In Human Voices you will find stories covering the past three decades of James Gunn's career: imaginative, entertaining speculations revealing insight-and foresight-into human nature now and in the future, which are the unmistakable hallmarks of his best fiction. James Gunn's work is always polished, ironic, and deeply concerned about humankind. Long before I knew him, his stories and novels were a pleasure to read, and this has never changed. -George Zebrowski, Award Winning author of Macrolife and Brute Orbits These are consistently and admirably intelligent, austerely but effectively written stories . . . . -Roland Green, Booklist
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Military SF fans of the Falkenberg legion saga will need to be in fighting trim to lug home The Prince, by Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Sterling. This hefty compendium includes the four novels Falkenberg's Legion, Prince of Mercenaries, Go Tell the Spartans and Prince of Sparta.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gunn, perhaps the most distinguished academic among sf writers, here offers a quarter-century's worth of his short fiction. "The Voices" and "Child of the Sun" were incorporated into the novels The Listeners (1972) and Crisis! (1986), respectively, but most of the rest of these stories are seeing book publication for the first time. A varied lot, they include "The Old Folks," a vision of the ultimate senior citizen community; "Fault," a bit of earthquake prediction; "The North Wind," set in an ice age; "The Gingerbread Man," a hard-edged variant of Asimov's Bicentennial Man; and "The Day the Magic Came Back," which casts a sharp eye on the burgeoning of fantasy. These are consistently and admirably intelligent, austerely but effectively written stories, featuring characterizations that, though unlikely to please everybody, show a skill beyond that of most other writers in the sf-as-literature-of-ideas school to which Gunn is supposed to belong. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Critical Eye on Human Nature,
By
This review is from: Human Voices: Science Fiction Stories (Five Star Speculative Fiction Series) (Hardcover)
The influence of James Gunn should not be ignored in literary science fiction. This collection of tales shows nuggets of insight into the nature of humanity. Written over a period of three decades, the stories sometimes show their historical place as well as universal appeal. "Child of the Sun," for example, has that 70s feel, related to but a step up from his previous story-turned-film THE IMMORTAL. It was incorporated into his novel CRISIS, and one wonders if the writers of QUANTUM LEAP had read it. Nearly all of the stories in the collection address some aspect of human nature, whether it be the trials/selfishness of growing old in "The Old Folks" or the need for companionship in "The North Wind." Technology is background for the stories, so gadget-lovers might want to look elsewhere. What the book does well is examine people, especially people under stress. Alonzo, for example, must deal, as mayor of San Francisco, with the prediction of a major earthquake in "Fault." And Dr. Knowland must deal with the "death of science" and his whole understanding of the world in "The Day the Magic Came Back." The collection reads well as a collection, but works better at the individual story level. Some stories are adventurous ("The Giftie" and "Child of the Sun" for example) while others are more thoughtful without being introspective ("The Futurist" and "Man of Parts" for example). There is no WINESBURG, OHIO effect from reading the stories together. The informative introduction provides important context for each story. Reading this book was like sitting down with an old friend, for me. Even if you are new to Gunn's writing, science fiction lovers should all find something intriguing in this short story buffet.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Free SF Reader,
By Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Human Voices: Science Fiction Stories (Five Star Speculative Fiction Series) (Hardcover)
Gunn gives an introduction to the book, talking about each story in turn, and the general phases of his writing career. Seems he was nearing the ton in published short stories when this came out.
Human Voices : The Old Folks - James E. Gunn Human Voices : The Voices - James E. Gunn Human Voices : Fault - James E. Gunn Human Voices : Guilt - James E. Gunn Human Voices : Child of the Sun - James E. Gunn Human Voices : The North Wind - James E. Gunn Human Voices : Amoung the Beautiful Bright Children - James E. Gunn Human Voices : The Futurist - James E. Gunn Human Voices : Man of Parts - James E. Gunn Human Voices : The Gingerbread Man - James E. Gunn Human Voices : The Day the Magic Came Back - James E. Gunn Human Voices : The Lens of Time - James E. Gunn Human Voices : The End-of-the-World Ball - James E. Gunn Human Voices : The Giftie - James E. Gunn Nasty geriatrics. Run away. 3.5 out of 5 Nice to know they are there, but they can keep the rubbish they are sending us. 3 out of 5 Earthquake prediction seduction danger. 3.5 out of 5 Precrime punishment probability probation. 4 out of 5 Past power girl rescue. 3.5 out of 5 Cold as ice, finally gets southern vision. 3 out of 5 Capsule skillset seduction. 3 out of 5 Past advice sphinxlike. 4 out of 5 Body bit solution power. 3 out of 5 New part issues. 3 out of 5 Faith healing shot. 3 out of 5 Diamond microscope possibilities, Fitzy. 4 out of 5 Millenial nookie nasty waiting. 3.5 out of 5 Anti-matter space plans mean vested disinvolvement preferred. Internet upload fixes them. 4 out of 5
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