I cannot remember reading a worse book. The only thought I had when finishing it was a regret for the time I wasted. Hard core anti nuke people may relish in the subject and the political position presented, there is nothing here for someone that just likes to read good stories. The stories are absolutely bad and the writing is very amateurish. I had friends in junior high and high school that wrote better stories than these.
All in all, unbelievably bad!

The introduction, which is nearly one third of the slim book, is excellent; the first two stories are compelling and interesting, "Bujak" and "Insight". The attempts at science fiction are embarassing at best and pretentious and patronizing at worst. I'm a fan of all fiction that references our nuclear predicament; just this weekend I visited an abandoned Nike missile base in New Jersey, that was meant to protect against intercontinental bomber attacks, but this book failed to grip me. At ... dollars it's practically an insult. If you must read it, get a used copy.

This is a well-meaning collection, crafted with all the earnest diligence of a passionate yet rather stolid social worker. I love the introduction, it articulates better than anything I've ever read the true issues and dangers posed by the arms race. Given its subject matter, eloquence, and emotional clout, it is one of the most important essays I've read in years.

But after this exciting beginning, the stories are a wash-out. The writing is clever, but usually too clever; there never seems to be any emotional investment in the characters or their conflicts. Because Amis's overwhelming motive was didacticism, his plots are populated by vehicles and symbols not human beings. The stories become thinly scratched fables, yet without even the insightful morals provided by Aesop. Often it is embarrassing to see all the work Amis puts into dressing up and "proving" a point to us, that is already a foregone conclusion. The science fiction settings and the variety of viewpoints (one speaker is an American expatriate Jew) are interesting, but I continually hear that sober social worker's timbre droning in my ears....

I'm trying to think of who would enjoy this book. Science fiction fans will be disappointed by Amis's half-baked scenarios, fans of emotional fiction will be bored by his shallowness, and fellow disarmament supporters will feel patronized. So--only for uncritical members of the Martin Amis cult, who consider his every jotting to be solid gold.