The Reel Stuff

Rating:
Summary: Some excellent stories, but....a mixed bag
Review: "The Reel Stuff" is a collection of science fiction and horror tales that were the basis of films in both the 80s and 90s. Despite the cover copy's assertion that these are stories by the "masters of science fiction" at least two of the stories (those by H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker) are clearly horror tales, and Donald A. Wollheim's "Mimic" at least skirts that genre. Also, there are a couple of stories included that are relatively minor entries in an authors ouvre, such as Robert Silverberg's "Amanda and the Alien," included because it was made into a cheesy cable film several years ago. Still this is a good collection of tales, particularly if you've been disappointed with the film versions of such classic stories as Barry Longyear's "Enemy Mine" and Philip K. Dick's "Second Variety" (filmed as "Screamers"). Worth a look, but a mixed bag.

Rating:
Summary: Some excellent stories, but....a mixed bag
Review: "The Reel Stuff" is a collection of science fiction and horror tales that were the basis of films in both the 80s and 90s. Despite the cover copy's assertion that these are stories by the "masters of science fiction" at least two of the stories (those by H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker) are clearly horror tales, and Donald A. Wollheim's "Mimic" at least skirts that genre. Also, there are a couple of stories included that are relatively minor entries in an authors ouvre, such as Robert Silverberg's "Amanda and the Alien," included because it was made into a cheesy cable film several years ago. Still this is a good collection of tales, particularly if you've been disappointed with the film versions of such classic stories as Barry Longyear's "Enemy Mine" and Philip K. Dick's "Second Variety" (filmed as "Screamers"). Worth a look, but a mixed bag.

Rating:
Summary: Best book investment in a long time
Review: DAW was on the money when they put this together. It's a great idea for a short-story collection - high praise considering that anthologies seem to be the virus du jour of the sci-fi/fantasy market... enough already! This book stands out not only for the premise, but for the selection of stories included, and it's likely the reader will have seen at least 2 of the movies based on these stories. Then, to actually READ the source material... well, it shows you just how much Hollywood will take advantage of an author once they get the name on the contract. Speaking of, there's two, yes, TWO entries by Philip K. Dick, and these were probably the most altered on their way to the big screen. Anyway, this book is a lot of fun. The only problem I had was the inclusion of "Amanda and the Alien" by Robert Silverberg - an amazingly sub-par, even amateurish, story, confirming exactly why I don't read his stuff. It shouldn't be here, but with the other gems, I can overlook it.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Read.
Review: First of all, this was a great idea for an anthology. Lots of short speculative fiction are made into every year (take A.I. for example) and those of us who always like the book better have a hard time finding those stories because of various reasons. So I loved this concept, and the stories chosen were for the most part strong pieces.

I discovered two of my favorite stories in this anthology. George R. R. Martin's "Sandkings" is my favorite short story of all time. It won the Nebula and is one of the most tightly written stories out there. The main character, Simon Kress, is a real jerk who treats everything with utter cruelty. He's looking for a new pet, and finds an insect-like lifeform called a Sandking. Sandkings literally worship their owners, but what happens when their owner is a cruel and sadistic god? That's what "Sandkings" explores.

The other story that really stood out for me is "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick. It's an exciting story about a war in which humans invented robots that would end the war forever. But what happens when the robots improve and reproduce themselves? It's a probing question about where technology is taking us and human nature.

There are other strong stories in here: "Enemy Mine" by Barry Longyear was truly poignant; "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," by Philip K. Dick was the basis for _Total Recall_; and I would have LOVED "Herbert West--Reanimator" by Lovecraft if it wasn't for the constant recapping of the previous sections of the stories (that was probably due to the piece being published in serial fashion, but it's annoying when read straight through).

Then there were the duds. "Amanda and The Alien," though cute, really does nothing for me. Doesn't have a strong, poignant theme. "The Forbidden," basis for _Candyman_ had a great ending, but took so long getting there it didn't really matter. And I was very dissapointed with "Nightflyer"--doubly disappointed sicne George R. R. Martin is my favorite writer.

All in all, there wer more good stories than bad, which I guess is all you can ask for when reading a collection like this that encompasses a large variety of works. And if you're trying to learn to write speculative fiction, this is a good place to study different story constructions and techniques. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Read.
Review: First of all, this was a great idea for an anthology. Lots of short speculative fiction are made into every year (take A.I. for example) and those of us who always like the book better have a hard time finding those stories because of various reasons. So I loved this concept, and the stories chosen were for the most part strong pieces.

