Weekly Short Stories: 1977 Science Fiction, Part 2

Here are two more of my reviews of science fiction short stories appearing in the anthology The 1978 Annual World's Best SF, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and featuring his picks for the best from 1977.  In that year I started attending the University of Florida here in Gainesville.  Aside from academic life and a culture of partying, the big crazes at this time were tennis and disco dancing/music.  The John Travolta movie and Bee Gees album Saturday Night Fever were the rage and my dormitory's offering of disco lessons was filled to the brim with eager residents (but not me).  Likewise, the tennis courts just across the street from my dorm room seemed to be perpetually occupied with players (but not me) noisily hitting the ball back and forth, day and night. Kind of a weird time, looking back on it now, was 1977.  And here's my feedback from a couple of that kooky year's stories...   

PARTICLE THEORY by Edward Bryant

A highly knowledgeable science writer with deep connections in that field finds himself both struck with prostate cancer as well as witness to an inexplicable chain of supernovas happening in quick succession in the night sky. His dreams do not portend well, but he manages to live his life out on both tracks, trying to save himself from his own highly personal doom while helpless to affect the larger impending disaster.  I have to admit that I didn't quite get this story, although I liked how the author talked quite a bit about subatomic physics and the cause of novas...

THE TASTE OF THE DISH AND THE SAVOR OF THE DAY by John Brunner

This story pokes fun at the gourmet culture while posing the question: What are you willing to give up in order to attain immortality? The narrator, a sci-fi writer visiting Paris for a convention of his trade, meets up with a man, called the Baron, who is attending the funeral of a distant aunt.  The Baron is one of those unapologetic gourmets and shows it out on the town.  A year later the two get together again...but the Baron refuses to touch the food or drink the great wine.  They go to his home where Gregoire, a relative of that deceased aunt and now the Baron's cook, prepares a special dish for the Baron (who quickly eats it) and narrator, who is taken by the food's extremely attractive aroma and taste.  What follows goes down that pathway regarding immortality, this time through a special concoction known only to one individual.  I liked the story for its humor and humanity...  

Next week there will be more discussion on science fiction short stories from 1977...