Description:
Robert Reed is blessed with a wide-ranging imagination. In this retrospective of his work to date--which includes several Hugo- and Nebula-nominated stories--readers will find a multitude of themes, voices, and futures. A predator on the hunt crosses over to our Earth from an alternate universe, AIs gently shepherd humanity on an aeons-long postapocalyptic trip through the galaxies, and a truly bizarre tale examines the real connection between aliens and...corn. As impressive as his ideas is Reed's ability to form believable characters; the scope of the story never overwhelms the crucial human element. Reed succeeds admirably in both building complete, new worlds and in showing us an existence that is just one step away from our own. In "The Utility Man," a social outcast at a factory hopes to find a friend in the newest employee, an alien from Tau Ceti, while in "Sowing Good" a woman returns, changed, to her home and friends on the moon after years of forced labor on a ravaged Earth. These stories thrum with tension, character, and shadow. "Phillip remembers the touch of hands, claws dimpling the skin of his neck and the breath close, warm and damp and steady. And he remembers the face inches from his face, smiling black eyes staring at him, the voice deep and rough and strange as it said: 'Bless the meat.' Then: 'Run.' Like never in his life, the meat runs." The Dragons of Springplace offers the perfect introduction to what one customer calls "the best modern SF author you never heard of." --Jhana Bach
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