A review by pattydsf
Stars: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis Ian by Jane Yolen, Spider Robinson, Dean Wesley Smith, Kage Baker, Nancy Kress, Susan Casper, Mercedes Lackey, Judith Tarr, David Gerrold, Alexis A. Gilliland, Robert Sheckley, Harry Turtledove, Diane Duane, Gregory Benford, Howard Waldrop, John Varley, Mike Resnick, Janis Ian, Stephen Baxter, Tanith Lee, Tad Williams, Sharon Lee, Steve Miller, Terry Bisson, Joe Haldeman, Orson Scott Card, Robert J. Sawyer, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kay Kenyon

4.0

It took me forever to get through this audiobook. First of all, it was more than 20 hours and as I have lamented here before, I just don’t do that much driving anymore. Secondly, although I loved most of the stories, I had to take a break now and again so that the tales did not run together. Several authors used the same Ian songs and I would lose track of what was going on. Third and last reason – I ran out of renewals and had to let the library have the audio back for a while before I checked it out again. (I actually don’t have to pay fines because I retired from the library, but my ethics get in the way of me keeping things overdue.)

I fell in love with Ian’s music when I first heard “Society’s Child” and I thought she knew me when I heard “At Seventeen”. So, this collection has been on my radar for quite some time. Except for a few odd misses, I liked every story on this audiobook. It fascinates me how many different ways there are to interpret one song.

I found the narrators to all be especially good, but I was really pleased that Ian herself read the last story which is by Michael Swanwick. I liked the story and I love the combination of Ian and Swanwick together since they both have had an influence in my life. Which is a story for another time.

Thank you to the writers, narrators and Janis Ian for almost 21 hours of delight.