Science Fiction may be the only literary genre where this type of work would be acceptible. In most others, it might be regarded as navel-gazing or self-congratulatory piffle. SF, though, is a bit of an in-group thing, and folks who really love SF are only too happy to set up endless in-jokes about their favorite writers, series, etc.

Mike Resnick has created yet one more first rate collection of alternate history stories, but in this case it is stories about SF writers and trops turned slightly on their heads. What if Fritz Leiber became an actor instead of a great SF writer? What if a slightly funnier and intelligent SF writer had "developed" Dianetics? WARNING: if you're new to SF or not a deep and heavy fan, some of these stories will run right over your head so often, you'll develop athlete's foot of the scalp. If you worship the genre, though, this is your book.

Oh, and the title? Hard-core SF fans hate the current fashion of referring to their favorite genre as "sci-fi", preferring instead the initials "SF". Thus, that awful and hated phrase is prounced "skiffy".

Her essays on narcolepsy, Mormon excommunication, and copyediting are just some of the truly unique and compulsively readable chapters of this unique book. I recommend it to almost any reader. But particularly if you care about language and the quality of writing, or about science fiction fandom, will you find this book compelling.

It's particularly disappointing when editors touting themselves as experts can't be reliable sources for much more than safe picks. SF should be cutting edge. A little vision and originality would have saved it, and maybe 30 years ago it would've been less dull.

I approached this book with caution. There are many annual anthologies of science fiction or fantasy that now appear. Unfortunately, the mediocre quality of many of these anthologies makes one wonder about the state of speculative fiction. Starlight I doesn't fall into the trap of being a thematic collection. What Nielsen has done instead, is provide us with a breadth of very good work that isn't tied to any theme. These stories are here because they are flat out good. This is a wide ranging collection that cannot be defined as science fiction or fantasy. I am appreciative of Hayden because of the fresh new voices that appear here. Yet none of these stories by unknown writers tries to be something it isn't. They each share an understated committment to good writing and simple but substantive language. I highly recommend this anthology for readers of science fiction and fantasy, but especially for readers who might have shied away from a science fiction or fantasy themed anthology because of preconceptions of ridiculous space wars or sword and sorcery images. This is exceptional reading and one that should have a wide audience.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden has selected a hugely entertaining collection of original short stories, impressive in their scope and the quality of their writing. If you like well-written literary science fiction and fantasy, this is the book to buy.

If you liked the Liavek series, you'll like this book. If you are a fan on Ms. Bull's other books such as War for the Oaks, or Finder, you might like this book, but you might not. I enjoyed the short story format that this book was published in, because I can pick it up and put it down again. I liked the mixed bag of stories, some were very good, some were mediocre, but there is enough variey to have something for everyone. I am a fan of the 'Borderland/ Finder' and 'Elsewhere' books by Ms. Bull & Mr. Shetterly, and so was a little disappointed that most of the stories were not in that genre, but in spite of my disappointment I really did get caught up in the individual short stories and thououghly enjoyed them. Both authors have a gift with words that can paint their pictures in your imagination, and leave you wondering about the characters long after you've finished their particular story.

I guess I'm old fashioned or maybe just addicted to "hard" SF but when I see a title like "Starlight 3" I'm expecting some space stories or at least some interesting short hard science fiction - NOT!

This stuff leans much more toward fantasy than SF. I guess the lines have been blurred. Oh well, I got it at the library so I'm not out any cash. If you're looking for some fantasy style short fiction then this may be for you. If you're looking for some hard SF, stay away.

The newest edition of Patrick Nielsen Hayden's original anthology series _Starlight_ is a pretty solid book, certainly not hurting the reputation of this series as one to rival _Orbit_ or _New Dimensions_ or _Universe_ in quality and consistency, but it's vaguely disappointing: I guess because while there are a whole lot of really good stories, there are no superb stories, nothing like say "Story of Your Life" from the second issue.

