| Description: |
John Gribbin, one of the best science writers of the 20th century, has also been writing science fiction for many years. Here is a definitive collection with 23 of John's short stories, and 2 essays including John arguing that the Moon is, in fact, a Babel Fish! All based, of course, on solid science, laced with a dry and subtle wit. |
| Synopsis: |
John Gribbin, widely regarded as one of the best science writers of the 20th century, has also, unsurprisingly, been writing science fiction for many years. While his novels are well-known, his short stories are perhaps less so. He has also written under pseudonyms. Here, for the first time, is the definitive collection of John's short stories. Many were originally published in Analog and other magazines. Some were the seeds of subsequent novels. This collection contains 23 short stories, three of which John wrote with his son Ben. It also includes an essay in which John addresses the paradoxes of time travel in SF, and another in which John argues that the Moon is, in fact, a Babel Fish! These stories, written at a time when issues such as climate change were taken less seriously (especially by politicians) now seem very relevant again. What underpins all of them, of course, is a grounding in solid science. But also, which will not come as a surprise to anyone who has ever met John at a science fiction convention, or elsewhere, they are laced with a dry and subtle wit.He is, however, not averse to a good pun, as evidenced by the song he co-wrote for the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: The Holey Cheeses of Nazareth. Despite the exhortation of this collection's title, this IS a perfect opportunity to look back at John's short stories. If you've never read any of his fiction before, now you have the chance to acquaint yourself with a body of work that, while being very much of its time, is certainly not in any way out of date. |