Customer Reviews

With a Finger in My I

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This collection of short stories displays Gerrold's early writing. The stories vary from hilarious (With a Finger in My I) to huanting (In the Deadlands), but are always original and captivating. Some may find Gerrold's unique style hard to follow in a couple of the stories, but most should have no trouble. This is the perfect book for those who seek a different perspective on the universe.

These stories have a very late-60s/early-70s time-warped feel...but that's not really a bad thing. The title story is a silly bit of wordplay that appeared in the 2nd Dangerous Visions anthology, and it's the weakest piece here. A guy wakes up without an eye, or something, and his tiresome search for answers begins. It's a misfire -- but the rest of the stories are solid, with several real standouts. "All of Them Were Empty" is an acid-drenched trip about two hippies seeking "the new kick"; it feels dated, yet manages to resonate anyway and the ending packs a nice punch. "Oracle for a White Rabbit" was the first HARLIE story later expanded into When HARLIE Was One, probably the author's best-known novel. It's intriguing to see how the sentient computer classic got its start. "Into the Deadlands," by far the longest piece, more like a novella, is experimental in technique, telling the disjointed tale of recon parties who venture into a vast, growing "dead zone" from which few return, and from which "something" may emerge. As in Gerrold's other fiction there's some pretense to sexual allegory -- but the tale works best "straight," so to speak, as a poetic futuristic horror fable. It's quite special and unforgettable in its way.