The Cold Equations And Other Stories (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
The Survivors (novel, 1958). Originally published by Gnome Press - also known by the variant title "Space Prison". - actually very, very good! Highly compelling reading. Fans of the first couple of Steele's Coyote books might enjoy this. - 4 starsThe Harvest (short story, 1957). Originally published in Venture Science Fiction Magazine, July 1957). - very short (almost a vignette). A bit of a shocking ending. An okay story. - 3 starsBrain Teaser (short story, 1956). Originally published in If, October, 1956. - highly recommended. This was just the kind of classic SF story that I love! And he got the math & physics correct, too! The most interesting explanation of "hyperspace" that I've ever read! - 5 starsMother of Invention (novella, 1953). Originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, December, 1953. - cut from the same mold as the previous story, but inferior due to the completely wooden characters. If you can overlook the implausibility of the behavior of the characters, the first half is really quite decent, showing just how "hard" it can be to be stuck on a diamond planet. But then, some fantastic science shows up, a la Doc Smith, and the scientific credibility goes out the window. The ending is satisfying, but the lousy characters and the "magic science" really hurt this story. - 3 stars (changing the ending would give it 4 stars, and giving better characterization would make this worth 5 stars)And Devious the Line of Duty (novelette, 1962). Originally published in Analog, December, 1962. - this was okay... a bit of a departure perhaps from some of the other stories. Reminds me a bit of Keith Laumer. Humorous and full of intrigue. The elder spy schools the younger protagonist. - 3 starsEmpathy (novelette, 1959). Originally published in Fantastic Science Fiction Stories, October, 1959. - not really a surprise ending, but a finely crafted "classic SF" story. Highly recommended. Reminds me again a bit of Keith Laumer (or perhaps Christopher Anvil). And I really love the "doggy" aliens! - 5 starsNo Species Alone (novelette, 1954). Originally published in Universe Science Fiction, November, 1954. - hmmm... I've never before read such a fantasy wish-fulfillment story for cat lovers. In the first 5-6 pages, you can tell exactly where this story is going. And it does go exactly there. Credit to the author for making the journey interesting, even if the destination was a bit mundane. A decent science fiction story. (And I have to check if cats really hate snakes so much - I never knew!) - 3 starsThe Gulf Between (novella, 1953). Originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, October, 1953. - a bit of a mess, frankly. About twice as long as it needed to be. The actual plot on which the story hinges is pretty cool, and could be done again more compactly and more powerfully. But Godwin felt the need for us to really, really hate the villain, so we got a whole lot of back story that we didn't really need. And truly, the story suffered for it. - 2 starsThe Cold Equations (novelette, 1954). Originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, August, 1954. - a masterpiece - 5 stars
The Cold Equations is a chilling story that stayed with me overnight. I woke up with a realization. It is jarring because it goes against the back brain. In reality over the eons and mythically as well, men must protect women and children. What is it in the Titanic story that has most of us teary eyed? That the men willingly stayed on to die after putting their women and children on the life boats. Deep within, we know that is right. In this book, the correct ending--other than having more fuel on board--would have been for the pilot to strap the woman of childbearing age into the seat, made sure the autopilot could land the vehicle, and stepped out into space himself.In many ways, that is just as cold an equation, but it is the one that is simpatico with the back brain. One of the major reasons humans have survived as a species is that the men protect the women and children. In ancient civilizations, inculcating that was clearly a goal of rites of passage into adulthood for the young men.
What do You think about The Cold Equations And Other Stories (2003)?
It wasn't quite terrible, but frankly this was bad sci-fi: it failed to draw believable conclusions from interesting premises. The title story, The Cold Equations, was okay, but it didn't have the emotional impact that the introducers seemed to feel. The novella that makes up about half the book was just really pretty bad. It told a bad survival tale of a culture that became focused on revenge. I just found the people's behaviors to be completely implausible, in all of the stories that I read, and that killed the believability.
—Leon
A great collection of 1950s science fiction. I think that the 50s produced the best adventure science fiction and this is a great example. The anchor piece is a novel called "The Survivors." It chronicles about a group of Earth colonists set down on an inhospitable planet when their ship is captured during a war. Despite the odds, the colony holds on with each generation tougher than the preceding. There are also eight shorter works included. "The Cold Equations" is a famous story within science fiction and considered Godwin's hallmark piece. I enjoyed these shorter stories. A fair number of them are well written adventure science fiction or thinking man's space opera. I would love to see more of Godwin's fiction reprinted from the science fiction magazines.
—Morgan
Well, the premise is wrong. In the real world there isn't machine design with so little tolerance; as we seen there isn't such a transportation like that; the lift that can carry one more passenger than it should. As the premise is wrong, then the story will go wrong because it is based on the wrong premise. However, there is a message in between that i like which implicitly said "Ignorance is the greatest crime" based on the message maybe the cold equation of science and ignorance that happens in it can be compose with other field in science such as something that in the real world design with no tolerance, unlike the transportation or machine, maybe like the chemical weapon and human decision to use it. Anyway, Godwin seems trying to said that science is a cold equation even to poor little girl.
—Stefani
