Howard Who?: Stories

One of the most eclectic writers in the Sf/F genre one can find. No Waldrop story is like any other story, or like any other Waldrop story for that matter. If you haven't read Waldrop before, have you got a treat coming!

First let me confess I have not read this book, not yet... You see I read Heirs of the Perisphere years ago when it was first published * ahem * in Playboy (Nothing risque in the writing, just well written.). More memorable than the girl, I still remember passages today - must have been close to twenty years ago. Mr Waldrop... Genius. Years ahead of his time. Great writer. I highly recommend.

The title does not lie. This is a collection of 12 outstanding stories. Each story is a tiny gem, a short 13-25 page story that makes a large impact.Waldrop's stories have to be read to be believed. He is able to turn the mundane into the spectacular. Take 'Man Mountain Gentian' about sumo wrestlers with telekinetic powers. Or 'Heirs of the Perisphere' about intelligent Disney robots that are mistakenly activated years after humanity mysteriously disappeared. 'Mary Margaret Road-Grader' is a fascinating story about Native American Tractor pulls. World-Fantasy-Award winning story 'The Ugly Chickens' is about a possible rediscovery of the supposedly extinct Dodo. 'God's Hooks': a story about a fishing expedition for Leviathan and the consequences thereof.There is not a bad story in this collection. Waldrop is a towering talent in the speculative fiction scene. Unfortunately most of his works are out-of-print. He's written a lot of stories but it takes an effort to track them down. Trust me, it's worth it. Highly recommended.

The problem with books likes this is that publishers always try to squeeze them into some kind of recognizable category. In this case, the usual well-worn descriptions of "fantasy" or "science fiction" were avoided, but only in favor of the ambiguous genre of "speculative fiction." It's still a rough fit for Waldrop. This guy has an imagination that defies imagination. All of these are true short stories, worthy of any contemporary analysis. "Ike At The Mike" is *the* best alternative history story I've ever read. "The Ugly Chickens" is nothing short of brilliant and startling in its examination of lost possibilities. "Heirs Of The Perisphere" is heartrending in its utter simplicity. Perhaps the best recommendation of all, I met Waldrop in San Antonio in 1988, and I was duely impressed by his genuine humility and straightforwardness. He wrote this on the title page of my copy: "Thanks for finding the book. Hope you enjoy it." I pass that recommendation on to you.