The Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine

Joe Haldeman and Others

By: Joe Haldeman, John Morressy, Gene Wolfe, Dale Bailey, Jerry Oltion, Terry Bisson, Richard Paul Russo, Robert Reed, Eugene Mirabelli, Esther M. Friesner

Narrated by: Harlan Ellison, Cynthia Belliveau, Jeff Paul

This audio presentation of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction is a super-duper triple issue, comprised ten key selections (most of the contents, actually) of FSF's September issue and the forthcoming double October/November issue. First, beginning with the five words, "Eventually it came to pass..." we have "Four Short Novels," a literary and performance tour de force by Joe Haldeman, which explodes Proust, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Samuel Butler. Then John Morressy plumbs even earlier classical dimensions through the eyes and voice of Daedalus in "The Artificer's Tale." "Hunter's Lake" by Gene Wolfe is a classic horror story in which dreams and reality merge and re-emerge from the depths of tragedy. In "The Census Taker" Dale Bailey, takes us into a very scary southern backwater, where untold secrets lurk. "The Navatar," as conceived by Jerry Oltion, is a very special AI indeed whose career, journeys and relationships are narrated by Stefan Rudnicki. Terry Bisson's "Almost Home" tells of three young friends in a blissful, truly American summer, taking us across the borders of discovery and past death itself. Richard Paul Russo's "Tropical Night's at the Natatorium," dramatically explores issues of poverty and privilege, social responsibility and revolution. "Like Minds" by Robert Reed is a disturbing, impressionistic study in shifting realities which truly defies description. In "The Only Known Jump Across Time," Eugene Mirabelli creates a colorful and wistfully nostalgic vision of Cambridge, Massachusetts in the 1920s. Finally, in Esther M. Friesner's "I Killed Them In Vegas," Harlan Ellison gleefully portrays Kris Spiridion, an irrepressible stand-up comic with "a little problem."©2003 Spilogale, Inc.

A bountiful selection of scifi and fantasy.

This was an amazing selection of short stories. "The Artificer's Tale" and "Four Short Stories" are nearly worth the price of admission alone -- both the stories and the performances are of the highest quality. The rest of the stories are all very entertaining as well -- the majority dealing with the theme of alternate universes.

I like short stories

I don't understand why Audible doesn't put out the monthly version of F&SFas an audible book. I would buy it.

Somewhat Entertaining

I found a couple of the stories in this series to be entertaining. However, I found the majority of them to be long, drawn out and overwritten. You might enjoy this selection if you are an extreme hard-core sci-fi fan.

Good stuff

Not up there with the classics but good escapist scifi - and quite a bargin.

All good; one narrator too hammy on 1 story.

The craftsmanship, wordsmithing and dialog in the last story was most excellent and the reader was just great, too. The story was also fun.
The other stories were all good scifi.

Good selection and diverse range of topics

Well written stories and original themes and approaches. Good for individual quick reads. Quality is good overall and the characters are enjoyable and memorable.

Good Stories Sound Quality an Issue

I enjoyed the stories but I had difficulty listening due to the mediocre sound quality. At first I thought that I had blown a speaker. I soon realized the speaker was fine the file was bad. I downloaded Format 3.

Despite this all the stories were good to excellent.

Says best but means worst

I'm a big fan of science fiction and imaginative stories, so I purchased this anthology. These stories were awful. If this is their best, they must be a front for the CIA, because I don't see how they could stay in business, otherwise. The stories were dull, pointless, and meandered like a leaf floating on pond.