The Best of Mack Reynolds

In _More Issues at Hand_, James Blish states that he admires Mack Reynolds for his cosmopolitanism and the bold way in which he tackles controversial political topics but regrets that Reynolds is overly rough and hasty in his writing. There is some justice for this view. But it is fair to say that when Reynolds is at his best, there is a solid craftsmanship to his stories. And so it is in this collection of twenty-two stories. There are some decidedly minor stories here-- "Down the River," "Come in, Spaceport," "Good Indian," "No Return From Elba," "The Business as Usual" and "Albatross"-- but they are not badly written. They are simply one-punch stories without a lot of complexity or depth. In an introduction to the collection, Barry Malzberg recommends that the reader start with "Compounded Interest," a small classic of a time travel story and an excellent example of Reynolds in top form. There are also a series of serious political stories: "Freedom," "Pacifist," "Spaceman on a Spree," "Revolution," "Fad," "Survivor," "Utopian," "Subversive,"and "Second Advent." All are well written, thoughtful and worth your attention-- especially the first three-- but they sometimes repeat themselves in their basic plot. Some of the stories are in a more fantastic or humorous vein: "Prone" (the one about the accident prone space cadet), "The Adventure of the Extraterrestrial" (the one about the geriatric Sherlock Holmes), "Earthlings Go Home" (a travel guide to Mars originally written for _Rogue_), the sardonic "Burnt Toast," and the gentle "Your Soul Comes C.O.D." All in all, an excellent sampling of Reynolds's short fiction, with entertaining and informative story introductions by the author.