Robert Charles Wilson's time has come. His first novel from Tor, Darwinia, was a finalist for science fiction's Hugo award, and a #1 Locus bestseller in paperback. His next novel, Bios, is a critical and commercial success. Now Wilson's brilliant short science fiction is available in book form for the first time.
Beginning with "The Perseids," winner of Canada's national SF award, this collection showcases Wilson's suppleness and strength: bravura ideas, scientific rigor, and living, breathing human beings facing choices that matter. Also included among the several stories herein are the acclaimed Hugo Award finalist "Divided by Infinity" and three new stories written specifically for this collection.
"Beautifully observed, skillfully worked out: stories that flow subtly, almost imperceptably, from the prosaic to the preternatural."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Winner of Canadian SF's Aurora Award, Wilson (Darwinia) is best known in the States for his novels, so this brief collection of short stories will come as a pleasant surprise to many readers. Three of the nine stories here are new; all are linked by their connection (slight in several cases, crucial in others) to Finders, a unique secondhand bookstore where characters frequently find items crucial to their destinies. As one character describes it, Finders "fostered meaningful coincidence... the way a houseplant attracts gnats." The lead story, "The Fields of Abraham," introduces the owner of Finders, a young man whose gift for chess creates his means of escape from a hopeless life. Aliens onstage and off figure prominently in "The Perseids" and "The Observer." Metaphysical journeys reveal surprising inner landscapes in "The Inner Inner City" and "Plato's Mirror," and the inner lives of ants and cats underscore "Ulysses Sees the Moon in the Bedroom Window" and the chilling "Protocols of Consumption." "Divided by Infinity" presents a man trapped by his ability to shift between two worlds. The closing tale, "Pearl Baby," is a straightforward horror story. Wilson's slow-building, many-layered yarns shape characters out of the raw materials of loneliness and intellectual isolation. Readers in search of thoughtful, resonant writing will enjoy this collection of urban fantasies. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
KLIATT
Only three of the tales included here have not been published previously, but that doesn't make this collection any less compelling. Each story is thought provoking and provides its reader with a glimpse into a bizarre but not too unreal world. In fact, Wilson presents the stories as interrelated; they begin and end with tales involving a past and future owner of the local bookstore, Finders. In the first new story, "The Fields of Abraham," a young man enters the bookstore on several occasions to release the stress of the day by playing chess with the owner. While there, he encounters a portal leading him to a plane of existence that may be the afterlife, and finds that his total existence has been altered. In "The Observer," a girl is obsessed with the fact that aliens are following her, while in the new story "Ulysses Sees the Moon in the Bedroom Window" readers ponder the existence of a Superior Being as well as the possible comparative qualities between humans and cats. In "Inner Inner City," after an intellectual challenge is proposed with friends, Jeremy first becomes obsessed with winning the competition and then with devising and practicing his self-created religion. Later, Deirdre gives birth to a strange creature that she struggles to understand in the new short story "Pearl Baby." Within each tale, the reader is immersed in the main character's thoughts and unique perceptions of the world. An afterword by the author is provided for the "Diligent Reader" and provides insight into the creation and execution of these tales. Including a combination of SF, fantasy, and horror tales, Wilson has created an engrossing collection here that will be fulfilling for those readers who wantto be challenged as well as for those who have enjoyed Wilson's previous work. Category: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Tor, 224p., Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Ginger Armstrong; Principal Lib. Assoc., Chesterfield Cty P.L., Ches
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