Best of Michael Swanwick by Michael Swanwick

Publishers Weekly

More than a quarter century's worth of short fiction is gathered in this comprehensive collection of stories from Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winner Swanwick. The tales run the gamut from strict space adventures like "The Very Pulse of the Machine" to deceptively complex ghost stories like "Radio Waves." In "The Feast of Saint Janis," Janis Joplin is worshiped as an ancient goddess made flesh, with all the power and pitfalls that accompany the role. The more surreal pieces-such as "Mother Grasshopper," wherein wizards chase one another across an insect the size of a planet-nonetheless have a method to their madness, and though it would be easy for alien monster shorts like "A Midwinter's Tale" to dissolve into self-conscious silliness, even the weaker setups conclude with a bang. Swanwick's blend of savvy science fiction, Freudian fantasy and top-notch storytelling both chills and charms. (Oct.)

Jackie Cassada - Library Journal

In one of Swanwick's earliest published short stories, a junior trade representative from Africa visits the United States, now ravaged by biochemical warfare, and is introduced to a uniquely American quasireligious ritual centering around the life of Janis Joplin ("The Feast of Saint Janis"). His most recent story, "From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled," takes place in a posthuman world where alien life celebrates and mourns its own creation myths. Spanning more than a quarter-century, the 21 short stories, including five winners of the coveted Hugo Award, demonstrate the author's breathtaking versatility and excellence of style. This first chronological overview of the short fiction by the author of The Iron Dragon's Daughter and The Dragons of Babel belongs in most libraries.

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