Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:59:39 -0400
From: "Michael Walsh" <mjw at press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>,<wsfa-forum at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Woo woo! Another review of the Waldrop collection!
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

>From Booklist (published by the American Library Association) for Sept
15th:

"Waldrop is an acknowledged master of the sf short story. This volume
collects seven examples of his mastery of the lengthier novella and
proves
beyond much doubt that he is equally adept at it, too. "A Dozen Tough
Jobs"
transfers the Labors of Hercules to the 1920s South. "Fin de Cyclé" is
a
frank homage to Alfred Jarry, one of the founders of the Surrealist and
Dada
movements. "Major Spacer in the 21st Century!" essays an alternate
history
of the visual media and their consequences for the history of sf. "A
Better
World in Birth!" postulates the elimination of most of the classic
nineteenth-century revolutionaries, including even Richard Wagner, in
favor
of, well, perhaps one could call them more constructive alternate
figures,
such as Bakunin, the father of collectivist anarchism. Add to this
level of
imagination outstanding clarity in the use of the English language and
introductions that put each novella in the context of Waldrop's long
career,
and you have a quite essential volume of his work."