This ninth anthology of the best stories from Analog magazine is the first such collection to be selected by the magazine’s new editor, Ben Bova. Originally published between 1970 and 1972, the stories represent Analog in transition since they were handled both by Mr. Bova and by the magazine’s founder and long-time editor, John W. Campbell. Each of them has elicited strong comment from Analog’s numerous readers and from the science fiction field as a whole, and together they represent an intriguing forum of ideas to challenge the most comfortable set of beliefs.
Among the selections are three novellas:
THE GOLD AT STARBOW’S END by Frederick Pohl, an experiment to evolve a super intelligent race - at what expense, by what means, and to what extent?
THE MISSING MAN by Katherine MacLean, involves the search for Carl Hodges, the missing man who knows too much, and the chaos that results from his terrible knowledge.
HERO by Joe W. Haldeman, a behind- the-scenes look at the intensive basic training for intergalactic warfare that primarily relies on xenophobia.
And three short stories:
ANSWER “AFFIRMATIVE OR NEGATIVE”
by Barbara Paul, wherein a computer conveys the “exact” language of understanding - in poetry - and confounds the scientists who operate it.
THE PLAGUE by Keith Laumer, in which a man’s integrity is caught in the death trap of mankind’s most vicious plague.
OUT, WIT! by Howard L. Meyers, an ironic tale of the bureaucratic mishandling of a young physics student who, in the eyes of the establishment, lacks professionalism.
Following the recent death of John W. Campbell, Ben Bova took over as the editorial head of Analog magazine. Mr. Bova is also an established first- rate science fiction writer.