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A review by jarrahpenguin
The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories by Tom Shippey
4.0
I was on the lookout for an introduction to the early canon of science fiction, and this is a pretty good collection for that, featuring published short stories from 1903 to the late 1980s. The stories themselves span a range of types, eras and styles of science fiction and help the reader narrow down what writers they might want to read more.I could easily imagine this as a textbook accompanying a college course, where there'd be an opportunity to unpack the themes and representations.
Without that opportunity to discuss these pieces and situate them in the context of their creation it's hard to get past the many cringe-inducing moments of sexism and racism in these stories, even the more modern ones. It doesn't help that the collection only includes two stories by women out of 30 stories, and none by BIPOC writers. This is consistent with historical exclusion in the literary canon but disappointing not to see it reflected on. I read the first edition (1992) and I know later editions had the same story selection, but I'm not sure if the intro might have been updated in later editions to acknowledge the representation gap.
Though it doesn't reflect on who's left out of the collection, or how the language in some of the stories might be problematic to modern audiences, the introduction by Tom Shippey is still interesting. It focuses on the value of science fiction in our society, and answering the criticism that science fiction doesn't have real literary merit. Again, it's useful as an introduction to the subject and a jumping-off point for debate.
Without that opportunity to discuss these pieces and situate them in the context of their creation it's hard to get past the many cringe-inducing moments of sexism and racism in these stories, even the more modern ones. It doesn't help that the collection only includes two stories by women out of 30 stories, and none by BIPOC writers. This is consistent with historical exclusion in the literary canon but disappointing not to see it reflected on. I read the first edition (1992) and I know later editions had the same story selection, but I'm not sure if the intro might have been updated in later editions to acknowledge the representation gap.
Though it doesn't reflect on who's left out of the collection, or how the language in some of the stories might be problematic to modern audiences, the introduction by Tom Shippey is still interesting. It focuses on the value of science fiction in our society, and answering the criticism that science fiction doesn't have real literary merit. Again, it's useful as an introduction to the subject and a jumping-off point for debate.