The Perfect Host: Volume V: The Collected Stories of Theodore Sturgeon (The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon) [Hardcover]

Theodore Sturgeon (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon | Publication Date: October 1, 1998

The fifth of ten volumes that will reprint all Sturgeon's short fiction covers his prolific output volume contains 15 classics and two previously unpublished stories, including "Quietly." The Perfect Host provides enough of a representative sampling of Sturgeon's "greatest hits" to give the uninitiated a good sense of what all the fuss was about way back when. At the same time it offers a generous selection of alternate takes and rarities, notably several of Sturgeon's best forays into other forms of genre writing, plus previously unreleased cuts and liner notes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Historically, the Complete Sturgeon is one of the most important reissues in years. In terms of reading, this is a goldmine both for those already familiar with Sturgeon's work and for a new generation of readers ready for something real."
-Strange Worlds Magazine

"Theodore Sturgeon has become a kind of patron saint of SF short story writers. His fiction demonstrated a love of humanity and an understanding of human emotion unparalleled in the field. At the time of his death in 1985, no short story writer was held in so high a regard."
-David Brin, author of Heaven's Reach

About the Author

Theodore Sturgeon was born on February 26, 1918 in Staten Island, New York. He died in Eugene, Oregon, on May 8, 1985. A resident of New York City, upstate New York, and Los Angeles, he is the author of more than thirty novels and short story collections.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556432844
• ISBN-13: 978-1556432842
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.4 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT the anthology-- just one story, but a good one, August 23, 2010

By 

Elliot (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Perfect Host (Kindle Edition)

Most of the reviews that appear for this book are of a paperback anthology of Theodore Sturgeon stories. The Kindle book is not that anthology, it is just the single story (albeit of novella length) called "The Perfect Host." That's the bad news; the good news is that is an __excellent__ story. It is more horror (or "dark fantasy," if you prefer) than science fiction, but, unlike most dark fantasy, it does not deal in familiar themes such as vampires or werewolves. In fact, I was more than three-quarters of the way through the novella before I had any idea of where it was going. The story is told in a series of chapters, each narrated by a different character. The narrators do not contradict each other (this is no "Rashomon"), but each of them tells their part of the story so strangely that you start to wonder which of them is crazy, or if they all are. At one point, author Theodore Sturgeon himself appears as one of the narrators, and even he can't figure out what is going on. The ending wraps everything up, in a surprising and chilling way.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love me tender, love me true, February 23, 2001

By 

Akela "smiling wolf" (Russia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Perfect Host (The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, Vol. 5) (Paperback)

I now have all 7 volumes - all 7 available currently. But I only got volume 5 about a month ago, much later than 6 and 7. And the biggest problem I am facing now - how am I going to make it last till they print the 8th?! I read one story per week - though I die to gulp them down and make a feast of reading this book. Each precious tender love story - only one a week. Once in a week I sit down and switch the world off and read about love - because that is what Sturgeon have been writing about all his life. He takes you by hand and shows you that somebody's Eden is always somebody's else Hell; and makes you walk beside a quiet girl - quietly.. Or sit and listen to a slow dialogue of two cowboys near the fire - and at the last words to burst out laughing only to smile sadly and tenderly a minute later... Theodore Sturgeon makes you love life - and that is the best compliment I could pay any writer.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bring more Sturgeon to Kindle, April 30, 2009

By 

Kurt W. Swenson (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Perfect Host (Kindle Edition)

For some reason, the other reviews for this novella seem to be for other books. Like nearly all Theodore Sturgeon material, this one (The Perfect Host) is thought provoking with a bit of a twist. The lack of other Sturgeon books for the Kindle is one of my biggest disappointments in the Kindle library. This one gives you the flavor of his writing. You'll want more.