As always, this is a great series for cat lovers! The stories are more good than average and there is always some new twist to the theme to keep you interested.

Go forth and read! ^_^

Bailey, Robin Wayne: "The Golden Cats" - The_Judgment Night_ never reached the established colony of Tucker's World, but crashed on Cirrun, stranding the survivors on a world seasonally wracked by the Fever Winds - and which may have a native intelligent race.

Barwood, Lee: "Grow Old Along with Me" - Aging cat is abandoned by the heartless humans he lives with, to be rescued by an elderly neighbor, who cares for his Alzheimer's-stricken wife.

Carr, Jayge: "Puss": 'Puss in Boots', rewritten as OK science-fiction.

Davis, R: "Goliath": A 'cats are aliens' story. See Norton's _Star Ka'at_ for a better example.

Drake, David: "Dragon, the Book" - Foolish magician trusts his familiar, although he killed her mate in an ill-considered attempt to get a powerful magic tome.

Edghill, India: "The Courtesan Who Loved Cats" - A cat asks for an incarnation to avenge her beloved human companion. This one is set in India, complete with Hindu deities in the afterlife.

Edghill, Rosemary: "The Maltese Feline" - A hard-boiled detective story in an Arthurian setting, where magic is used in place of machines. See Simon Hawke's _The Nine Lives of Catseye Gomez_ if you like this one.

Goode, Paul: "A Cat's Tale" - Lt. Mufasa Mubaric (not *my* spelling) of Monroe, Louisiana went to Antonio's to meet the anonymous informant who e-mailed him - who turns out to be Giacomo, the restaurant cat.

Griffin, P.M. "Tenth-Life Cat" - Another Bastet story (see Catfantastic 2, 3). This time the petitioning cat has completed her 9th life, and asks to go back in time and avert a disaster that occurred in her 1st life. No explanation is offered for why she left her 1st-life partner's soul to suffer so long, or why Bastet did not intervene sooner (dea ex machina is a feature of these stories, but only when convenient for the narrative). I recommend instead her Trouble stories from Catfantastic 1 and 4.

Inks, Caralyn: "Kindred Hearts" - 'Kitty Kitty' is used as 'furry love therapy' for seriously ill patients - but he can mindspeak, and has real healing ability, unknown to the families of his clients.

Lackey, Mercedes: "A Better Mousetrap" - see my review of her collection _Werehunter_.

Lee, Sharon: "The Big Ice" - Not a Liaden story, but the human protagonist reminds me of Zhena Trelu in _Carpe Diem_.

Longyear, Barry: "Preliminary Report" - Cats have the task of trying to shape up their human companions; the cat delivering this report (in a hard-boiled style) has a few choice words to be passed up the line to whoever dishes out these assignments, as well as for his fellow cats who are getting tangled in bureaucratic nonsense and touchy-feely meetings. (They've been watching too many talk shows.)

McConchie, Lyn: "Lullaby" - A dravencat story (see Catfantastic 4), dealing with the descendants of Many-Kills and her human sister.

Mayhar, Ardath: "The Very Early Hermione" - See also Catfantastic 1, 3, 4. Hermoine, in her later years (now with a new human charge, a witch) has been asked for a story of her youth with her parents and their wizard. This Hermoine story's contents reveal that the 19th century England in which she lives is not on our own timeline, since magic is accepted there.

Miesel, Sandra: "Miss Lotte" - Miss Lotte isn't an ordinary 1955 New Orleans voodoo.

Miller, Sasha: "Kitten Claws" - See Catfantastic 2, 3 for the preceding stories, or you won't follow this very well. Ede (now a human woman and Ferdon's wife) is expecting her first child - but will it be a normal human infant?

Norton, Andre: "Noble Warrior and the 'Gentleman'" - See also Catfantastic 1 - 4; Thargun was reunited with Emmy after the events in 4. Her father has unexpectedly inherited a title and estate, so the family is relocating.

Schaub, Mary: "The Cat, the Sorceress, the Buttons, and WHY" - NOT a Flax & Drop story. The feline protagonist remains anonymous for most of the story; as it happens, when he's caught spying on the sorceress who's just taken over the castle, she takes a liking to him, and exempts him from the warding spells around the fortress. Bad move...

