This is a great book. I loved it. James Patrick Kelly has written a book that's facinating. How do I know this? I met James Patrick Kelly and had him autograph my copies of Look Into The Sun and Planet of Whispers. This is the story
of Philip Wing, an architect who'd built the New Wonder of the World. However, the aliens who'd provided the technology, the Messengers, have returned to Earth with a
new message of "religious" significance. It saps the human
aggressiveness and Philip loses his wife, Daisy, to the Messengers. In the process, he meets Haruman, a Chani,
from a planet around 82 Eridani. When he loses Daisy to the Messengers, he turns to Harumen.

The conventional wisdom about Jim Kelly is that he's first and foremost a master of short fiction, but this terrific novel argues otherwise. One of the rare novels about a creative artist in which we are actually shown, not just told about, the work of art being created -- not just Kelly's character but Kelly himself has solved the problem of devising a suitable tomb for a goddess! I read the first half of this a bit at a time, finding it engaging and thought-provoking but not compelling. Little did I know that Kelly was just putting his many plot pieces on the chessboard; I read the second half in one sitting.

James Patrick Kelly is one of the 'best' writers currently active in the speculative fiction field. I seem to say that a lot, therefore I say 'one of the best.'
The other --first reviewer-- was partly right in assuming that it's unfair for some writers to have such a limited audience -- at least that's what I read in his/her review. Writers who tend to write at a more slow pace than some of their colleagues --and who are also published by small presses {like Golden Gryphon, which is a very good publisher, believe me} have a difficult time in trying to reach a large enough audience.
Quality is much more important than quantity --IMO-- and if you too share this opinion, then it might me a good idea to read --and to buy-- this collection.
There is one terrific story in this collection that makes you forget the purchase-price.
There's actually a whole bunch of talented writers, so I think the future of SF look fairly bright. Some of these are: the above mentioned Kelly, Chiang, Swanwick, Ford {Jeffrey}, Egan, Vandermeer, etc.
A reprint of Kelly's first collection is on its way {in paperback, so the price should be more friendly}.
Conclusion: buy this book if you...Do you like short stories? Do you like quality reading? Do you like SF? If only one yes BUY this book. The more yesses means the less likely you'll ever forget Kelly's name.
Thanks for reading my opinion.

Why has James Patrick Kelly not reached a mass-market audience? Why have his two short story collections been published by small print houses? "Why" has always been a difficult question to answer, but I believe there are two reasons for this. The first, of course, is his relatively slow writing pace. American audiences demand things that are NEW; new films, new books, new television shows. They don't seem to like things that are over two years old; they feel it has bad karma and could feasibly destroy their eternally youthful outward appearance. If you've never read The Pearl by John Steinbeck, or Animal Farm by George Orwell, why aren't they considered new? As Charles Dickens said, any book you haven't read before is new. When do you suppose was the last time Average Joe, sitting in his favorite plush office chair and reading Stephen King's latest thousand-pager, read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad? Or Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, or Cannery Row by John Steinbeck? You may be saying now that I've been unfairly critical and overtly patronizing. Well, you would be correct in that statement--but believe me, I include it here only to make a point that is, I believe, in essence, true.

And so, ranting aside, I present unto you my review of James Patrick Kelly's wonderful collection of short stories, Strange but Not a Stranger. By turns witty, funny, insightful, frightening, or intense, the word that practically springs to mind that describes the entire book is entertaining. Your attention quotient, as Connie Willis duly noted in the introduction, will be at a constant peak. Thus, I present as evidence for my cause: "Hubris," "The Propagation of Light in a Vacuum," "10^16 to 1," "Undone."

But where is the description of these aforementioned stories, you ask? Where are the cleverly placed lines of wit, the insightful comments? As with all James Patrick Kelly stories, you have to read it to believe it. But be forewarned: reading these stories is merely half of the journey, for the stories have hidden meanings that will haunt you until you're sure you've figured them out, sure that you've gotten your full money's worth out of them, and suddenly, without warning, they come at you again with another viewpoint or idea for consideration. To put it succinctly, and to practically make the rest of this review obsolete, this book is worthy of a spot on your bookshelf. Enough said.

