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The First Omni Book of Science Fiction

Ellen Datlow (Editor), Isaac Asimov (Contributor), Yasutaka Tsutsui (Contributor)

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Stories deal with the discovery of extraterrestrials, people turned into trees, new religions, alien talk show hosts, brain stimulation addicts, future race cars, androids, and alternate universes.

ix • Foreword (The First Omni Book of Science Fiction) • essay by Ellen Datlow
15 • Found! • (1978) • short story by Isaac Asimov
37 • Standing Woman • (1974) • short story by 筒井康隆? (trans. of 佇むひと?) [as by Tsutsui Yasutaka]
53 • St. Amy's Tale • (1980) • novelette by Orson Scott Card
87 • The Last Jerry Fagin Show • (1980) • short story by John Morressy
107 • God Is an Iron • [Mindkiller] • (1979) • novelette by Spider Robinson
137 • Count the Clock That Tells the Time • (1978) • short story by Harlan Ellison
165 • Petra • (1982) • short story by Greg Bear
195 • Sam and the Sudden Blizzard Machine • (1979) • short story by Dean Ing (variant of The Blizzard Machine)
213 • Burning Chrome • (1982) • novelette by William Gibson
245 • Ike at the Mike • (1982) • short story by Howard Waldrop
267 • The Palace at Midnight • (1981) • short story by Robert Silverberg
291 • The Angel's Gift • (1978) • short story by Ben Bova [as by Oxford Williams]
301 • The Hitmaker • (1981) • novelette by Cynthia Morgan
331 • Sandkings • [Thousand Worlds] • (1979) • novelette by George R. R. Martin

GenresScience FictionAnthologiesShort StoriesScience Fiction Fantasy

395 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

3 people are currently reading

115 people want to read

About the author

Ellen Datlow

270 books1,836 followers

Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for forty years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and editor of Event Horizon and SCIFICTION. She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited about one hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea, Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, Edited By, and Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

Philip Hollenback

441 reviews62 followers

January 20, 2012

Some great short 80s scifi stories in this book. Of course George RR Martin's 'Sandkings' is in this book, it seems to be a requirement for anthologies of this era.

One comment: this is an extremely cheaply made book. The typesetting is terrible, and there a quite a number of typos.

Bill

29 reviews4 followers

March 22, 2024

Enjoyed most of this anthology. Spider Robinson solid as ever with “God is an Iron” and Ellison’s “Count the Clock That Tells Time” is adhered to my memory. William Gibson’s “Burning Chrome” is a neat tech rabbit hole. Like horror? Check out George R. R. Matin’s “The Sandkings”.