More than just a collection of some of Poul Anderson's most acclaimed works, Going for Infinity is both a celebration and a memoir of Anderson's distinguished sixty-year career in science fiction and fantasy. Alongside several Hugo and Nebula Award-winning stories, Anderson also shares autobiographical musings and fond memories as he looks back at a lifetime spent crafting many of science fiction's most memorable adventures. From the moons of Saturn to the shores of an enchanted isle, the astounding breadth of Poul Anderson's imagination is on ample display throughout this once-in-a-lifetime collection, along with a personal glimpse into the man himself.
**
Amazon.com Review
Going for Infinity is a wonderful, wide-ranging collection that aptly showcases one of the greatest writers of science fiction and fantasy.
This collection presents some of Anderson's best-known work, interspersed with his own comments on writing and selected memories of his six-decade career. It's a successful combination: Anderson's likeable, thoughtful persona and his powerful, precise fiction balance and enrich each other, bringing fresh context to both. Highlights include "The Saturn Game" with its characteristic blend of science, psychology, and beautiful prose; "The Problem of Pain," which offers a provocative redefinition of the concept of God; and "Goat Song," a chilling reworking of Greek myth.
Anderson (who died in 2001) was a graceful and deeply humanistic writer who used impeccable science and convincing fantasy to explore the complexities of love, death, sacrifice, necessity, and the wonder of the world. This collection is a must-have for his fans and a splendid introduction for readers new to his work. --Roz Genessee
From Publishers Weekly
This posthumous retrospective anthology serves as a valentine to SFWA Grandmaster Anderson's legions of fans, and includes hard SF, first-contact stories, fantasy, detective fiction and sword and sorcery, sometimes melded together in surprising ways. Some tales (e.g., Sam Hall ) show their age but well reflect the writing popular at the time, while others, particularly those that play with fantasy elements (e.g., The Saturn Game ), underscore Anderson's tendency toward densely written, emotive prose, with a dollop of soul-satisfying melodrama. Among samples from his many series are The Master Key, a Nicholas van Rijn story from his Technic History series, and The Problem of Pain, one of his tales of the Poleosotechnic League. Both highlight the great divide between human and alien, but of chief interest is not the misunderstanding between the two but rather the human response to loss. The bittersweet Death and the Knight, part of the Time Patrol sequence, repeats a familiar Time Patrol plot (time traveler gone missing must be rescued), but with a twist. Classic must-read stories include Goat Song and The Queen of Air and Darkness, both of which foreground faerie. And Quest, in the sword-and-sorcery-meets-high-tech world of The High Crusade, posits an outer-space quest for the Holy Grail. Anderson provides brief headnotes for each story, full of anecdotes about fellow SF luminaries. This anthology represents the life's work of one of SF's most enduring and versatile writers.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Description:
More than just a collection of some of Poul Anderson's most acclaimed works, Going for Infinity is both a celebration and a memoir of Anderson's distinguished sixty-year career in science fiction and fantasy. Alongside several Hugo and Nebula Award-winning stories, Anderson also shares autobiographical musings and fond memories as he looks back at a lifetime spent crafting many of science fiction's most memorable adventures. From the moons of Saturn to the shores of an enchanted isle, the astounding breadth of Poul Anderson's imagination is on ample display throughout this once-in-a-lifetime collection, along with a personal glimpse into the man himself.
**
Amazon.com Review
Going for Infinity is a wonderful, wide-ranging collection that aptly showcases one of the greatest writers of science fiction and fantasy.
This collection presents some of Anderson's best-known work, interspersed with his own comments on writing and selected memories of his six-decade career. It's a successful combination: Anderson's likeable, thoughtful persona and his powerful, precise fiction balance and enrich each other, bringing fresh context to both. Highlights include "The Saturn Game" with its characteristic blend of science, psychology, and beautiful prose; "The Problem of Pain," which offers a provocative redefinition of the concept of God; and "Goat Song," a chilling reworking of Greek myth.
Anderson (who died in 2001) was a graceful and deeply humanistic writer who used impeccable science and convincing fantasy to explore the complexities of love, death, sacrifice, necessity, and the wonder of the world. This collection is a must-have for his fans and a splendid introduction for readers new to his work. --Roz Genessee
From Publishers Weekly
This posthumous retrospective anthology serves as a valentine to SFWA Grandmaster Anderson's legions of fans, and includes hard SF, first-contact stories, fantasy, detective fiction and sword and sorcery, sometimes melded together in surprising ways. Some tales (e.g., Sam Hall ) show their age but well reflect the writing popular at the time, while others, particularly those that play with fantasy elements (e.g., The Saturn Game ), underscore Anderson's tendency toward densely written, emotive prose, with a dollop of soul-satisfying melodrama. Among samples from his many series are The Master Key, a Nicholas van Rijn story from his Technic History series, and The Problem of Pain, one of his tales of the Poleosotechnic League. Both highlight the great divide between human and alien, but of chief interest is not the misunderstanding between the two but rather the human response to loss. The bittersweet Death and the Knight, part of the Time Patrol sequence, repeats a familiar Time Patrol plot (time traveler gone missing must be rescued), but with a twist. Classic must-read stories include Goat Song and The Queen of Air and Darkness, both of which foreground faerie. And Quest, in the sword-and-sorcery-meets-high-tech world of The High Crusade, posits an outer-space quest for the Holy Grail. Anderson provides brief headnotes for each story, full of anecdotes about fellow SF luminaries. This anthology represents the life's work of one of SF's most enduring and versatile writers.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.