Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
Stories selected by Robert Silverberg, Brian Preiss, and Keith R. A. DeCandido

Review by Matthew Urick

Alfred Bester is a Nebula GrandMaster and doesn't need my recommendation of his choice stories. But I did want to say I enjoyed some of the twists he put on som basic themes. "Hobson's Choice," "The Flowered Thundermug," and "The Men who Murdered Mohammed" show why time travel might not work and not just for physical reasons. "%,271,009" deals with the emptiness of such dreams as being the last man on Earth, being the last firtile man on Earth, being a child again while retaining your adult knowledge, and others. "Of Time and Third Avenue" discusses why you might not want to own a copy of an almanac from the future.


From the SIGMA 161, June, 1999

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