It's here at last--the first comprehensive overview of the extraordinary career of master storyteller Michael Swanwick. Covering over a quarter of a century, from his first two published stories--both of them Nebula finalists--to his most recent, these works bear witness to one of the most vivid and far-ranging imaginations in contemporary fiction. From the hardest of hard science fiction to the purest of core fantasy, from the heartwarming to the despairing, these are works incandescent with literary brilliance.
In these pages, Janis Joplin is worshiped as a god, teenagers climb down the edge of the world, zombies are commodified, a vengeful man tracks a wizard across the surface of a planet-sized grasshopper, dinosaurs invade Vermont, a train leaves New York City bound for Hell, and those lovable Post-Utopian con men, Darger and Surplus, seek their fortunes in Buckingham Labyrinth.
Michael Swanwick is one of the most acclaimed and prolific writers of his generation, as well as being the only person ever to win five Hugo Awards for fiction in the space of six years. All five of those stories are included here--plus much, much more, all of it beautifully written, critically acclaimed, and deeply satisfying to read.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. More than a quarter century's worth of short fiction is gathered in this comprehensive collection of stories from Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Awardwinner Swanwick. The tales run the gamut from strict space adventures like The Very Pulse of the Machine to deceptively complex ghost stories like Radio Waves. In The Feast of Saint Janis, Janis Joplin is worshiped as an ancient goddess made flesh, with all the power and pitfalls that accompany the role. The more surreal piecessuch as Mother Grasshopper, wherein wizards chase one another across an insect the size of a planetnonetheless have a method to their madness, and though it would be easy for alien monster shorts like A Midwinter's Tale to dissolve into self-conscious silliness, even the weaker setups conclude with a bang. Swanwick's blend of savvy science fiction, Freudian fantasy and top-notch storytelling both chills and charms. (Oct.)
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From Booklist
Swanwicks satisfyingly hefty and varied best-of includes a number of award winners and plenty of imagination, extending over time from The Feast of Saint Janis, vintage 1980, in which a Joplin impersonator is worshipped, to From Babels Falln Glory We Fled, from 2007, in which an alien city is destroyed and the economics of trust play a major role. Swanwicks work constitutes a varied tapestry of genres ranging from space opera to fantasy to ghost stories to the alternate history of The Dog Said Bow-Wow, one of his tales of Darger and Surplus in all their roguish, Victorian glory. A bit farther back in alt-hist, such paleontological fancies as Triceratops Summer and Scherzo with Tyrannosaur are here for rereading. And indeed, one of the best things about Swanwicks storytelling is that it is always worth another read. This volume is the perfect package for assuring that his most rereadable fiction is always at hand. --Regina Schroeder
Library : Science Fiction
Formats : EPUB
ISBN : 9781596061781