Great characterization, well written. Explores what it means to be alive and human, particularly in terms of artificial intelligence.

This tape is well done. The sound effects create an atmosphere that draws in the listener. The actors are dramatic, but not overly so. The short stories themselves are well written, delivering edge-of-the-chair suspense (or knee-slapping comedy, as the case may be).

As most net surfers are aware the Sci-Fi Channel's web site has included a section devoted to science fiction radio drama...Seeing Ear Theatre. One aspect of which includes originally produced productions cerated especially for the site and which has featured performances by many well-known SF actors as Micheal O'Hare,Mark Hamill,Marina Sirtis,and others. With a few exceptions, a lot of the dramas are based on recent short stories by SF writers such as Terry Bisson, Allen Steele, John Kessel and Gergory Benford. With the release of this audiobook editon(which includes introductions by SF's resident angry young{sic}man Harlan Ellison)now one can listen to these stories anytime you want. The best stories(IMO)are the Three Odd Comedies and The Death of Captain Future (which despite the pulpish-sounding title is a darkly humorous tale set in the future history of Steele's previous works such as Orbital Decay and Clarke County,Space). If you like audio drama-- especially newly produced audio drama...you'll love this collection and you may also want to check out Vol. 2 which should be on sale soon(I know I can't wait).

WOW what a story! Brian Smith could sell this as a short story by itself it is so good IMO. I just wish they sold a hard copy of these writings--not just audio! I have been reading Sci Fi for a long time. This guy is great! Reminds me of 2001, a space odyssey a bit. Worth the price just for this one folks! I noticed there are no other books by Brian Smith for sale on Amazon. What's up with that? He needs to write books, and Amazon needs to sell them--geez, do I make myself clear?

James Patrick Kelly is a wonderful secret. If you polled a representative sampling of readers who call themselves SF fans, I would bet that not 50% are familiar with James Patrick Kelly. This is a shame because Mr. Kelly's work are of the very highest quality. This collection of short fiction shows off the very best of Kelly's stories and not one of them should be missed.

My favorite story of the collection is 'Mr. Boy', a wonderful novella about a 25-year-old who has re-engineered himself to remain in a 12-year-old body. This is Mr. Boy. Throughout the story Mr. Boy begins to mature, and he's not quite sure how to handle this. This 60+ page novella makes the entire collection worth purchasing, but there's so much more.

The wonderful stories "Rat", "Monsters", "Think Like a Dinosaur", and many more make this one of the most outstanding collections that I've had the good fortune to come across. Like all Golden Gryphon press books, this is an extraordinary collection from a very talented author. The Golden Gryphon imprint on a book is enough to make me open the wallet, even if it's an author that I am totally unfamiliar with. They put out excellent quality books filled with very good fiction. Highly recommended.

This volume contains fourteen of Kelly's best stories,including twoHugo nominees and four Nebula nominees. The title story is the best known, and the most discussed, of all of them, seen by many as a response or follow-up to Tom Godwin's classic, "The Cold Equations." The other stories represent the best of Kelley's work, and make it available in a permanent form. This is the first volume from a new publisher, Golden Gryphon, and is a very well-produced volume. (I hope someone is bringing single-author collections such as these to the attention of libraries, since they provide the only way for most libraries to get some of the best work of today's leading authors.)

Golden Gryphon Press has been publishing a long and wide range of single author short-story collections--and I must, obviously, admit that James Patrick Kelly's (author of WILDLIFE and LOOK INTO THE SUN) THINK LIKE A DINOSAUR AND OTHER STORIES has gained a special place in my heart. One of the leading SF stylists, Kelly's stories have a perfect blend of lyricism and sheer storytelling power; recently, he has earned well-deserved attention with his Hugo-winning stories, "Think Like a Dinosaur" and "10^16 to 1," respectively. Pick up this collection at all costs.