I'll mention some highlights. Ted Chiang is back, with "Hell is the Absence of God", a rather intriguing and deadpan look at a world much like our own in which the existence of Heaven and Hell are objectively proven: indeed, the souls in Hell can be seen, and in which angels occasionally come to Earth, typically causing a mixture of miraculous events and capricious disasters. The story focuses on an unpious man whose beloved wife is killed and ascends to Heaven in one such angelic visitation, and who tries to find a way to love God and thus reach Heaven to rejoin her, against all his instincts. My favorite piece might have been Maureen McHugh's "Interview: On Any Given Day", about a teenaged girl who becomes infected with a potentially cancerous agent after an odd affair with a rejuvenated older man -- the story not only describes a near future teenage milieu quite well, but it's particularly good at what it's really about, in kind of a sideways fashion: the affect of this rejuvenation technology on people, particularly the sad older man who has the affair with the main character. This was a very real-seeming story -- McHugh at close to her best. Susan Palwick's "Gestella" takes a very simple (even silly) gimmick: what if werewolves share the 7/1 lifespan ratio with humans that real canids are said to have, and extrapolates it to a very scary conclusion in telling of the relationship of the title werewolf with a shallow professor. And it's a great example of effective, and, it seems to me, narratively essential, use of the second person. I'm a great fan of Susanna Clarke's stories, few as they have been. "Tom Brightwind, or, How the Fairy Bridge was Built at Thoresby" is a witty piece about Tom Brightwind, a fairy, and his human friend, the Jewish doctor David Montefiore, and said bridge, and the means and results of its building. Light-hearted, clever, fun stuff. Madeleine E. Robins' "La Vie en Ronde" is one of the more original stories I've read recently -- I can't say much more about it, but I found it intriguing if a bit hard to figure out. Alex Irvine's "The Sea Wind Offers Little Relief" is also intriguing, and hints at being a really special story, but didn't quite come together for me. Still, it was different: about a future in which the Assimilation has occurred: electronic communications and direct mind-computer uplinks have become so common that any communication that can be concealed, such as reading plain text, is illegal. After nearly 150 years of imprisonment for forbidden reading, a man is released in order to read and explain a poem. The poem encapsulates another mystery. I've had similar feelings about a couple of Irvine's stories: that there are really neat ideas behind them, and that I'm just barely missing some great point -- so they seem not successful, really, but very promising. (In a different way, this story reminded me of a story from _Starlight 1_: John Ford's "Erase/Record/Play".) The last story in the book is Terry Bisson in his most openly satirical mode, and pretty effective at it: a rapist and murderer becomes converted to Christianity, and some unsavory sorts decide to stage a crucifixion by convincing him that his conversion experience means that his death penalty must mimic Christ's. Bisson aims at a lot of targets in the story, which makes it seem a bit scattershot at times, but it's still pretty solid satire.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden turns out another outstanding Starlight anthology. If only they could come out on a more regular basis. The Starlight series is the only significant original fiction anthology series on the market.

Starlight 3 follows up the first two Starlights admirably. The quality of fiction in the book is consistently high, occasionally achieving excellence.

The high point of the anthology for me was 'Senator Bilbo' by Andy Duncan. Duncan stumbled across a reference to an old Southern senator named Bilbo and turned it into a story about an old right-wing hobbit senator who wants to maintain the 'purity' of the Shire. Duncan does a great job of portraying a changing Middle Earth without comprising Tolkien's vision.

Other highlights include 'Wolves till the World Goes Down' by Greg van Eekhout, 'Hell Is the Absence of God' by Ted Chiang, 'Gestella' by Susan Palwick, and 'Power Punctuation!' by Cory Doctorow. This is not to say that the other stories in the collection are not fine stories as well. Every story in this collection is well-written and worth reading.

Many of the stories have a deeper goal beyond entertainment. Chiang's story ponders spirituality and ethics. Palwick's 'Gestella' is a sad love story between a human and a werewolf who ages at a rapid pace. Colin Greenland's 'Wings' is set in a world where angels are commonplace and humanity must reconcile itself to new truths.

Truly an excellent anthology. I look forward to a Starlight 4 and hope it's published in a timely manner!

I didn't care about the characters. An overall flatness of the collection indicates it's not so much the writers, but that the life has been edited out of these stories by the editor. If you just need something to pass the time, or need a cure for insomnia, read this book. There is nothing stellar about it.

In my experience "literary" fiction is often too remote or confusing to enjoy. Most of these stories have that fault. A curious exception is the Argentine translation which seemed like a relatively straightforward (compared to the others) fantasy about a young prince. I normally don't like fantasy, but it was of the made up kingdom variety & I can tolerate that. For an example of too remote there's "Lock Down" which might have been good if I had any reason to care about the characters. For too confusing there's "The Amount to Carry" which is so weird I think I blocked it out. There are some good stories here though. "Divided by Infinity" is a disturbing "Twilight Zonish" type story. Rapharel Carter's is kind of funny & I could've believed it was nonfiction if I didn't know better. Ted Chiang has won all sorts of awards even though he's published only 4 stories. His story was intriguing if sometimes hard to follow. I'd almost call it hard sf about grammar. Chiang's, Wilson's & maybe Carter's have a shot at making it to Dozois' year's best. In conclusion though I feel like I should warn you that these stories aren't entertaining or fun & that reading them has been a somewhat unpleasant experience for me. Despite being intellectually stimulating & addicting. I'd like to be for supporting original sf&f anthologies, but be forewarned. Note also that if you're the type who likes Kafka or subscribes to Crank! you'll probably like it.

Starlight 2 is another stunning collection of original short stories. Starlight 2 is a reminder that the short story form isn't dead, it isn't even sleeping. The worst story in the collection is good, the the best will leave you breathless. There is something about the order in which the stories are put that comprises a dramatic arc, though I can't analyze it. Nevertheless, unlike many anthologies, Starlight 2 is a cover-to-cover read, with resonances between the stories even though they are otherwise unlinked. That touch of artistry alone sets this anthology above most others.