Okay by one of those completely flukes I've read two books by Paul McAuley in a row. But whereas his latest novel is mainly outside the sf genre, this collection of McAuley's short fiction is most definitely science fiction and it shows his skill at creating excellent, entertaining gritty science fiction tales.

So starting the book's first tale, a story of an alternate Philip K. Dick, one who was guided away from sf into writing novels he didn't want to write but that made him one of the best sellers and make him one of the most influential writers of his day. For a writer of science fiction to write this is brave, doubly so to start the book with this. Mind you, it's a strong tale and it does start the collection well.

Further on in the book we hear an historical account of a near future experiment on the moon that had the unfortunate effect of destroying the moon (oops) - read a spoof report on a science conference, the first open meeting of the Biopunk movement – VirCon 2010 - an alternate history of the British Space Program, and an end-of-the-world tale to name but a few.

And then there's 'Interstitial', which in my opinion is the best tale in this book. Echo is a techie type in a world governed by force. His elder brother Achilles is a Captain in the military who is ashamed of the perceived lack of courage exhibited by his brother. So when Achilles sees a need for a tech to enter a highly dangerous situation, he volunteers Echo as an attempt to have him killed in a heroic way bringing some prestige to the family. And so a tale of brain versus brawn begins.

Now despite my starting into my sf reading by reading short stories, I am not a frequent reader of the form any more. But this is the kind of collection that could get me into the shorter form again.

Paul McAuley is a writer I had missed entirely until last year's White Devils (which was a change of style from the sf on display in this book to science thriller). This book makes the third I've read and I know it will not be the last. I have some of his prior sf books, and based on what I read here I will be finding time at some point to read them – this is good stuff.

McAuley shows a tremendous versatility skill and a fair degree of versatility here, moving as he does from territory in the cyber-punk region to alternate histories and more personal character driven vignettes. If you get the chance check this collection out (and I would recommend you do) – you will find the standard of the tales is consistently high. Now all I have to hope is that he writes more pure sf in the future.

Synopsis

MONSTERS! ALIEN INVASIONS! SERIAL KILLERS! LOST WORLDS! CONSPIRACIES! MAD SCIENTISTS! SECRET HISTORIES!

In the seventeen polished, ingenious and often darkly humorous stories collected here, multiple award-winning author Paul McAuley takes a fresh look at staple genre themes spanning science fiction, horror, and alternate history.

In 'Residuals', written with Kim Newman, a hero who once helped repel an alien invasion, eaten up by self-loathing and alcoholism after his bruising experience in the eye of the media, must find it in himself to try to save the world all over again. Bestselling mainstream author Philip K. Dick confronts Richard Nixon and a conspiracy that has taken control of America in 'The Two Dicks'. 'All Tomorrow's Parties' is a compressed marvel of far-future science fiction that packs a novel's-worth of action into its story of how an immortal weary of everything the universe has to offer deals with an unexpected confrontation. A book-dealer turned private detective discovers strange and dangerous rivals making use of the internet in 'The Proxy'. A science fiction fan explains how he became a serial killer in 'I Spy', a story with a little something missing. And in 'Cross Roads Blues', especially rewritten for this collection, the course of American history hangs on the decision of an itinerant musician.

Despite the wry black comedy that suffuses many of these stories, the author is fully engaged with the ineffable strangeness of the universe and the human predicament. Even at his most playful, as in 'The Madness of Crowds', where a TV set designer must deal with the ramifications of a discovery by a mad scientist who is also his younger, smarter brother, McAuley has a serious point to make about hardwired human behaviour. As Greg Bear notes in his introduction, although some of McAuley's work can be compared to a wild hybrid of Cordwainer Smith and E.M. Forster, 'his style varies and can be difficult to label [but] it's all compelling'. Every one of these stories is different and distinctive, but they are all informed by the restless intelligence and strong moral sense of a writer Publishers Weekly has praised as being 'one of the field's finest practitioners'.