I discovered two of my favorite stories in this anthology. George R. R. Martin's "Sandkings" is my favorite short story of all time. It won the Nebula and is one of the most tightly written stories out there. The main character, Simon Kress, is a real jerk who treats everything with utter cruelty. He's looking for a new pet, and finds an insect-like lifeform called a Sandking. Sandkings literally worship their owners, but what happens when their owner is a cruel and sadistic god? That's what "Sandkings" explores.

The other story that really stood out for me is "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick. It's an exciting story about a war in which humans invented robots that would end the war forever. But what happens when the robots improve and reproduce themselves? It's a probing question about where technology is taking us and human nature.

There are other strong stories in here: "Enemy Mine" by Barry Longyear was truly poignant; "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," by Philip K. Dick was the basis for _Total Recall_; and I would have LOVED "Herbert West--Reanimator" by Lovecraft if it wasn't for the constant recapping of the previous sections of the stories (that was probably due to the piece being published in serial fashion, but it's annoying when read straight through).

Then there were the duds. "Amanda and The Alien," though cute, really does nothing for me. Doesn't have a strong, poignant theme. "The Forbidden," basis for _Candyman_ had a great ending, but took so long getting there it didn't really matter. And I was very dissapointed with "Nightflyer"--doubly disappointed sicne George R. R. Martin is my favorite writer.

All in all, there wer more good stories than bad, which I guess is all you can ask for when reading a collection like this that encompasses a large variety of works. And if you're trying to learn to write speculative fiction, this is a good place to study different story constructions and techniques. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Would have given 4.5
Review: Great collection of short stories which were the inspiration for sci-fi and horror movies. Included is the source material for Mimic, Total Recall, Screamers, Enemy Mine, Reanimator, Johnny Mnemonic, and others. The quality of the stories varies. Most are well-written, but there are 2 stinkers in my opinion: "Candyman" and "Amanda and the Alien". I'd like to see a follow-up published.

Rating:
Summary: Overall, real Good
Review: OK, first I shall say it was a strange pick of stories. where was 'Sentinals' Arthur C Clarke's story that inspired 2001: A Space Odyssy? And why are there no less then five Horror stories in this collection( Mimic, Second Variety, Sandkings, Candyman and Reanimator?)

But it was, nonetheless, a great collection.

Mimic was short, but interesting.

Second Variety was cool, even if it wasn't really surprising and had a cheat ending.

Amanda and the Alien was better then the movie, but that doesn't say much.

Sandkings is a stroy by one of my favorite writers George R R Martin, and was the scariest thing I've ever read.

We Can remember it for you wholesale was very cool, and very different from Total Recall, too.

Enemy Mine was prety cute, if obvious.

Air Raid was intriguing but not all that unique, reminded me a little of stephen King's The Drawing of the three.

Johnny Menemonic, by william gobson, was terrible, boring and totally uncomprihensible.

The forbidden was Ok, not great.

Martin's second entry, Nightflyers, was extreamly cool, almost as good as his first, defnetly a classic, even if it was a little similar to 2001.

So go buy it, 'Sandkings', 'We can Remember it for you' and 'Nightflyers' each is worth the price of the book alone.

Rating:
Summary: Overall, real Good
Review: OK, first I shall say it was a strange pick of stories. where was 'Sentinals' Arthur C Clarke's story that inspired 2001: A Space Odyssy? And why are there no less then five Horror stories in this collection( Mimic, Second Variety, Sandkings, Candyman and Reanimator?)

But it was, nonetheless, a great collection.

Mimic was short, but interesting.

Second Variety was cool, even if it wasn't really surprising and had a cheat ending.

Amanda and the Alien was better then the movie, but that doesn't say much.

Sandkings is a stroy by one of my favorite writers George R R Martin, and was the scariest thing I've ever read.

We Can remember it for you wholesale was very cool, and very different from Total Recall, too.

Enemy Mine was prety cute, if obvious.

Air Raid was intriguing but not all that unique, reminded me a little of stephen King's The Drawing of the three.

Johnny Menemonic, by william gobson, was terrible, boring and totally uncomprihensible.

The forbidden was Ok, not great.

Martin's second entry, Nightflyers, was extreamly cool, almost as good as his first, defnetly a classic, even if it was a little similar to 2001.

So go buy it, 'Sandkings', 'We can Remember it for you' and 'Nightflyers' each is worth the price of the book alone.