Schwartz, Susan: "Hobson's Choice" - Hobson's humans foolishly named their vineyard 'Pindar', and their wine 'Mythology.' They're unaware that by night, they've attracted the visits of satyrs, Dionysius and his Maenads, and other creatures of wild magic.

Traylor, Estelle: "Rosemary for Remembrance" - The injured stray, swept through a gate into our world, is named 'Kaththea' when adopted, after the Witch World character Kaththea Tregarth (see Norton's _Sorceress of the Witch World_).

Underwood, Laura: "Patches' Pride" - Shona, the local mageborn in this Scottish-like fantasy setting, acts as a kind of exterminator, keeping local crofts bogie-free. But she foolishly falls for a bogie's request to help its young, despite her cat's better judgment.

Watt-Evans, Lawrence: "Trixie" - Unlike the Noble Warrior stories, the brownies here are cute and harmless, and Trixie the cat isn't written with human-level intelligence. Pleasant, but not gripping.

Wolf, Rose: "Pick, Cry, and Grin (Ag'in)" - Pick and Dolly live with a country-music composer. A couple of whackos in a pickup truck run over Pick (a Manx) in mistake for a rabbit soon after he learns of his impending fatherhood. Pick wakes up in Noah's lap (St. Francis gets all cats except the Manx breed, due to the legend of how they got their tails).

Catfantastic V is a pleasant addition to theis series. I waited a long time with baited breath for this book to be published and it was well worth it. Old stories continue with Skitty, Scat and Ferdon The Magician as well as delightful stories that introduce new authors and characters. Many of the stories are sad to read but force you to think, reflect, remember and IMAGINE. Can't wait for the next edition to publish!

First of all, this was a great idea for an anthology. Lots of short speculative fiction are made into every year (take A.I. for example) and those of us who always like the book better have a hard time finding those stories because of various reasons. So I loved this concept, and the stories chosen were for the most part strong pieces.

I discovered two of my favorite stories in this anthology. George R. R. Martin's "Sandkings" is my favorite short story of all time. It won the Nebula and is one of the most tightly written stories out there. The main character, Simon Kress, is a real jerk who treats everything with utter cruelty. He's looking for a new pet, and finds an insect-like lifeform called a Sandking. Sandkings literally worship their owners, but what happens when their owner is a cruel and sadistic god? That's what "Sandkings" explores.

The other story that really stood out for me is "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick. It's an exciting story about a war in which humans invented robots that would end the war forever. But what happens when the robots improve and reproduce themselves? It's a probing question about where technology is taking us and human nature.

There are other strong stories in here: "Enemy Mine" by Barry Longyear was truly poignant; "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," by Philip K. Dick was the basis for _Total Recall_; and I would have LOVED "Herbert West--Reanimator" by Lovecraft if it wasn't for the constant recapping of the previous sections of the stories (that was probably due to the piece being published in serial fashion, but it's annoying when read straight through).

Then there were the duds. "Amanda and The Alien," though cute, really does nothing for me. Doesn't have a strong, poignant theme. "The Forbidden," basis for _Candyman_ had a great ending, but took so long getting there it didn't really matter. And I was very dissapointed with "Nightflyer"--doubly disappointed sicne George R. R. Martin is my favorite writer.

All in all, there wer more good stories than bad, which I guess is all you can ask for when reading a collection like this that encompasses a large variety of works. And if you're trying to learn to write speculative fiction, this is a good place to study different story constructions and techniques. Recommended.

Great collection of short stories which were the inspiration for sci-fi and horror movies. Included is the source material for Mimic, Total Recall, Screamers, Enemy Mine, Reanimator, Johnny Mnemonic, and others. The quality of the stories varies. Most are well-written, but there are 2 stinkers in my opinion: "Candyman" and "Amanda and the Alien". I'd like to see a follow-up published.

OK, first I shall say it was a strange pick of stories. where was 'Sentinals' Arthur C Clarke's story that inspired 2001: A Space Odyssy? And why are there no less then five Horror stories in this collection( Mimic, Second Variety, Sandkings, Candyman and Reanimator?)

