Absolute Magnitude: SF Adventures for the 90's

Presents sixteen science fiction tales from such writers as Frank O. Dodge, Hal Clement, Janet Kagan, and Denise Lopes Heald

Sixteen tales, written between 199397, that first appeared in the eponymous magazine or its predecessor, Harsh Mistress. Oddly, the two most impressive yarns come from a couple of septuagenarians: Frank O. Dodge's ``The Barefoot Mule,'' an amusing and well-worked tale involving some desert sleuthing, a dimensional warp, and a disappearing mule; and Hal Clement's ``Sortie,'' an immaculate exploration of the surface of chilly, smoggy Titan that's less a story than a novel fragment (let's hope he goes on to complete the novel). Also noteworthy: an imaginative survey of a hostile alien planet (Linda Tiernan Kepner); mathematical high jinks (Janet Kagan); and a more-than-meets-the-eye war-buddy yarn, strongly reminiscent of William Tenn (from Denise Lopes Heald). There are also fair-to-middling variations on xenophobia, alien- contact, intelligent spaceships, a Martian ripper, cosmic meditation, post-disaster life, exchangeable memories and body parts, life after cryogenesis, and more. Overall, a sound if unremarkable anthology, certainly worth a try for story enthusiasts. The only problem with it is a common one nowadays: You wish the best stories were novels, while the runners- up tend to fade from view. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The editors of the new sf magazine Absolute Magnitude here compile 16 adventure sf short stories published in the magazine from 1993 to 1997 and written by both established writers, including Allen Steele, Terry Bisson, Hal Clement, Alan Dean Foster, and Barry B. Longyear, and newer authors. Highly recommended for sf short story collections and for libraries lacking the magazine (originally published as Harsh Mistress).
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.