Category Archives: short fiction

Blooded on Arachne, by Michael Bishop – part 2

Posted on March 20, 2018 by pete

This article continues of my overview of the first collection of Michael Bishop stories, Blood on Arachne (1982). In Part 1 I found the first four stories to be all worth reading, with “Blooded on Arachne” and “Cathadonian Odyssey” being … Continue reading →

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Blooded on Arachne, by Michael Bishop – part 1

Posted on March 12, 2018 by pete

I’ve been a fan of Michael Bishop’s work since discovering the reviews of the site SF Ruminations and reading Transfigurations. Much of his novel-length fiction focuses on the ideas and methods of anthropology, in a mixture of wonder and skepticism. … Continue reading →

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Neanderthal Planet, by Brian Aldiss

Posted on February 16, 2018 by pete

The short story collections of Brian Aldiss have been hit-and-miss for me over the years; Who Can Replace a Man? was filled with thought-provoking entries, but Supertoys Last All Summer Long felt like a collection of weak material propped up … Continue reading →

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“Inside Earth” by Poul Anderson

Posted on January 11, 2018 by pete

A lot of good, even classic, science fiction stories are currently available for free as HTML, PDF or some e-reader format. I decided to feature some of these “freebee” pieces on a semi-regular basis this year.  Poul Anderson (1926-2001) was … Continue reading →

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The Augmented Agent and Other Stories, by Jack Vance – part 3

Posted on November 24, 2017 by pete

There’s one more aspect of the Jack Vance Integral Edition (VIE) that I wanted to mention – not only did Vance’s entire oeuvre get digitized, re-edited and published in authoritative hardbacks, but the contribution of one Paul Allen enabled copies … Continue reading →

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The Augmented Agent and Other Stories, by Jack Vance – part 2

Posted on November 20, 2017 by pete

My previous post on Jack Vance mentioned his dedicated following, culminating in the production of the authoritative Jack Vance Integral Edition (VIE). The VIE is the product of the work of over 250 volunteers, who digitized, proofed, post-proofed and otherwise … Continue reading →

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The Augmented Agent and Other Stories, by Jack Vance – part 1

Posted on November 16, 2017 by pete

The collection The Augmented Agent and Other Stories (1986) is made up of early short fiction by the SF Grandmaster Jack Vance. Vance (1916 – 2013) happens to be one of my favorite authors, having turned out several series’ worth … Continue reading →

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an incomplete Brian Aldiss tribute list

Posted on August 21, 2017 by pete

Legendary British author Brain Aldiss (1925-2017) died last weekend, after an extremely long and productive writing career. Best known for his science fiction novels, he also published many short stories, criticism, essay collections and literary fiction. Having read many of … Continue reading →

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Leiber and AI

Posted on July 15, 2017 by pete

a look at the Fritz Leiber novel The Big Time, and collection A Pail of Air. Focus is made on one story concerning chess and machine intelligence. Continue reading →

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