But it was, nonetheless, a great collection.

Mimic was short, but interesting.

Second Variety was cool, even if it wasn't really surprising and had a cheat ending.

Amanda and the Alien was better then the movie, but that doesn't say much.

Sandkings is a stroy by one of my favorite writers George R R Martin, and was the scariest thing I've ever read.

We Can remember it for you wholesale was very cool, and very different from Total Recall, too.

Enemy Mine was prety cute, if obvious.

Air Raid was intriguing but not all that unique, reminded me a little of stephen King's The Drawing of the three.

Johnny Menemonic, by william gobson, was terrible, boring and totally uncomprihensible.

The forbidden was Ok, not great.

Martin's second entry, Nightflyers, was extreamly cool, almost as good as his first, defnetly a classic, even if it was a little similar to 2001.

So go buy it, 'Sandkings', 'We can Remember it for you' and 'Nightflyers' each is worth the price of the book alone.

One of the first fantasy books I ever read, it has stood up to multiple rereadings. De Lint weaves a tale of mystery and magic in a unique land with the courage and compassion of one woman. This book is amazing.

De Lint is by far the best at blending urban reality with fantastical lands that are just "around the corner". He has done it again with this book. I have as many of his books as I could get my hands on...you'll be hooked, although Moonheart was by far his best. If you like him, you'll also like the Taliswoman series by Carole Nelson Douglas...Book 3 of that series is coming in November, 1999. (The other 2 are Cup of Clay and Seed Upon the Wind.)

This is the first of the de Lint books that I have read, so I did not know what to expect. It was more than I imagined from a book of only 250 pages. The world he created was believable and even though not described in detail it was well-crafted. His actual prose were very good and the characters, for the most part, varied. The setting is much deeper than one would expect, I could see an epic 800+ volume set within this backdrop. The chapters were short and kept the story on a rapid pace. It reminded me a lot of the White Hart by Nancy Springer another excellent (short) book.

"Hitler Victorious" collects 11 short stories based upon the premise that Nazi Germany won World War II. The premise alone is enough to make for compelling reading, and fortunately the stories themselves expand upon it. The highlight of the book is Brad Linaweaver's novella "Moon of Ice," which masterfully extends the famous diaries of Nzai propoganda chief Joseph Goebbles into the mid-1960s. Goebbles chronicles in the first person the death of The Fuhrer and the intrigue surrounding the foundation of Burgundy, the medieval mini-state formed by Heinrich Himmler's notorious SS. Linaweaver throws into the mix Goebbles's relationship with two of his (now adult) children, each of whom has chosen a much different path.

Other highlighs include Hilary Bailey's noir-ish tale of intrigue "The Fall of Frenchy Steiner," and Howard Goldsmiths nastly little horror tale "Do Ye Hear the Children Weeping." There's even a good Rip Van Winkle-like tale in C.M. Kornbluth's "Two Dooms." Also it must be said that, title of the book not withstanding, Hitler rarely remains victorious at the end of most of these stories.

Overall, this a juicy little short story collection for those who like alternative history tales.

I am a huge historical World War II buff. Therefore, I also like to "dabble" in some alternative history scenarios such as the eleven stories presented in this narrative. Overall, the book is "fun"...meaning that some of the stories are pretty good and based in "reality", meaning they are believable. Others are a little "hokey"...meaning they would be good for a "Tales From the Dark Side" or "Outer Limits" episode. All in all...for some fun reading at night, I enjoyed the book. Give it a shot and see for yourself.

I'm a sucker for alternate history stories, partly because of my professional background in history. I like to play "what if" myself, but writing something that succeeds both as fiction and as plusible alternate history is really tough. Among themes, having the Germans win WWII is a close second to the South winning the Civil War, and virtually all the stories in this excellent collection succeed admirably. Some I've read before, like "Weihnactsabend" by Keith Roberts and Brad Linaweaver's excellent "Moon of Ice," but others were apparently written especially for this volume, including the terrific "Thor Meets Captain America" by David Brin. A very good collection.

Bischoff, David: "The Whiteviper Scrolls" occurs later in Whiteviper's unsavoury career than its counterpart in _Apprentice Fantastic_, and like it is narrated by him to a downtrodden peon in his old age.

