This 1982 collection is not one of Ellison's strongest. It came during a quiescent period when he was struggling with health problems, so roughly half of the stories are rescued and updated from the 1950s -- much more classic sci-fi stories than much of his other work: hunting alien game, rescues and mysteries in mountain wilds, a desperate killer trying to escape incarceration in a future civilization, etc. However, the book also contains several essays which are dynamite: Ellison's wide-eyed commentary on the Voyager flyby of Saturn in November 1980, the saga of his failed "Starlost" series for Canadian television, his experiences with a traveling carnival after running away from home at 13, and especially "The 3 Most Important Things in Life" -- which are sex, violence, and labor relations (including the half-day he was employed by Disney Studios).
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The review of this Book prepared by David Loftus
