Gravity's Angels

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful short fiction
Review: I've been consistently amazed by Michael Swanwick's novels ever since I read Vacuum Flowers about 7 or 8 years ago. I was pleased to see that Gravity's Angels had been re-released, and so I bought a copy. I was assuming that his short fiction is on par with his novels.

It is. O boy, is it ever.

I'd read one of the stories here before - Mummer's Kiss is a part of the novel In the Drift - but it didn't matter, it's worth re-reading. One short story seems to serve as a proving ground for the society depicted in Vacuum Flowers; another is an interesting take on the Arthur myth/legend. One's about a healer trapped in a church and one's about a man who may or may not be holding reality together.

Not a single one of these stories is anything less than amazing. If you've read Swanwick, and enjoyed his work, then buy this book. If you've never read Swanwick (and it seems a lot of you haven't, which is too bad; he's a phenomenal writer, easily one of the five best working in SF today), there's not a better place to start.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful short fiction
Review: I've been consistently amazed by Michael Swanwick's novels ever since I read Vacuum Flowers about 7 or 8 years ago. I was pleased to see that Gravity's Angels had been re-released, and so I bought a copy. I was assuming that his short fiction is on par with his novels.

It is. O boy, is it ever.

I'd read one of the stories here before - Mummer's Kiss is a part of the novel In the Drift - but it didn't matter, it's worth re-reading. One short story seems to serve as a proving ground for the society depicted in Vacuum Flowers; another is an interesting take on the Arthur myth/legend. One's about a healer trapped in a church and one's about a man who may or may not be holding reality together.

Not a single one of these stories is anything less than amazing. If you've read Swanwick, and enjoyed his work, then buy this book. If you've never read Swanwick (and it seems a lot of you haven't, which is too bad; he's a phenomenal writer, easily one of the five best working in SF today), there's not a better place to start.

Rating:
Summary: Early Swanwick is Weak but Promising
Review: These stories were all written in the Eighties, and the writing is quite involving, but there is a distinct lack of theme or intent in each tale. Only the last one, The Edge of the World, is ingenious and poignant and leaves a lasting impression. Swanwick's later works are much better. I suggest Tales of Old Earth, a masterful collection.

Rating:
Summary: Early Swanwick is Weak but Promising
Review: These stories were all written in the Eighties, and the writing is quite involving, but there is a distinct lack of theme or intent in each tale. Only the last one, The Edge of the World, is ingenious and poignant and leaves a lasting impression. Swanwick's later works are much better. I suggest Tales of Old Earth, a masterful collection.