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I read this collection at a pace of about one story per week. When I had the time, I would sit down and immerse myself in each story entirely in one sitting. After reading each story, I developed a routine of jotting down a couple of sentences with my thoughts. I have compiled all of these thoughts here as a mini-review of each story.
Overall, I would rate this collection as just okay. It was published in the early 1980s and consists of stories written within a few years of its publication. Some of the stories were written by established authors at the time, while others were by relatively unknown authors. A few of these authors would later become very well-known in the genre, while others remained more obscure. As a result, the quality of the stories in this collection is somewhat inconsistent. Some of the stories are excellent and have held up well over time, while others have not aged as well. In my opinion, some of the best stories in the collection are "On the Slab" by Harlan Ellison, "The Man Who Met Picasso" by Michael Swanwick, and "Waiting for the Earthquake" by Robert Silverberg. I would also like to give an honorable mention to "The Genius House" by Dmitri Bilenkin, which I thought was quite unique and memorable, although perhaps not as important as the aforementioned stories.
"On the Slab" by Harlan Ellison is an interesting, if somewhat simplistic, Lovecraft-inspired tale. Ellison is an author I had never read before, and this story was a good introduction to his work. "Lobotomy Shoals" by Juleen Brantingham did not particularly impress me. I had not heard of this author before, and perhaps that is why I was not overly excited about this story. "Fivesight" by Spider Robinson is the first work I have read by this author. I have always had the impression that he is a bit of a pulpy science fiction writer, and this story did not really change my opinion. It is an okay story about precognition, but nothing特别出彩. "Icons" by Barry Malzberg is a four-page story about suicidal robots. The idea is okay, but it felt a bit underdeveloped and left me wanting more. "The Genius House" by Dmitri Bilenkin is about embryotechnology, specifically growing technology from an egg or embryo into a full-size item in just minutes. The focus of this story is a house, and it is an entertaining read, although it seems more like magic than science fiction. "The Man Who Met Picasso" by Michael Swanwick is exactly what the title implies. It is a very interesting little story about art, although it barely qualifies as science fiction in the traditional sense. "The Vacuum-Packed Picnic" by Rick Gauger is a moderately entertaining story about two people having a picnic on the moon. Something happens to add some drama and suspense, but overall it is nothing特别 memorable. "Blind Spot" by Jayge Carr is a story about a doctor trying to help an artist from another planet who is losing her vision. There are a lot of interesting ideas in this story, such as far-future medical advances, space travel, and alien races, but I think it could have benefited from being a longer story. "A Sepulcher of Songs" by Orson Scott Card is an okay story about a psychiatrist evaluating an insane patient. The question of whether the patient is actually insane adds some mystery to the story. "Colonel Stonesteel's Genuine Home-made Truly Egyptian Mummy" by Ray Bradbury is a fun little pulpy story that feels like it could be a product of the 1950s or 60s. It is a good choice for fans of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury. "Triggering" by John Shirley is a strange story that I did not really care for. It seemed a bit rushed and I had a hard time following what was going on. "Out of Luck" by Walter Tevis is a mostly forgettable story about a man whose drinking is causing him to hallucinate. Or is he really hallucinating? This story feels a bit like a Philip K. Dick-lite story, but it is not as interesting or as bizarre as PKD's work. "Eyes I Dare Not Meet in Dreams" by Dan Simmons is a story centered around telepathy. It predates all of his other published works, so he may have been an unknown author at the time of this compilation. I thought it was an okay story, but I prefer his later/longer works. "Vox Olympica" by Michael Bishop is a story about music and Mars. I did not really understand this story and did not care for it at all. "Forever" by Damon Knight is a story about the discovery of an elixir that stops aging permanently. It briefly explores the social ramifications before going in some strange directions. It felt way too rushed and I think the ideas in this story could have been developed more fully. "Johnny Mnemonic" by William Gibson is a fast-paced cyberpunk thriller. Gibson is one of the pioneers of the subgenre and uses a lot of unfamiliar tech and terminology. This story is no exception, and as a result, I did not enjoy reading it as much as I wanted to. "Waiting for the Earthquake" by Robert Silverberg is my first experience with this author. It is a story about an old man alone on a world that is about to experience a cataclysmic earthquake. This story deals with themes of loneliness, isolation, and mortality, and I found myself completely absorbed by it. Silverberg is a talented writer, and I look forward to reading more of his work.
