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mathew's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I’ve been a fan of John Varley’s work since my teenage years. He was born in Austin, Texas, and lived in San Francisco during the “Summer of Love”. Much of the “free love” ethos remained in his work in the decades that followed. Most of his work holds up well and seems socially ahead of its time — societies where polyamorous bisexuality is ubiquitous, for example. A few stories really haven’t aged well, though, like one where a 47 year old man has sex with a 13 year old girl . You could get away with that sort of plot element in 1978, but times are different now, thank goodness.
Content Warnings
Minor: Pedophilia
In one storysebastianmalloy's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
survivalisinsufficient's review
5.0
I love science fiction, so I don't know how I hadn't heard of this author until last year (he's won several Hugo and Nebula awards, and he's been writing since the 70s). I LOVED this. The stories are so creative and there wasn't a single one I was disappointed in (though obviously some were better than others).
nakedsteve's review
5.0
This is (as it's titled) a collection of Varley's short stories, collected throughout his career (up until about 2004, at any rate). Since he got to go back and pick the good ones (without limiting himself to the stuff that hadn't been previously anthologized), the choices are really quite good.
Some of the stories I've read recently; others I read twenty years ago. It's interesting how my reaction to them has changed. (My brain copes a lot better with testosterone now, so my 21-year-old focus on all the sexy bits has mellowed quite a bit.)
Unlike Varley's other anthologies, for this one he let himself get talked into writing introductions for each of the stories. I've always loved it when authors did that, and the ones he writes here are quite nicely done, and a lovely addition to the tales themselves.
5 of 5 stars.
Some of the stories I've read recently; others I read twenty years ago. It's interesting how my reaction to them has changed. (My brain copes a lot better with testosterone now, so my 21-year-old focus on all the sexy bits has mellowed quite a bit.)
Unlike Varley's other anthologies, for this one he let himself get talked into writing introductions for each of the stories. I've always loved it when authors did that, and the ones he writes here are quite nicely done, and a lovely addition to the tales themselves.
5 of 5 stars.
porsane's review
1.0
This would have been a four star reviews, except an otherwise solid to excellent collection of stories is marred by a sexually explicit story glorifying pedophilia.
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