Braunbeck, Gary A. & Snyder, Lucy A.: "Souls to Take" Dr. Louis Cohen never wanted to end pregnancies by anything other than a normal delivery, but rather than leave patients to alternatives that seem even worse, he keeps performing abortions, despite his own qualms. But when the "LifeGuards" ambush him on his way back from a house call, the doc's rescuer may be worse than the fate she saved him from.

Crowther, Peter: Set in a comic-book world of "Heroes and Villains", the tone is something like the realism of _Watchmen_, but from the viewpoint of the super-villains. The Comedian in particular is struggling with his conscience, as he prepares for a deathbed visit to his mother, their first meeting in many years. But even sidekicks are well drawn - one, for instance, lost his father at 12 when a run-of-the-mill superhero/supervillain struggle destroyed a few city buildings, and the apologetic superhero's out-of-court settlement wouldn't bring his father back.

Davis, R.: "King of Thorns" is the title awarded to the best of the temple's Thorns - their master assassin trainees - each year. The story follows the Thorns' final competitive exam with one another, and is recommended for _Thief: The Dark Project_ players. :)

Dungate, Pauline E.: "Nina" has a mysterious hold on people - her classmates fear her, she rarely does her homework, and the real story of her father's suicide is uncanny. The narrator's family has arranged a marriage between them, and now that he's asked around about her, he's finally got sense enough to be scared. The story begins with his reference to the marriage, jumps back to his enquiries, then works forward to the wedding day.

Edghill, Rosemary: "The Mould of Form" James Cruikshank, the narrator, will be better known by another name to readers. After Cromwell's victory, his Royalist father's death left James and his mother to their cousins' unkind charity, but James' memories of the abuses of Eton are the most bitter.

Gorman, Ed: The narrator escaped the trap set by the FBI with the help of a woman who betrayed him, and became "A New Man" - with the help of plastic surgery. But by chance, his betrayer (who no longer recognizes him) lives in the small Midwestern town he's passing through - but she's married to a cop.

Huff, Tanya: "All Things Being Relative" Cornelius Dickcissel, far from being a heroic adventurer, is an author; receiving the queen's summons, he drew up his will (the traditional response, when summoned by *this* queen). But she has read his story of a would-be dragonslayer that considered the dragon's point of view, and wants him to write *her* story - although she has his editor killed for the clunky title of Cornelius' last book. See how many fractured fairy tales you recognize herein. :) She's even read the evil overlord list.

Patton, Fiona: "Death Mage" is a Cerchicava story, but rather than following ex-carver Coll, this recounts the story of a full-fledged Death Mage hunting down one who has betrayed the necromancers' Trade.

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: "Doubting Thomas", at the age of six, witnessed something that, far from breaking his belief in Santa Claus, gave him an unusual take on what he considers the world's biggest conspiracy, to which he later brought his skills as an investigative reporter. Cool. :)

Sherman, Josepha: "The Usurper Memos" are a series of email-style carrier-pigeon-delivered memos between Regis I and various bureaucrats of Tavara, including cryptic unofficial communications with the Hunter of Heads. Villain or not, I applaud Regis' final maneuver. :)

Tremayne, Peter: The author of the Sister Fidelma mysteries has turned to Sherlock Holmes in "The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey", the tale of "James Phillimore, who stepped back into his house and was never more seen in this world", one of Watson's famous untold stories.

Waggoner, Tim: "Horror Show" begins with the climactic scene of a story in progress - a late-night movie, the most famous of the seven in which Simon Karkull played the monster Shrike. These days, he's an alcoholic; the producer of the next Shrike film won't even send him a script. But the producer's mysterious murder that same night, a continent away, marks a turning point in Simon's life.

West, Michelle: "To Speak with Angels" For his last walk, the old saint has chosen to seek an audience with he who was once the greatest of the Host, though he must enter Hell to do so. Very fine story. I also recommend Neil Gaiman's treatment of Lucifer in the Sandman series.

The premise behind this book is what caught my eye - evil defeats good. I wasn't disappointed. I was surprised by the number of different approaches the authors took. (I was expecting a lot of re-told fairy tales...)

