ENDANGERED SPECIES by Gene Wolfe
The Usenet list — 2 messages, 2 voices, 26 Apr 1990
https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/usenet/41

Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright
in each message remains with the person who wrote it.

Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original
archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than
retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.

==============================================================================

Evelyn C. Leeper — 26 Apr 1990, 16:28

ENDANGERED SPECIES by Gene Wolfe
		Tor, 1990 (1989c), ISBN 0-812-50718-5, $4.95.
		      A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
		       Copyright 1990 Evelyn C. Leeper

     This collection of thirty-four stories by one of the leading literary
science fiction authors of today is billed on the cover as "one of the most
important collections of the decade" (FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION) and "the
best single-author collection you will see this year" (ANALOG).  For a
change, the blurbs are not just hype.

     First of all, this is a much larger collection than one usually sees--
almost twice the usual number of stories.  The result is that we can see a
much wider range of Wolfe's talent than a normal-length collection would
show us.  Secondly, though all the stories have been previously published
elsewhere, they are not what you would call readily available.  For example,
"Our Friend by Charles Dickens" appeared in ROOMS OF PARADISE edited by Lee
Harding.  Try finding that at your local Waldenbooks--or even Forbidden
Planet!

     Notable stories include the aforementioned "Our Neighbor by David
Copperfield," an excellent story to give your friend who loves Dickens's
style.  "In the House of Gingerbread" is a wonderful twist and re-twist on
the classic children's story; "The War Beneath the Tree" also takes an
interesting turn at the end.

     Unfortunately, even such a literary work as this is not free of typos;
in "The God and His Man" the sword is named either "Maser" or "Master,"
depending on what sentence you're in.

     These stories cover the range of science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
My only quibble is the omission of "Slaves of Silver," Wolfe's foray into
Sherlockiana, but that's a minor objection.  If you're interested in seeing
where science fiction concepts meet mainstream literary values, buy this
book.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeff Fabijanic — 27 Apr 1990, 14:42
  follows, by subject match Evelyn C. Leeper

writes:

>     Unfortunately, even such a literary work as this is not free of
> typos; in "The God and His Man" the sword is named either "Maser" or
> "Master," depending on what sentence you're in.

 
I went back and read this story to make sure, and I think that the change
was intentional. The sword is "Master" (which, considering the story, is
pretty true) and it is also a maser - that is, it behaves more powerfully
than a simple sword, the implication being that it is a high powered energy
weapon of some sort.
 But then again, maybe they *are* just typos...;*}
 
          Jeff

------------------------------------------------------------------------------