Go Forth and Multiply

There was a time when science fiction magazines abounded with tales of repopulating a planet. Brave (well, sometimes they were brave) men and women teamed up in great acts of self-sacrifice to save humanity. These stories fell out of fashion over time, but now this volume collects a dozen of the finest - and a fine batch they are! ‘Mother to the World,’ Richard Wilson’s award-winning novella about the last man and woman on Earth. ‘No Land of Nod’ by Sherwood Springer, perhaps the paradigm of the repopulation story. ‘Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang’ by Kate Wilhelm, a classic of repopulation through cloning. ‘The Queen Bee’ by Randall Garrett, one of the most controversial stories ever published in the SF genre. Other contributors to the book include Poul Anderson, Marion Zimmer Bradley and John Jay Wells, John Brunner, Rex Jatko, Alice Eleanor Jones, Damon Knight, Robert Sheckley, and E. C. Tubb. Some of these stories are classics, others have never before been reprinted. Combined, they make for a great reading experience and a fascinating look at a compelling subgenre. Gordon Van Gelder was the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction for many years, as well as having edited a variety of anthologies. Twice honored with the Hugo Award for his editorial work, he now serves as the publisher of F&SF.