In much of contemporary fantasy, the bad guys seem to have no real motive other than "I'm BAD, bwahahaha!" These stories look at some familiar stories and situations from the point of view of the bad guys, and tell us something about why they do what they do. Tanya Huff's Dark Queen's take on quite a few traditional fairy tales is well worth a look, and Fiona Patton's necromancers come back, along with the slightly-twisted magical "Italy" they live in. We get to see the early years of a very famous villain, and, in the context of a four-color comic world, learn with a person obviously based on one of the most famous comic villains about why evil must be evil, and why evil must be.

Counterfactual history, often poohed by academicians, is a popular topic for story - tellers, and the American Civil War one of the popular historic topics for writers of all specializations. And what is more popular then speculating, what might have happened, if alternate decisions during Gettysburg Campaign had produced a different outcome ? How might a different the outcome have affected American history, or even the fate of the world, if the South had been victorious in these crucial three days in summer 1863 ? Or what else could have happened in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania ?

The editors have charged a dozen-odd writers of different background to think and write with these questions in mind. Some of the stories stay in the realm of counterfactual history and point to the fact, that only a few different decisions or developments may well have altered the whole course of events. For anybody interested in military history, these chapters - like well known military writer Harold Coyle's "Sedwick's Charge" or Doug Allyn's Custer's First Stand - will attract attention, as well as the concluding essays, which investigate the potential for alternate developments during the Gettysburg Campaign and beyond this narrow window over the whole war.

Of the more fictional and literary stories, one explores the impact of a completely different Gettysburg Address, another one muses about the murder of Abraham Lincoln and even touch the realm of science fiction in a piece about how powerful contemporary events may interact and even change century old historic facts. This one certainly one of the best pieces of the volume, the overall quality is varying strongly from excellent reading stuff over intriguing essays on alternate history to some outright dull and uninspired texts.

All together, "Alternate Gettysburgs" is a recommendable addition to any wargamer's or civil war buff's library, a good companion for week-end trip to the Battlefield Park or just an occasional dip into what is the arguably most covered and researched conflict in human history.

It is not surprising that alternative history stories about the United States are intrigued by the possibilities offered by the Civil War, or that the Battle of Gettysburg is the focal point of such speculations, or that Pickett's charge is most often considered as the pivotal moment. I remember watching war gamers playing out the Battle of Gettysburg on an immense map, and, of course, those playing the Confederates immediately took the high group on Culps Hill, Cemetery Ridge, and the Round Tops and tried to slaughter the Army of the Potomac as it arrived upon the scene. "Alternate: Gettysburgs" is an uneven collection of short stories and essays focusing on various visions of what might have been with a key change here or there.

Actually, few of the stories deal with Pickett's charge, but it is clearly the pivotal event of the battle. Harold Coyle does a reversal by having the charge abandoned and having the Federals try "Sedgwick's Charge" instead. Doug Allyn's "Custer's First Stand" has the flamboyant cavalry officer making a foolish mistake in trying to stop Jeb Stuart from attacking the Union rear during the charge. Probably the oddest story in the collection, with its combination of history and science fiction, William H. Keith, Jr.'s "In the Bubble" takes wargaming to its ultimate level. "The High-Water Mark" by Brendan DuBois tweaks history a bit to turn the Civil War into a World War. Most of the stories include afterwords from the authors explaining their points of departure from history.

Two of the stories deal with the Gettysburg Address. "The Blood of the Fallen" by James M. Reasoner has Lincoln giving a different speech at the dedication of the National Cemetery because in this alternative world his son Tad dies from his fever. I especially liked Kristine Kathryn Rusch's "Well-Chosen Words," because as a rhetorician I appreciate her point that the Gettyburg Address might be Lincoln's most famous speech but he gave another one of equal importance (both of which, I should note, are etched in marble on opposite ends of the Lincoln Memorial).

Other stories are set in the alternative future of a world in which the Confederacy won the Civil War. Simon Hawke's "A Gun for Johnny Reb," is one of the few to try and ground the alterations in something beyond wishful hoping, offering a more realistic version of Turtledove's novel "The Guns of the South." Certainly there are hits and misses throughout the book, but surely there are enough intriguing tales to make reading this book worthwhile for Civil War buffs.

