SF Masterworks
SF Masterworks is a series of science fiction books started by Millennium and currently published by Victor Gollancz Ltd (both being imprints of the UK based Orion Publishing Group).
It began in 1999 and comprises selected pieces of science-fiction literature from 1950 onwards (with a few exceptions). The list was compiled by the managing director of Orion Books, Malcolm Edwards, with the help of "leading SF writers and editors" and the goal of bringing important books back into print.[1] The list was described by science fiction author Iain M. Banks as "amazing" and "genuinely the best novels from sixty years of SF".[2]
It has a companion series in the Fantasy Masterworks line. A separate Future Classics[3] line has also started featuring eight science fiction novels from the last few decades.
Gollancz officially relaunched the series in March 2010 beginning with reissues of the first ten titles. These titles have new cover designs (no longer featuring numbers) and introductions, and other existing titles are planned to be reprinted. Gollancz also added new titles to the series beginning in April 2010.[4]
Contents
Numbered paperback series (1999-2009)
* Also published in the 2001 SF Masterworks numbered hardcover series.
** Possibly due to a printing error, The Man in the High Castle (number 73) has 72 printed on its cover.
Unpublished titles
The following were announced for publication in 2006, but were not published.
Title | Author | Originally Published | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
Camp Concentration | Thomas Disch | 1968 | 0-575-07877-4 |
334 | Thomas Disch | 1972 | 0-575-07897-9 |
Hardcover titles
The following were all printed in 2001, and featured a dust jacket numbered by Roman numerals.
Number | Title | Author | Originally Published | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
I | Dune | Frank Herbert | 1965 | 0-575-07334-9 |
II | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ursula K. Le Guin | 1969 | 0-575-07219-9 |
III | The Man in the High Castle | Philip K. Dick | 1962 | 0-575-07335-7 |
IV | The Stars My Destination | Alfred Bester | 1956 | 0-575-07337-3 |
V | A Canticle for Leibowitz | Walter M. Miller, Jr. | 1960 | 0-575-07220-2 |
VI | Childhood's End | Arthur C. Clarke | 1953 | 0-575-07263-6 |
VII | The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress | Robert A. Heinlein | 1966 | 0-575-07336-5 |
VIII | Ringworld | Larry Niven | 1970 | 0-575-07339-X |
IX | The Forever War | Joe Haldeman | 1974 | 0-575-07318-7 |
X | The Day of the Triffids | John Wyndham | 1951 | 0-575-07338-1 |
New design
* Also published in the SF Masterworks numbered paperback series.
** Published as hardcover, possibly due to licensing issue.
2011 50th Anniversary Hardcover titles
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Gollancz imprint, in 2011 the "top ten" titles were chosen based on a readers' vote[5] (from a Gollancz selected longlist). They were published in the iconic yellow covers, and included new introductions from recent authors.
Number | Title | Author | Originally Published | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Book of the New Sun | Gene Wolfe | 1980-1983 | 0-575-11673-0 |
2 | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Philip K. Dick | 1968 | 0-575-11676-5 |
3 | Flowers for Algernon | Daniel Keyes | 1966 | 0-575-11674-9 |
4 | I Am Legend | Richard Matheson | 1955 | 0-575-11670-6 |
5 | Dune | Frank Herbert | 1965 | 0-575-11678-1 |
6 | The Lies of Locke Lamora | Scott Lynch | 2006 | 0-575-11672-2 |
7 | Eric | Terry Pratchett | 1990 | 0-575-11669-2 |
8 | Hyperion | Dan Simmons | 1989 | 0-575-11677-3 |
9 | The Name of the Wind | Patrick Rothfuss | 2007 | 0-575-11671-4 |
10 | The Time Machine | H. G. Wells | 1895 | 0-575-11675-7 |
References
- ↑ Locus Online: Malcolm Edwards interview excerpts
- ↑ http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/promotions/gollancz-sf-masterworks Orion Books Masterworks Website
- ↑ Gollancz editor Simon Spanton on the Future Classics promotion[dead link]
- ↑ Gollancz Science Fiction and Fantasy New Books Catalogue: Jan-July 2010.
- ↑ http://www.gollancz.co.uk/2011/10/celebrating-50-years-of-gollancz/
External links
- SF Masterworks overview and reviews — Overview and reviews of the series.
- The SF Masterworks List — A graphical presentation of the Masterworks.