Graeme Rodaughan's Reviews > Unicorn Variations

Chess Match Scandal! Sasquatch Schools Student Player! "Well, there I was, playing for the fate of our world. Little did I know that my opponent, Martin, was getting a helping hand from a fellow mythical being!" - Tlingel - The Unicorn Chess Chanticleer

A bunch of short fiction with the best highlighted in bold as follows.

#1. Unicorn Variations: Classic Zelazny fare. 5 'High Stake Games,' stars.

#2. The Last of the Wild Ones: The key question, is Murdock the villian of this piece? In an echo of the hunting of wild bison on the American plains to extinction an obsessed hunter tracks the last 'wild car,' to a final battle in a desolate canyon. Took me a while to invest in the characters - hence -1 star. 4 'Elegiac,' stars.

#3. Recital: Experimental writing. Didn't work for me. DNF'ed

#4. The Naked Matador: A man on the run meets a helpful and sexy Greek myth. 4 'Smirking Behind Sunglasses,' stars.

#5. The Parts That are Only Glimpsed: Three Reflexes: An essay on writing, I found relevant. 5 'Craft Relevant,' stars.

#6. Dismal Light: A man reconciles with his father on a manufactured planet. 4 'Daddy Issues,' stars.

#7. Go Starless in the Night: Being frozen after death is not all it's cracked up to be. Just OK. 3, 'Better Death than This,' stars.

#8. But Not the Herald: Pandora is inevitable. 4. 'Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts,' stars.

#9. A Hand Across the Galaxy: Bleak, so bleak. 3, ' People are Crap,' stars.

#10. The Force That Through the Circuit Drives the Current: Just OK. 3 'Recusive Physics Rules,' stars.

#11: Home is the Hangman: I got 'Eye of Cat,' vibes with the pursuit of the unstoppable hunter trope. Big twist at the end with a possible 'I'm a robot too,' option. Excellent. 5 'Robot Revenge?' stars.

#12-14. Fire and/or Ice, EXEUNT OMNES, and A VERY GOOD YEAR: All just so-so. 3, 'End it All Now,' stars.

#15. My Lady of the Diodes: Like 'The Last of the Wild Ones,' an AI plays the villian (but in both cases, not w/o cause). 4 'Beware Scorned A.I.s,' stars.

#16. And I Only Am Escaped to Tell Thee: Clever. 4 'Flying Dutchman,' stars.

#17. The Horses of Lir: A young fellow finds his life purpose within the family business. 5 'Poignant Duty Upon a Moonlit Sea,' stars.

#18. The Night Has 999 Eyes: Experimental stream of consciousness writing, hence boring. DNF'ed.

#19. Angel, Dark Angel: A riff on the AI world controller trope. 4, 'Beware the Weapon you Create,' stars.

#20. Walpurgisnacht: Didn't work for me at all. DNF'ed.

#21. The George Business: Classic semi-cynical Zelazny fare. Loved it. 5 'Mutual Back Scratching,' stars.

#22. Some Science Fiction Parameters: A Biased View: Craft Essay on Science Fiction. Interesting and personal. 4, 'Craft Technique,' stars.

Overall, giving this 4 stars. On reading, I discovered that I must have read this book sometime in the distant past. It provided a mostly awesome trip down memory lane.

Mostly, entertaining. Some real hits here, and the occasional dud.

I enjoyed reading this with the fine folk over at Spells, Space and Screams at: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Recommended. 4 'Mostly Awesome,' stars.