Overall, I would rate this collection as just okay. It was published in the early 1980s and consists of stories written within a few years of its publication. Some of the stories were written by established authors at the time, while others were by relatively unknown authors. A few of these authors would later become very well-known in the genre, while others remained more obscure. As a result, the quality of the stories in this collection is somewhat inconsistent. Some of the stories are excellent and have held up well over time, while others have not aged as well. In my opinion, some of the best stories in the collection are "On the Slab" by Harlan Ellison, "The Man Who Met Picasso" by Michael Swanwick, and "Waiting for the Earthquake" by Robert Silverberg. I would also like to give an honorable mention to "The Genius House" by Dmitri Bilenkin, which I thought was quite unique and memorable, although perhaps not as important as the aforementioned stories.
"On the Slab" by Harlan Ellison is an interesting, if somewhat simplistic, Lovecraft-inspired tale. Ellison is an author I had never read before, and this story was a good introduction to his work. "Lobotomy Shoals" by Juleen Brantingham did not particularly impress me. I had not heard of this author before, and perhaps that is why I was not overly excited about this story. "Fivesight" by Spider Robinson is the first work I have read by this author. I have always had the impression that he is a bit of a pulpy science fiction writer, and this story did not really change my opinion. It is an okay story about precognition, but nothing特别出彩. "Icons" by Barry Malzberg is a four-page story about suicidal robots. The idea is okay, but it felt a bit underdeveloped and left me wanting more. "The Genius House" by Dmitri Bilenkin is about embryotechnology, specifically growing technology from an egg or embryo into a full-size item in just minutes. The focus of this story is a house, and it is an entertaining read, although it seems more like magic than science fiction. "The Man Who Met Picasso" by Michael Swanwick is exactly what the title implies. It is a very interesting little story about art, although it barely qualifies as science fiction in the traditional sense. "The Vacuum-Packed Picnic" by Rick Gauger is a moderately entertaining story about two people having a picnic on the moon. Something happens to add some drama and suspense, but overall it is nothing特别 memorable. "Blind Spot" by Jayge Carr is a story about a doctor trying to help an artist from another planet who is losing her vision. There are a lot of interesting ideas in this story, such as far-future medical advances, space travel, and alien races, but I think it could have benefited from being a longer story. "A Sepulcher of Songs" by Orson Scott Card is an okay story about a psychiatrist evaluating an insane patient. The question of whether the patient is actually insane adds some mystery to the story. "Colonel Stonesteel's Genuine Home-made Truly Egyptian Mummy" by Ray Bradbury is a fun little pulpy story that feels like it could be a product of the 1950s or 60s. It is a good choice for fans of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury. "Triggering" by John Shirley is a strange story that I did not really care for. It seemed a bit rushed and I had a hard time following what was going on. "Out of Luck" by Walter Tevis is a mostly forgettable story about a man whose drinking is causing him to hallucinate. Or is he really hallucinating? This story feels a bit like a Philip K. Dick-lite story, but it is not as interesting or as bizarre as PKD's work. "Eyes I Dare Not Meet in Dreams" by Dan Simmons is a story centered around telepathy. It predates all of his other published works, so he may have been an unknown author at the time of this compilation. I thought it was an okay story, but I prefer his later/longer works. "Vox Olympica" by Michael Bishop is a story about music and Mars. I did not really understand this story and did not care for it at all. "Forever" by Damon Knight is a story about the discovery of an elixir that stops aging permanently. It briefly explores the social ramifications before going in some strange directions. It felt way too rushed and I think the ideas in this story could have been developed more fully. "Johnny Mnemonic" by William Gibson is a fast-paced cyberpunk thriller. Gibson is one of the pioneers of the subgenre and uses a lot of unfamiliar tech and terminology. This story is no exception, and as a result, I did not enjoy reading it as much as I wanted to. "Waiting for the Earthquake" by Robert Silverberg is my first experience with this author. It is a story about an old man alone on a world that is about to experience a cataclysmic earthquake. This story deals with themes of loneliness, isolation, and mortality, and I found myself completely absorbed by it. Silverberg is a talented writer, and I look forward to reading more of his work.
