tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post2188005257725495610..comments2024-03-27T22:39:08.396-04:00Comments on Sweet Freedom: FFB: NEW WORLDS OF FANTASY (1967) and its sequels (1970, 1971), edited by Terry CarrTodd Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-53184683562020071362011-06-26T15:26:09.227-04:002011-06-26T15:26:09.227-04:00Harry Harrison has done that, and some others as w...Harry Harrison has done that, and some others as well. The distinction that many would counter-argue is that sf is all or at least meant to be possible, dealing within an understanding of the universe as it is or might be understood to be in consensus reality, while fantasy by definition excludes a universe that exists solely by the rules of consensus reality, and either adds or substitutes other rules. Things get hazy around every one of these edges, and the term "science fantasy" has often been employed to refer to work that mingles aspects of both as they've developed, and also to cover both and related fields, much as many people might use the terms "fantastic fiction" or "speculative fiction" (among others, and they might also have other definitions for these!) today.<br /><br />Say, some of Leigh Brackett's or Jack Vance's or Gene Wolfe's fiction, which frequently involves sophisticated technology and magic simultaneously (STAR WARS, for which Brackett wrote the early versions of the least bad film's script, being a rather dumbed down example of the same sort of thing), is what a lot of people mean by "science fantasy" a lot of the time.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-79335706159192468802011-06-26T11:19:15.736-04:002011-06-26T11:19:15.736-04:00It's such a fine line to draw between fantasy ...It's such a fine line to draw between fantasy and science fiction.<br /><br />I might say that all science fiction is fantasy but not all fantasy is science fiction.<br /><br />How's that sound?Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-55403295271032414222011-06-24T18:07:19.089-04:002011-06-24T18:07:19.089-04:00You might also be surprised how many crime-fiction...You might also be surprised how many crime-fiction writers are also fantastic-fiction writers, and vice verse. Very, very high overlap.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-16356187712692676502011-06-24T18:06:26.205-04:002011-06-24T18:06:26.205-04:00Ah, well. These aren't sf stories (a few are b...Ah, well. These aren't sf stories (a few are borderline), but fantasies. I suspect if you gave it a chance, you might be pleasantly surprised...particularly given your enjoyment of fantasticated films.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-86771730533378345702011-06-24T17:18:47.384-04:002011-06-24T17:18:47.384-04:00I'm not a big short story reader. Though I do ...I'm not a big short story reader. Though I do admit reading short stories by a few certain mystery writers. None of them science fiction authors. <br /><br />Don't think I can manage an anthology of sci-fi. But I do still like taking a look at what you're up to, Todd.<br /><br />The covers made me pause...! :)Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-70364459329726125652011-06-24T12:36:37.731-04:002011-06-24T12:36:37.731-04:00Well, #2's is a pretty classic fantasy/horror ...Well, #2's is a pretty classic fantasy/horror image, just a bit, shall we put it, showily so.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-68308277544221900522011-06-24T12:35:43.764-04:002011-06-24T12:35:43.764-04:00You know, I wonder if they would've done bette...You know, I wonder if they would've done better with subtler, less vaguely sfnal covers...but that was never Ace's way, except on the Specials.<br /><br />I imagine that Carr's budget wasn't Too Low, at least compared to most other media publishing short fantasy fiction in those years...F&SF paying about 3c/word, FANTASTIC a penny, MAGAZINE OF HORROR even less, WORLDS OF FANTASY and a few other stragglers similar amounts when they were around to pay for anything. And this for the originals...much less the kind of money most folks would take for a reprint of their stories, even the Borges agents.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-33105045842625416222011-06-24T11:07:20.491-04:002011-06-24T11:07:20.491-04:00I bought anything with Terry Carr's name on it...I bought anything with Terry Carr's name on it. Loved these volumes with the evocative covers! This just goes to show what a gifted editor can do on a shoe-string budget.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-39157062831924401952011-06-24T10:51:43.055-04:002011-06-24T10:51:43.055-04:00Well, as you can see by the staggered dates (both ...Well, as you can see by the staggered dates (both in the contents and in the publication of the volumes themselves), this wasn't an annual best-of per se, just something trying to capture the Zeitgeist while not ignoring the roots of that kind of fantasy. "Basilisk" and "Big Sam" are solid examples of what Davidson could do..."Utica" less so...but I think better choices could've been made, at least in the third case. <br /><br />You'd probably like these volumes as a whole more than you suspect.<br /><br />And I probably should include a note that Carr was attempting to feature only fiction which hadn't been collected in mass-market paperback form...a somewhat less fine distinction at the time than it is now...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-60776383659121672832011-06-24T10:42:27.313-04:002011-06-24T10:42:27.313-04:00I never did buy any "best of" collection...I never did buy any "best of" collections, whether SF or Fantasy (or other), they always seemed both too limiting and at the same time too lacking in my at-the-time favorites, whatever time and favorites those were.<br /><br />Of the stories here, I probably read about a third of them, but my memory for ss titles isn't always that great. The only story here that I remember, and remember liking, is "Basilisk" by DavidsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com