deredordica's review
5.0
Just finished reading this superlative collection of stories and essays, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It was like going back in time to when sci-fi was, well...fun. Its contents could have appeared in any of the really important collections from the '50s through the '80s, alongside those of Fritz Leiber or Michael Moorcock. But I'm seeing some impressive use of language that recalls the advances made by Olympian athletes over the decades, that sets this work apart from the masters. A 4-minute mile used to be unthinkable, and here we have four authors clocking in at 3:43 and less. If your goal is to be entertained, buy this. If you read fantastic literature for some other reason, plenty of other books being blasted out these days might suit your needs. Gold medals to Schuyler Hernstrom for his 3:37 mile, and to Neal Durando for one of the weirdest things I have read in the last few years (I'm not going to say a word and spoil anything), and for providing the world with renewed hope for the future of fantastic literature, as savage as it may be.
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