books 2011: Impossible Places: Stories, by Alan Dean Foster

[supercheesegirl]

Found this on a shelf with a bunch of crappy paperbacks at my local train station. It was a really fun read and a nice escape from everything else going on right now. I've read some Foster before, but I guess I never think about mass-market sci fi authors writing short stories. My favorite was definitely the one about Ory Checker: I saw where the plot was going and anticipated the twist, but it's the one where Foster reaches the most and consequently comes closest to the level of his heroes like Asimov. I also appreciated "The Question" and some of the others.

Comments

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

I guess I never think about mass-market sci fi authors writing short stories.

Oh, yah. It's often some of their best work, but collections don't seem to sell as well.

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

See, I know this. The short story form is so much more flexible sometimes than a novel, and gives the writer a chance to try out new ideas that they wouldn't want to risk a whole novel on. I just never THINK about it for sci fi or fantasy writers.