Synopsis
This second collection of short fiction by Bruce Sterling, set in such disparate environments as ancient Assyria and posthuman France, provides a stimulating and entertaining glimpse inside the "global head" of one of imaginative fiction's most exciting talents.
BookList
The latest collection of Sterling's short fiction contains 13 stories, 2 of them collaborations (with John Kessel and Rudy Rucker, respectively). In one or another of them, Sterling takes on the investigation of hackers, the Gulf War, American politics, the nuclear arms race, and a number of other topics. "Takes on" is a fair descriptive for his satirical bent, in fact, but he also displays a fine command of language and a mastery of action and high-tech hardware that many technothriller writers might justifiably envy. Sterling's talents have won him an audience that is likely to long outlast cyberpunk and that justifies this volume's presence in at least large sf collections.