I'm so glad to finally find this book again after losing it. Drew is simply an amazing author and truly has a grip on how to write a true fairy tale. Mr. Drew taught my grade 12 english class and some of his writing rubbed off on me. Unfortunately he died of Lou Garrigs disease a few months ago. He will be truely missed and so will his writing. If you get the chance learn more about this man and the other titles he has written.

Simply a masterpiece of a book. Some funny stories, some serious all very original. Wayland Drew's story may even affect the way you think about your life. The Old Soul is one of the best short stories I have ever read.

For six years I have been searching for this collection. How many libraries and book stores have I searched since leaving this book on my elementary school's shelf six years ago? Once upon a Time's stories may be modern, but have already become classic in my memories of childhood. I memorized every one. Each is more real to me than my own life was; every tale has become engrained in my consciousness. Moreover, its illustrations were exquisite; enthralling; inspiring.They burned their surreal images into my memory and flicker coaxingly where reality meets dream; where conscious meets subconscious. And there also lay the hope of finding this childhood friend, this inspiration, once more. Its stories have become fabled within me: intangible and elusive as the dreams they teased, and yet I am sure that this old book will live up to its legend when I hold it in my hands and gaze into its glimmering illustrations again.

I read this book as a child, checking it out of the grammar school library at least half a dozen times. At 45, I remember it fondly as a jumping off point for time travel and other space faring tales of fiction, both in books and comics. I wish it could be republished so another generation will get he same opportunity and joy I did.

I am 42 now and have never forgotten this book, never been able to locate it until now. I hope to be able to read it again as it really opened a young boy's mind to space travel!

I cannot believe that this book is out of print. It is a true classic of the genre. Both of Moore's most famous heroes, Jirel and Northwest Smith, are represented here. The two classic tales 'Shambleau' and 'Black God's Kiss' are here, as are the brilliant 'No Woman Born' (one of the first cyborg stories --- the forerunner of the Bionic Woman!) Buy it!

Due to Pohl's other careers as both a literary agent and a SF magazine editor, Pohl didn't achieve the same amount of output as his contemporaries Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke. This is our loss, since Pohl really excelled in the short form (not that he is any slouch at novel length). This "best of" collection is an excellent starter for anyone unfamiliar with Pohl's short stories. There's not a clinker in the bunch.

As much as I love Heinlein's early work, I would have to say that this novel by Lester Del Ray is probably the best single example of the post-war space opera. It has everything: the Federation, the idealism and tradition, the Cadet corps, the hard science details, the sense of optimism about the future.... It is just a good read.
This is an idealistic book. It is not some simple minded "kill all the bugs" combat story. The members of the fleet are shown to be thinking men that hate the thought of war as much, or more, than anyone. And the aliens are simularly portrayed with depth, and yes, humanity. Here, sane and civilised men go out of their way to try to avoid the horror of total war, while never for a moment hesitating to fight that war to win it, should it be truly unavoidable. There is a line towards the end of the last chapter, "There had never been hatred, Bob knew, because cultures sufficiently advanced do not have to hate other cultures through lack of understanding." This may be a "kid's book", but this is not "kid's stuff"....

What would you do if your father suddenly falls ill? The question's rhetorical for the rest of us but for Bob Wilson, who was on his way back to Earth from Saturn, it's quite real. When he and his father are stranded on Ganymede, he's forced re-evaluate his life. He foregoes going to college to help the colonists. Does he make the right decision? I'm not saying. Read it yourself and find out.

You're probably used to sf with "clean violence," in which a billion people are killed with the push of a button. In this book, there's very little of that; rather, this novel should be the darling of the Mickey Spillane set. Every two or three pages, someone (usually the protagonist, Bruce Gordon) is attacked with fists, knives, clubs, or guns (not blasters, the old-fashioned type). But this isn't just a crime novel put into space; this is a hard sf novel, and the terraforming of Mars, while not dwelt upon, is central to the story. Give this to your mean, tough brother who beats up sf fans and steals their lunch money. He'll love it...

Tunnel Through Time is about a boy named Bob, his dad invented a time ring. So Bob, his friend, and his friend's dad go through time. They were there for a week. They wanted to go back, but they couldn't find the time ring. To find out the conclusion, read the book.

This book is a good book. The characters are interesting. They are interesting becuase they all have different personalities. Bob is the son of Sam Miller. Sma is the inventor of the timr ring. Pete is Bob's friend. Doc Tom is an archiologist and also Pete's dad. The charcters are good because they go with the book. For example, Doc Tom is an archiologist and they go back to the time of dinosaurs. This story takes place in a small town. Well, if you read the book I hope you will like it.

I have spent the last year researching the title of this book alone. It wasn't until my friend dug out a book report this evening that we were able to find the name. Now that we have the name we have access to the book.

