![]() ![]() ![]() A deep sense of compassion and understanding of the human condition pervades all his work. And wedded to his apparently Leonardo-like range of knowledge is his gift for empathy. Robinson is a superb craftsman of both the "what might have been" and "what could be" variants of speculative fiction. In his alternate history stories, such as "The Lucky Strike," in which the Enola Gay crashes before it can drop the Bomb on Hiroshima, he imagines a timeline that deviates dramatically from history as we know it, but which is no more far-fetched than the terrible reality of what did happen. ![]() He understands that history is full of the seemingly fantastic yet factual doings of humanity. The reader is led to think, "yeah, it really could happen." Unlike the purveyors of fantasy, Robinson creates worlds that are extrapolations from reality. Thus, his fiction is always more than plausible and his tales, no matter how conjectural are quite believable. His grasp of history, from the Spanish Armada of 1588 to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, seems to be as well-researched as his references to science. This collection of his short fiction is just as impressive as the novels and is a further demonstration of his versatility. Those readers familiar with Robinson's Mars Trilogy already know he is a brilliant story-teller with an amazing mastery of detail in all the sciences, from physics to psychology. This collection of Kim Stanley Robinson's short stories, edited by Jonathan Strahan and published by Night Shade Books of San Francisco, is a delight to read. ![]()
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