Ironically, the best part of the book for me was the closing essay by William R. Fortschen, "Lee's Victory at Gettysburg...And Then What?" which throws cold water on the idea that a Confederate victory then and there would have changed the outcome of the war. Fortschen argues that a Confederate victory on the second day would have been more probable (suggesting that a 15 minute break to fill empty canteens with water would have given the Rebels enough strength to take Little Round Top and turn the Union left), but then makes a totally convincing case that the Army of Northern Virginia would never have been able to take Washington, D.C. I must admit this appeals to me because I wrote a short story once about a white supremacist who had a time machine built and was going to go back and change things so the Confederacy won the Civil War. He could only take one trip and as he sits in the time machine ready to go he has to pick the moment, but nothing he can come up with would guarantee success and so he just sits there. So, yes, I am in total agreement with Fortschen's argument. Other essays in the appendix section of "Alternate Gettysburgs" provide an overview of the battle, a look at the politics of war, and the social convictions of both sides surrounding the battle.

Alternative histories, as a general rule, seem to suffer from what I want to call historical echoes. I mean this to signify that even as an author goes off in a decidedly different direction, "real" events manage to make their way back into the tales. Thus, for example, a general will die at Gettysburg the same way he did a year later, or a fictional presidential assassination will be eerily similar to a historical one. Ironically, then, the best alternative histories are those that are able to truly break free of what really happened and indulge themselves in fanciful flights of "what if."

I enjoy alternate history, and the what-ifs of crucial events in history, and Gettysburg seemed a very good place to write about, and thought that this collection of short stories would be fairly good. I was somewhat erroneous. The majority of stories in this book are average, but there are a couple of really bad short stories in this book.
One of these such stories is the first story in the book: Sedgwick's Charge, written by Harold Coyle. The story is about Longstreet's decision to stop Pickett's charge, and the Union general Sedgewick then thinks he finds his chance to destroy the retreating Confederate army. But, it wasn't the concept of the story that was disappointing, but the execution and writing style of Coyle. He uses too man company names, and numbers, instead of focusing on the action that the story is trying to portray.
The rest were good premises, but a number of them had writing styles that were a bit lacking. The reason I gave this book 4-stars was because the few above-average stories in this book really make it better. Overall, it's an okay book that has a few commendable short stories in it. It also has a brief overview of the battle of Gettysburg, politics at the time, etc. in the back of the book which is quite tedious to read when you're done the stories (I think they put it into the book to take up space because they couldn't find enough writers to put stories into his book). I would suggest reading this book, but possibly skipping over the tedious parts which I mentioned, because they really detract from the book's value as something to have on your shelf.

I bought this book for its snappy cover and intro on Hammett's fascinating life. But the stories themselves are mostly a let-down. Hammett really hit his stride with the novels, and it's hard to tell from these early magazine pieces how good a writer he'd become. Still, the violence, corruption and sexy seediness that make his other work so much fun are here in embryo. If you're already a Hammett fan, reading these stories is like watching an all-star's warm up swings before he nails a home run. If not, let "The Maltese Falcon" or "Red Harvest" knock your socks off before you make the trip to Nightmare Town.

As a long-time fan of 'classic' noir/detective fiction (Hammett, Chandler, MacDonald, Thompson) and it's stylistic roots in the pulps, I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed with this volume. There's alot here in terms of sheer number of stories, but aside from the very worthwhile Sam Spade shorts (which bump it to 3 stars), it's very uneven in quality. Your taste buds will like the delicious descriptive and atmospheric elements (particularly for hard-core Chandler fans like me...his inspirations via Hammett are in good supply) but the story construction leaves much to desire. The better part of the book is made up of hastily conceived vignettes that will remind you just as to why most of 'pulp' writing was considered disposable.

These stories were printed in the 1920s by "Black Mask" magazine, one of the monthly pulp magazines that entertained America before radio and television. Some of the stories were repeated in later works ("Who Killed Bob Teal") and never reprinted in Samuel Dashiell Hammett's lifetime. The stories are still entertaining today, and also provide a glance at a life that few of us know.

