" etc. You've not a clue what's what's playing and what might be next, and they haven't even included text to help you sort it out. As a result, although the content is great, your chances of finding (or even knowing about) a given story are negligible Can't recommend for any purpose.

Interesting read

A great mix of science fiction stories, most of which I probably wouldn't have come across if bit for this collection. I definitely enjoyed some more than others, but still, on balance would fly recommend. Generally I find the narration clear and engaging.

Outstanding!

I received this title on a 2 for 1 offer and I am so glad I chose it. These are a series of excellent science fiction stories, which encompass many different nuances of the genre: space adventure, the technological, the philosophical, and so on. Not only are the stories wonderful classics and frequently thought-provoking, they are also uniformly very well read. In an anthology of nearly twenty nine hours a single narrator's voice might have become wearisome, but here there is a different narrator for each story and so something fresh is brought to each one. The readings are excellent. I think if you have a passing interest in science fiction, you won't be disappointed in this release. One of my favourite Audible purchases!

Listerners will find more here than they expect.

Excellent, these are some very poinate stories from the past but they wont feel old once read, thus is the beautie of science fiction.

Absolutely fantastic voyage through Sci-Fi

A collection o great stories. The earlier ones were not so much to my taste but still well read and worth hearing. The later ones some of the very best short stories you could wish for, from giants of the genre.

classics, every one.

every story in this Anthology is absolutely original and just about every emotion is broached.

Mind Expanding!

I always found Science Fiction literature difficult to get into. I tried to read the first book of Asimov’s Foundation series & Mute by Piers Anthony but after listing to Andy Weirs The Martian read by Will Wheaton, I thought I’d try again. I’m so glad I did. The concepts, theories & imaginative ideas in these stories have made me think, laugh, cry & view our current perceived reality with new wonder. The readers of each story really give life & empathy to whatever subject I’s being read. I’ll definitely be buying the other two volumes. The future certainly is the undiscovered country.