You won't regret reading this. It is the best class text that I have read next to The Hobbit.

IT WAS A FAVORATE BOOK OF MINE WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTRY SCHOOL ITS A GREAT BOOK FOR YOUNG READERS.

Here are the early glimmerings of a future mastery. Le Guin will come into her own with the Earthsea trilogy and earn pre-eminence with The Left Hand of Darkness. But here, in her first efforts, we can see the developing touch--the sure hand and the restrained voice already at work.

The City of Illusions is the last of a loose trilogy of works that the author calls the "Three Hainish Novels". Set in the same Hainish universe as two earlier works, this novel shares little with its predecessors, except for a hazy reference to a collective history and the common device of telepathy.

Still, it is pure Le Guin. The author likes large themes - in this case, truth, falsehood, and the crisis of identity. The protagonist is on a journey, both figuratively and literally, to find his true being - not just his being, but his true being - a subtle but important difference. When we are introduced to him, he is a blank with no identity and no past. He must painfully build a new identity from nothing; burdened with the belief that a previous lifetime has been erased. In searching for that past, he is forced to face the fear of a false self; a life based on a lie.

Such a psychological drama could have sunken into contrivance but for the skill of the author. Le Guin navigates this hazard by making the anguish of the protagonist real and immediate, and she avoids manipulation by revealing rather than directing.

Yet, for all the written skill, this novel does not fulfill its potential. It is unsatisfying - not severely, but enough to diminish the reading experience. For one thing, the plot is incomplete: it needs an epilogue to sate our curiosity. It is also incomplete in a more vital and thematic sense: a large need is filled in a small way. When the human race is enslaved to aliens, what significance can we attach to the fleeting freedom of one man? The weight is all off kilter. The final passage ends on a note of hope, but is insufficient to redress the imbalance.

Though better than most science fiction, this book remains uneven. The austerity of the writing is cool and bracing; but the ideas lack expansiveness and the story lacks a resolution. While reading it, we set aside the immediate for the promise of things to come; but when that promise goes begging, we are so flustered by its unexpected absence that we lose sight of the vibrancy in the present. This book appeals more to stylists; less to seekers after an organic whole.

A man crawls out of the woods, naked, hungry, without knowledge, without spirit. The people who take care of him call him Falk. He is being educated, he gains knowlegde and spirit. He becomes a man of honour and truth. But who is he? After 5 years with his new family, he starts on a quest to find his true identity.

He is on Earth, in a far future. Earth that has conolized many planets, is now a barbaric world. The people of Earth are no more what they used to be. No more explorers, inventors, politicians, scientists. They became tribes, nomads and slaves.

He leanrs that he actually is a man from another world. And he IS human. He tries to find a way to win this 'battle' he is in.

This book tells of the value of truth and honour and of the importance to know yourself.

It tells a good sf story about the human race that is conquered by an alien race that used the lie as their main weapon. And this is not an sf story in which technology and space battles are the main ingredients, but everyday life, a long journey, weird lines of thought, psychological struggle and conversations that don't seem to make any sense.

I have read The Left Hand of Darkness as well, another wonderful book by Ursule LeGuin. They are on the same line of history in a far future. In both books, an individual will change the future of a whole world. In both books, honesty, honour, integrity, intelligence and courage turn out to be the way to conquer problems.

In this line of history, LeGuin has written two more books: Rocannon's World and Planet of Exile, and I can't wait to start reading them.

In City of Illusions, Ursula K. LeGuin shares an interesting insight about truth. In a war where lies are used as weapons, she says that the most powerful counteragent is truth. The liar will not recognize truth as such, or trust it, and will thus be suspicious of everything. To use a lie against a liar is to fight on the enemy's domainÐa great tactical advantage for the liar. Similarly, to use truth against falsehood will confuse the enemy. In either case, the side or sides using lies will inevitably become so mired in falsity that no real victory can be declared indefinitely. If the side of the liar appears to win, it will only be undermined eventually by lies from within. It is a tenuous victory at best, and very hollow and unfulfilling to keep power solely by subtle word-twisting.

How tempting it is, though, in real life, to attempt to use a lie to gain a tactical advantage. Le Guin shows the validity of maintaining integrity and refusing to lie. One slip of the tongue may not destroy an empire, but a slip of the tongue can be the stumble that can send one down the slippery slope from which there is no ascencion. City of Illusions is just thatÐa city set not on a hill, but in a gorge, attempting to hide from the light that may reveal it to be what it is, a foundation of falsity that can crumble when struck by anything unwilling to immerse itself in the lie. Is integrity a realistic idea in the real world? I believe it is the only thing that will endure. Anything less is simply attempting to build a society, or a city, or a life on a foundation of illusion.

This conglomeration of Lester Del Rey's stories was wonderful. I had never him before, but after this book, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down. A must have!