The Best of Avram Davidson


The Best of Avram Davidson is a collection of fantasy, science fiction and mystery short stories, written by Avram Davidson and edited by Michael Kurland. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in January 1979. The book has been translated into French.

Summary

The book collects eleven novelettes and short stories and a chapter from a novel, originally published in various magazines, with a preface by Peter S. Beagle, an introduction by editor Michael Kurland, and an afterword by the author.

Contents

  • "Foreword"
  • "Introduction"
  • "Or the Grasses Grow"
  • "The Golem"
  • "King's Evil"
  • "The Ogre"
  • The Phoenix and the Mirror, Chapter 8
  • "The Trefoil Company"
  • "What Strange Stars and Skies"
  • "The Necessity of His Condition"
  • "The Sources of the Nile"
  • "The Unknown Law"
  • "Now Let Us Sleep"
  • "Help! I Am Dr. Morris Goldpepper"
  • "Afterword"

Reception

The collection was reviewed by Joe de Bolt in Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review, May 1979, Charles N. Brown in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, August 1979, and by Pascal J. Thomas in Fiction #319, 1981.

Awards

The collection placed twelfth in the 1980 Locus Poll Award for Best SIngle Author Collection.
"The Sources of the Nile" received an honorable mention for the 1962 Hugo Award for Best Short Fiction.