The Starlit Corridor [antikvár]

IntroductionAs A serious literary medium, science fiction has developed considerably since the days when the mere introduction of space-ships, green-skinned Martians, and death rays was enough to satisfy both writer and reader; it has progressed from "superficial scientific gimmickry" and crudely conceived adventures to sophisticated concepts. One of the functions it has assumed in the process is that of providing us with a dramatic form of social comment. This, of course, is not its only role but it is one of the most rewarding, and the following anthology is composed of stories of this genre. They are all concerned with examining human values and social trends, and to this extent the anthology represents only a limited view of the science-fiction field.But even within these limits there is a wide variety. There are stories to make the reader laugh, and stories that may shock him; some deal with space travel, alien worlds, and strange forms of extra-terrestrial life; others are concerned with a changed but still recognizable Earth. Although their settings and their philosophies may difTer, however, all the stories are calculated to make the reader not only feel but thinkand to enjoy doing so.This is one of the virtues of well-conceived science fictionit approaches people as intelligent, thinking beings. Nevertheless, the real strength and attraction of the medium probably lie in the images which it can create and which, in the words of Brian Aldiss, "can have a validity and a power of growth in the mind even when the story in which they occur is forgotten". Thus, much science fiction speaks in the same terms as myths, fairy tales, andXI