SDH worked as a Pinkerton detective for years, seeking fun, travel, adventure. The stories reflect his life as a private detective would see it: a world of crime and corruption. Would this work damage an operative expecially when de didn't have a normal family and home life? Does this reoccur today?

Hey, even a vampire/werewolf/succubus needs love and companionship. This collection of short stories takes a dark, sometimes humorous look at what happens when the otherworldly become lonely and seek out someone (or something) to spend those long evenings with. Contributors are:

Mickey Zucker Reichert
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
R. Davis
Gary A. Braunbeck
Bradley H. Sinor
Peter Crowther
Esther M. Friesner
Tanya Huff
Tim Waggoner
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Michelle West
Charles de Lint

There are some well-knowns and some not-so-well-knowns, but this is a strong collection with some incredible short stories. In my reading experience, any anthology bearing Martin. H. Greenberg's name is a sure-fire winner. Don't be fooled by the title; this one has something for everyone, not just the vampire fans. You can't go wrong with this collection!

This is an excellent collection of tales of the supernatural with a theme of the personal ads. Almost all of the short stories are excellent, especially; Werotica, Secret Identities, and Folk Lure. Each is very different, while remaining within the theme. There are few authors that I will look up again.

Cool book. This is a great book to purchase if you want to check out different writers in the "weird" genre. Some of them, like "Personal Wishes" are actually rather uplifting, while ones like "Starless and Bible Black" are more disturbing. But the coolest one so far (I still have a few more to go) has been "Folk Lure" which was unique (although this one among others has nothing to do with vampires). For 7$ you can't go wrong, if you like this type of read, then I'm sure you'll find at least 8 great stories in this one.

As a time travel fanatic, I try to get my hands on every time travel book I can find. This one really didn't live up to my expectations. Why? Well, most stories were either unoriginal, or started nice but the ending was completely predictable. This was, literally, a collection of boring stories. I think one of the things I like about time travel books, is that the ending can be really tricky - there are so many ways such stories can have a punch line, and even after reading many of these books I still find myself surprised most of the time. Sadly, it wasn't the case with this collection of stories..
There was only one story which was more or less okay, "Blood Trail", about a police officer who is sent in time to try and find the identity of a serial killer. The officer is not allowed to change anything, but he CAN try and gather information about the killer which will enable catching him in the present. However, the officer really, really doesn't like to see people killed in front of his eyes...
To summarize: if you have nothing else on your list, go for it, or even if you just MUST read every time travel book you can find (like me). However, don't expect anything above average, and most stories don't even live up to that.

I was really looking forward to receiving this book after I ordered it, having read other time travel anthologies such as _Timegates_, _Tales in Time_ and others. But _Past Imperfect_ is aptly -- or should I say "appedly" -- named, for it's packed full o' typos. Seriously, I've never read a professionally published book with so many misspelled words, words left out, etc. Kind of takes you out of the moment when you're reading, no pun intended.

As for the stories themselves, only a few of the twelve were worth the read: "Palimpsest Day" and "Gift of a Dream" stand out, but others were fairly old-hat, "oops, I just killed my future self"-type tales, or ones that were high on technical merit but short on human feeling.

If you're a time-travel fanatic and want to read all-new stories, you may want to skim this book, but be prepared to trip over typos. A better option, in my opinion, would be to peruse some oldies but goodies in _About Time_, a collection of time-related stories by Jack Finney.

_..to finish this one. I have read all but two story's in this book and I am so impressed with it , well if I put it down today, I could sleep well and satisfied.
_I almost feel like I ripped off the writers and the publisher because I got WAY more than my money's worth in this one.
_I am completely happy with these up-to-date exciting and great storys...

suck

This collection of Twilight Zone literature includes Bradbury's "I Sing the Body Electric," a classic, and several other classics that are unforgettable.

I think that these collections have some of the best ironies out of all of the Twilight Zone episodes. Aside from "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," this book has the necessary works for the Twilight Zone lovers.

Recommended to any sci-fi fanatics--

I loved this book. All of the stories were fantastic, I recommend it.