#nesfa press

[protytwo]

If you like science fiction short stories and / or the science fiction of the Forties and Fifties you should be aware of NESFA Press. They are the publishing project associated with the New England Science Fiction Association. In addition to publishing books to celebrate their annual Boskone convention guest of honor, they have a series called NESFA’s Choice, that celebrates short fiction and novels by their favorite classic SF authors that have fallen out of print. NESFA Press books are quality hardback books, and frequently form definitive editions of an authors work; such as when they reprinted Cordwainer Smith’s novel Norstrilia, which corrected previous editions, and included an appendix of the bridging material written by Smith when the novel was at one point published as two separate paperbacks. In February 2020 they will be publishing a companion volume of Zenna Henderson’s short fiction that didn’t appear in the collection of People stories they published in 1995.

[offthebeatenstacks]

The Rediscovery of Man: the Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith, by Cordwainer Smith "The third story in this volume takes place 16,000 years in the future. When you realize that the 33 stories are ordered chronologically, you begin to grasp the scale of Cordwainer Smith's creation. Regimes, technologies, planets, moralities, religions, histories all rise and fall through his millennia. "These are futuristic tales told as myth, as legend, as a history of a distant and decayed past. Written in an unadorned voice reminiscent of James Tiptree Jr., Smith's visions are dark and pessimistic, clearly a contrast from the mood of SF in his time; in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s it was still thought that science would cure the ills of humanity. In Smith's tales, space travel takes a horrendous toll on those who pilot the ships through the void. After reaching perfection, the lack of strife stifles humanity to a point of decay and stagnation; the Instrumentality of Mankind arises in order to stir things up. Many stories describe moral dilemmas involving the humanity of the Underpeople, beings evolved from animals into humanlike forms. "Stories not to be missed in this collection include "Scanners Live in Vain," "The Dead Lady of Clown Town," "Under Old Earth," "The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal," "Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons," and the truly disturbing "A Planet Called Shayol." Serious SF fans should not pass up the chance to experience Cordwainer Smith's complex, distinctive vision of the far future." CLICK HERE to request through SearchOhio (Note: Edition and cover art may vary.)