Not much to see here, folks.
Continuing the trend of volumes 6 and 7, the 8th Annual Edition: The Year’s Best S-F bears cover art that’s best termed diminutive. It shows an explosion – a meteorite? (or is it a gas nebula?), giving the cover a “spacey” air. This time, the artist’s name isn’t listed; perhaps an employee of Dell? As before, cover at is becoming less central and more perfunctory with each succeeding issue.
Unlike prior volumes in the series, the content here is almost entirely short stories, with only three items specifically about science fiction – two by Judith Merril, and one by Anthony Boucher – appearing at the end of the book.
Contents, contents, contents…
“The Unsafe Deposit Box”, by Gerald Kersh,
from The Saturday Evening Post, April 14, 1962
“Seven-Day Terror”, by R.A. Lafferty,
from If, March, 1962
“The Toy Shop”, by Harry Harrison, variant of “Toy Shop”,
from Analog Science Fact -> Science Fiction, April, 1962, specifically for this volume
“The Face in the Photo”, by Jack Finney,
from The Saturday Evening Post, October 13, 1962
“The Circuit Riders”, by R.C. Fitzpatrick,
from Analog Science Fact -> Science Fiction, April, 1962
“Such Stuff”, by John Brunner,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June, 1962
“The Man Who Made Friends with Electricity”, by Fritz Leiber,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March, 1962
“Kings Who Die”, by Poul Anderson,
from If, March, 1962
“The Unfortunate Mr. Morky”, by Vance Aandahl,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October, 1962
“Christmas Treason”, by James White,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January, 1962
“A Miracle of Rare Device”, by Ray Bradbury,
from Playboy, January, 1962
“All the Sounds of Fear”, by Harlan Ellison,
from the book Ellison Wonderland, June, 1962
“One of Those Days”, by William F. Nolan,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May, 1962
“The Day Rembrandt Went Public”, by Arnold M. Auerbach,
from Harper’s Magazine, July, 1962
“Ms. Found in a Bus”, by Russell Baker,
specifically for this volume
“The Insane Ones”, by J.G. Ballard,
from Amazing Stories, January, 1962
“Leprechaun”, by William Sambrot,
from Escapade, October, 1962
“Change of Heart”, by George Whitley,
from New Worlds Science Fiction, #110, September, 1961
“Angela’s Satyr”, by Brian Cleeve,
from The Saturday Evening Post, November 3, 1962
“Puppet Show”, by Fredric Brown,
from Playboy, November, 1962
“Hang Head, Vandal!”, by Mark Clifton,
from Amazing Stories, April, 1962
“Earthlings Go Home!”, by Mack Reynolds,
from Rogue, August, 1962
“The Martian Star-Gazers”, by Frederik Pohl,
from Galaxy Magazine, February, 1962
“Planetary Effulgence”, by Bertrand Russell,
from New Statesman, September 5, 1959
“Deadly Game”, by Edward Wellen,
from If, May, 1962
“Subcommittee”, by Zenna Hederson,
from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July, 1962
“The Piebald Hippogriff”, by Karen Anderson,
from Fantastic Stories of Imagination, May, 1962
“Home from the Shore”, by Gordon R. Dickson,
from Galaxy Magazine, February, 1963
Summation: S-F, 1962, Essay by Judith Merril, December, 1963
Books (The 8th Annual of the Year’s Best S-F), Essay by Anthony Boucher, December, 1963
Honorable Mentions (The 8th Annual of the Year’s Best S-F), Essay by Judith Merril, December, 1963
And so?
Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Published Variants of This Book (Alive at five!)
