Review: 2013 revised version has replaced 5 stories
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2012
REVISED 11-27-13: When this first SF Megapack came out, there were many well-deserved, positive reviews (mine belatedy among them). That original version has been replaced by: (1) This "updated" edition bearing the original title, and (2) an identical and also "updated" edition now retitled "The First Science Fiction Megapack." Except for their titles, these two Megapacks are identical to each other--but NOT to the original which they both replace. These updated versions replace five stories in the original including "Shambleau," "Little Black Bag," and "Arena," frequently singled out for praise in older reviews of this collection; they have been removed and replaced by stories of (arguably) equal merit (such as the novel-length "Captives of the Flame," which I originally read as half of an Ace-Double many years ago and didn't particularly like).Keep these changes in mind as you read the other (pre-2013) reviews, some of which offer specific comments no longer relevant to this Megapack's modified content, while still others make overall assessments based, in part, on the inclusion of those now-missing stories. (For those who may be interested, I have identified all 5 removed stories, their replacements, and where 4 of the 5 may be found elsewhere in the Kindle Store, in my review under the "First SF Megapack" title.)For the present, we must judge this Megapack for what it NOW is: a mixed bag of qualitatively varied, highly entertaining, mostly old, SF tales well worth a dollar. (You can pay as much--or more--in the Kindle Store for "Captives of the Flame" alone.) Nevertheless, I personally prefer the stories it once contained to their replacements, but I still consider this a good collection.Some reviewers (regardless of which edition they are referring to) don't seem to like the older tales (still) included in this collection. I respectfully disagree. I think part of the fun of reading "old" SF is that the reader gets to travel back in time (that is say, back to the time the story was written) to experience the significant issues of that day "disguised" or depicted as SF. Good SF writers tell a fictional story set in the past, present, or future, but in the process thematically comment on (and otherwise reflect) the time in which they write. A prospective purchaser of this Megapack need only download a sample to view all included titles and their copyright dates to see when each story was written, knowing each will inevitably reflect the societal issues and technology of its own time period as well as its fictional one. (This is true of ALL fiction, of course, but I think it more pronounced in SF because it so directly involves applied science and technology; quality-of-life issues related to personal, national and planetary survival; and futuristic thinking.) While we ponder the author's message or theme (assuming one is intended), we chuckle at antiquated, slide-rule technology still being used by a supposedly "advanced" society, or shiver at the memory of Cold War tensions mirrored in the struggles of two competing Martian factions, or praise the tolerance green Venusians display toward orange ones (even as we wonder why they still don't like the blue ones). And we may marvel that many of the technological gadgets we take for granted today were apparently not foreseen by some otherwise prescient writers. I find all this particularly intriguing and is one reason why I value and enjoy reading old SF. Another reason is for nostalgia; much of what is now considered old was quite new when I first read it. Re-reading it today permits me to visit some "old friends."The original version had an active TOC; it's possible this revised edition does not since I have yet to detect one in my samples. My 4-star rating would be 5 if I were certain it had an active TOC. Be that as it may, this remains a pretty good selection of enjoyable tales and, since it costs only a dollar, you can hardly go wrong by purchasing it.