Going for Infinity is a wonderful, wide-ranging collection that aptly showcases one of the greatest writers of science fiction and fantasy.

This collection presents some of Anderson's best-known work, interspersed with his own comments on writing and selected memories of his six-decade career. It's a successful combination: Anderson's likeable, thoughtful persona and his powerful, precise fiction balance and enrich each other, bringing fresh context to both. Highlights include "The Saturn Game" with its characteristic blend of science, psychology, and beautiful prose; "The Problem of Pain," which offers a provocative redefinition of the concept of God; and "Goat Song," a chilling reworking of Greek myth.

Anderson (who died in 2001) was a graceful and deeply humanistic writer who used impeccable science and convincing fantasy to explore the complexities of love, death, sacrifice, necessity, and the wonder of the world. This collection is a must-have for his fans and a splendid introduction for readers new to his work. --Roz Genessee


From Publishers Weekly
This posthumous retrospective anthology serves as a valentine to SFWA Grandmaster Anderson's legions of fans, and includes hard SF, first-contact stories, fantasy, detective fiction and sword and sorcery, sometimes melded together in surprising ways. Some tales (e.g., Sam Hall ) show their age but well reflect the writing popular at the time, while others, particularly those that play with fantasy elements (e.g., The Saturn Game ), underscore Anderson's tendency toward densely written, emotive prose, with a dollop of soul-satisfying melodrama. Among samples from his many series are The Master Key, a Nicholas van Rijn story from his Technic History series, and The Problem of Pain, one of his tales of the Poleosotechnic League. Both highlight the great divide between human and alien, but of chief interest is not the misunderstanding between the two but rather the human response to loss. The bittersweet Death and the Knight, part of the Time Patrol sequence, repeats a familiar Time Patrol plot (time traveler gone missing must be rescued), but with a twist. Classic must-read stories include Goat Song and The Queen of Air and Darkness, both of which foreground faerie. And Quest, in the sword-and-sorcery-meets-high-tech world of The High Crusade, posits an outer-space quest for the Holy Grail. Anderson provides brief headnotes for each story, full of anecdotes about fellow SF luminaries. This anthology represents the life's work of one of SF's most enduring and versatile writers. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
The 18 pieces the late Anderson chose for this career-spanning collection offer an embarrassment of riches. Three selections--"Goat Song," "The Queen of Air and Darkness," and "The Saturn Game"--won major sf and fantasy awards, and three others, though they aren't all extracts from them, "represent," Anderson says, his novels The High Crusade (1960), Three Hearts and Three Lions (1961), and A Midsummer Tempest (1974). Revolution is explored in "Sam Hall," telepathy in the grim "Journey's End," and loss in "Kyrie." Anderson's best-known character, Nicholas van Rijn, appears in "The Master Key," and one of the two winged alien races he created (the best of their kind), the Ythrians, features in "The Problem of Pain." Barring any discoveries among Anderson's effects, the introductions to the stories constitute the nearest thing to an autobiography that we will ever see; in any event they round out an excellent introduction to him. Now how about reprinting some of his most notable novels, starting with Tau Zero (1970)? Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"Poul Anderson immerses you in the future. . . . Poul puts you into a whole new world."
-Larry Niven

"A master!"
-Robert Jordan

"One of science fiction's most revered writers."
-USA Today

"One of science fiction's masters."
-Starlog



Book Description
More than just a collection of some of Poul Anderson's most acclaimed works, Going for Infinity is both a celebration and a memoir of Anderson's distinguished sixty-year career in science fiction and fantasy. Along with several Hugo and Nebula Award-winning stories, Anderson also shares autobiographical musings, and fond memories as he looks back at a lifetime spent crafting many of science fiction's most memorable adventures. Between the short story and novel excerpts collected here, which range over the entire length of Anderson's career, he reminisces about his experiences, including his encounters with such peers and colleagues as John W. Campbell, Anthony Boucher, "Gordy" Dickson, Jack Vance, Clifford Simak, and Harlan Ellison. Going for Infinity provides a firsthand look at six decades of science fiction and fantasy, as lived by one of the field's most honored contributors. From the moons of Saturn to the shores of an enchanted isle, the astounding breadth of Poul Anderson's imagination is on ample display throughout this once-in-a-lifetime collection, along with a personal glimpse into the man himself.


Download Description
A Literary journey from the man USA Today called, "One of science fiction's most revered writers."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"More than just a collection of some of Poul Anderson's most acclaimed works, Going for Infinity is both a celebration and a memoir of Anderson's distinguished sixty-year career in science fiction and fantasy. Along with several Hugo and Nebula Award-winning stories, Anderson also shares autobiographical musings and fond memories as he looks back at a lifetime spent crafting many of science fiction's most memorable adventures." Between the short story and novel excerpts collected here, which range over the entire length of Anderson's career, he reminisces about his experiences, including his encounters with such peers and colleagues as John W. Campbell, Anthony Boucher, "Gordy" Dickson, Jack Vance, Clifford Simak, and Harlan Ellison.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly