Immodest Proposals: The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn, Volume 1

How exactly, can I go about `reviewing' a book containing some of the most famous and `classic' science-fiction (and fantasy, because they are literally fantastic) stories, after reading it over a longish period? Simply: by jotting down things that I loved, some that I liked, and some that I didn't.The stories in this book that I loved were:1. The Ghost Standard2. Party of the Two Parts3. Brooklyn Project4. My Mother Was a Witch5. The Tenants6. Down Among the Dead Man7. The Sickness8. The Jester9. Project Hush10. Alexander the BaitThe stories in this book that I liked were: -1. Lisbon Cubed2. The Flat-Eyed Monster3. The Deserter4. The Liberation of Earth5. Eastward Ho!6. The Masculinist Revolt7. Child's Pay8. Wednesday's Child9. The Lemon-Green Spaghetti-Loud Dynamite-Dribble Day10. The Servant Problem11. The Last BounceRest of the stories were not exactly to my liking. Whenever and wherever the author tried to be sentimental and overwrote the stories, they lost that punch that had made Eric Frank Russell or Robert Sheckley so special. The satire also lost its sharpness when it got spread across so many pages.But that's my problem with works that are longish, and should not stop you from going through these stories that have been resurrected by NESFA Press in the shape of such a beautiful volume. Recommended to all those lovers of "golden age of science-fiction" and to anybody who likes to read good stories.

When I was a kid, I was an avid reader of science fiction, and there were three authors whose short stories I especially enjoyed: Fredric Brown, Robert Sheckley and William Tenn. In recent years NESFA Press has issued collections of stories by all three, and of the trio, Tenn's efforts have fared the least well with the passage of time. While Brown was the master of the short-short story and Sheckley's razor-edge wit remains as sharp today as it was a half-century ago, Tenn's stories often seem dated and out-of-touch.The problem is not technological obsolesence; it is that the issues Tenn addresses are either long since settled or just plain irrelevant now. Some of his best stories (The Servant Problem, Brooklyn Project, Eastward Ho!, and a few others) are still entertaining and insightful -- but others just seem preachy and didactic. Tenn's self-described socialist/pacifist views suffuse his writings, and often overshadow the story lines.Stylistically, Tenn is not in the same league as either Fredric Brown or Robert Sheckley, and while this book is a treasure for anyone interested in mid-20th-century science fiction, it will likely seem like a curio to most modern-day readers.

I love all Tenn's work. One of the true masters of SF.

Great tome of short sci-fi stories.

An excellent sci-fi collection that I had lost and was so happy to re-discover.

Brilliant stuff. Holds up amazingly well over the years.

it great to get all of the stories

I'm sorry fans, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get past the "cleverness" of these so called stories---can a story be a story with neither characters nor scene? Tenn's "stories" have neither. They are merely whimsical commentaries on nonsensical situations and, must have been written in front of a mirror, so self-focused are they. We are never allowed to feel anything other than the author's cynicism. We are never allowed to see anything happen. Instead we are offered blather only an intellectual could love.Though I'm a collector of many of NESFA's great golden age SF, this is one writer who should have been allowed to vanish into the mists of pulp history. If it's good stories you're looking for, skip this one and instead go for James H. Schmitz, Chad Oliver or James Triptree.

Initially I only bought this book because it contained 1 specific story I had wanted to re-read for over 25 years (Winthhrop was stubborn), but all the other stories in it are very good indeed. William Tenn (his pen name) is an excellent author and I really enjoyed this.If you are a sci-fi fan who likes to read or know one it'd make an excellent gift.

What can l say Great Great they don't write them like this anymore.

Very good book as advertised, good stories, arrived on time and well packaged.