![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
essentialsaltesI know Lester del Rey more for his work alongside his wife at Del Rey books. If you had looked at my shelves in 1980, the proportion of Del Rey and Ballantine on there would be considerable.
But of course, he was a writer in his own right, and this is his first anthology from 1948 by Prime Press, a short-lived specialty sf press out of Philly.
Some of the shorter ones have some vim and life, and definitely stand out for their focus on the human condition, rather than just being rocketships going whiz. But the longer ones seem to be written for the word count. Among the former is "Helen O'Loy" (should I say Spoilers! for an 80 year old story?) which was voted by the SFWA as one of the best stories from the pre-Nebula Award period. The story has aged a bit--or maybe it's because I've read it before.
Fun fact: my brain files Helen O'Loy right next to Teela O'Malley, so I can't think of one without the other and vice versa.
But of course, he was a writer in his own right, and this is his first anthology from 1948 by Prime Press, a short-lived specialty sf press out of Philly.
Some of the shorter ones have some vim and life, and definitely stand out for their focus on the human condition, rather than just being rocketships going whiz. But the longer ones seem to be written for the word count. Among the former is "Helen O'Loy" (should I say Spoilers! for an 80 year old story?) which was voted by the SFWA as one of the best stories from the pre-Nebula Award period. The story has aged a bit--or maybe it's because I've read it before.
Fun fact: my brain files Helen O'Loy right next to Teela O'Malley, so I can't think of one without the other and vice versa.
