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1994 Locus Award for Best Collection (nominee)
Publisher's Weekly
SF master Aldiss ( Remembrance Day ) brings a slick prose style and sardonic British eye to his impeccably structured short stories. This new collection contains 11 pieces from the past five years, plus ''Confluence,'' which first appeared in 1967. It ranges from tales sparked by a literary premise, such as ''Summertime Was Nearly Over'' (told by Frankenstein's monster) and ''Better Morphosis'' (in which a cockroach awakens to find he's Franz Kafka), to ''Alphabet of Ameliorating Hope,'' a poetic evocation of utopia. Like many writers of his generation--his first collection appeared in 1957--Aldiss often focuses on the alienating conditions of modern life: in the title story, a traveler from an alternative universe where the World Wars never happened is horrified to find himself transported temporarily to our own, ''the dreadful shadow world where history had taken a wrong turn.'' ''FOAM'' uses the device of a memory-stealing technique to underline the shortsighted stupidity of a society riddled with meaningless armed conflicts; in ''North of the Abyss,'' a company man confronts the pettiness of his life on a journey into the ancient Egyptian underworld. Aldiss's talents make this gathering a feast for readers who like their science fiction leavened with thoughtfulness and an amiable, intelligent wit.
BookList - Carl Hays
For those who haven't yet discovered the many delights of Aldiss' diverse and poetic imagination, his latest collection of short fiction will serve as a habit-forming introduction. On display is a broad spectrum of stylistic triumphs and startling plot twists that reveals a mature talent at the pinnacle of his career. In the title story, the theme of alternative history is taken for a wry spin as a traveling salesman to Moscow unexpectedly encounters a bleak landscape ruled by a crumbling Soviet Union rather than the brighter realm governed by Czar Nicholas III that is more familiar to him. "Foam" explores a war-torn future in Budapest, where a Westerner's happier memories are subject to theft and trade on the black market. Aldiss' penchant for black humor is especially prominent in such tales as "Summertime Was Nearly Over," about the final capture of Frankenstein's monster, and "Better Morphosis," in which, reversing Kafka's classic allegory, a cockroach awakens one morning to find itself trapped in Kafka's body. A most satisfying showcase for one of sf's most gifted veterans.
Genre: Science Fiction
SF master Aldiss ( Remembrance Day ) brings a slick prose style and sardonic British eye to his impeccably structured short stories. This new collection contains 11 pieces from the past five years, plus ''Confluence,'' which first appeared in 1967. It ranges from tales sparked by a literary premise, such as ''Summertime Was Nearly Over'' (told by Frankenstein's monster) and ''Better Morphosis'' (in which a cockroach awakens to find he's Franz Kafka), to ''Alphabet of Ameliorating Hope,'' a poetic evocation of utopia. Like many writers of his generation--his first collection appeared in 1957--Aldiss often focuses on the alienating conditions of modern life: in the title story, a traveler from an alternative universe where the World Wars never happened is horrified to find himself transported temporarily to our own, ''the dreadful shadow world where history had taken a wrong turn.'' ''FOAM'' uses the device of a memory-stealing technique to underline the shortsighted stupidity of a society riddled with meaningless armed conflicts; in ''North of the Abyss,'' a company man confronts the pettiness of his life on a journey into the ancient Egyptian underworld. Aldiss's talents make this gathering a feast for readers who like their science fiction leavened with thoughtfulness and an amiable, intelligent wit.
BookList - Carl Hays
For those who haven't yet discovered the many delights of Aldiss' diverse and poetic imagination, his latest collection of short fiction will serve as a habit-forming introduction. On display is a broad spectrum of stylistic triumphs and startling plot twists that reveals a mature talent at the pinnacle of his career. In the title story, the theme of alternative history is taken for a wry spin as a traveling salesman to Moscow unexpectedly encounters a bleak landscape ruled by a crumbling Soviet Union rather than the brighter realm governed by Czar Nicholas III that is more familiar to him. "Foam" explores a war-torn future in Budapest, where a Westerner's happier memories are subject to theft and trade on the black market. Aldiss' penchant for black humor is especially prominent in such tales as "Summertime Was Nearly Over," about the final capture of Frankenstein's monster, and "Better Morphosis," in which, reversing Kafka's classic allegory, a cockroach awakens one morning to find itself trapped in Kafka's body. A most satisfying showcase for one of sf's most gifted veterans.
Genre: Science Fiction
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