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Reviews

Before he died in 1995, Roger Zelazny commissioned 16 science fiction authors (including Frederik Pohl, Andre Norton, Poul Anderson, Ben Bova, and John Brunner) to write an introduction, 14 short stories, and two poems for this volume honoring master sf writer Jack Williamson. David Brin's introduction to Williamson and his work is echoed by several of the authors in the essays that follow their stories. Most of the stories either involve Williamson as a character or use one of his themes, stories, or characters. A familiarity with Williamson's work would benefit the reader. For libraries with strong sf collections of Williamson's books.

The Williamson of the title is Jack ("With Folded Hands," etc.), who began his SF career before the advent of the Golden Age and is still at it as he nears 90. It's no surprise, then, that this all-original fictional Festschrift is bylined by some other giants of the field, including Frederick Pohl, Poul Anderson, Ben Bova, Fred Saberhagen, John Brunner, Andre Norton and editor Zelazny. The 14 stories and two poems here riff on Williamson's work, play off his best known character, Giles Habibula and his "bad" robots, the humanoids, and also fictionalize Williamson himself. The best use Williamson's ideas as jumping off points: Brunner's "Thinkertoy," a short, sharp and nasty piece concerning a father and his damaged children, brings the idea of a bad robot all too close to home; Pati Nagle's "Emancipation" is reminiscent of Golden Age SF but adds several modern touches as it tells a tale of star travel and spirituality. Jane Lindskold's chilling "Child of the Night" adds a dimension by acknowledging that Williamson also writes fantasy. The collection is bleak, however, despite the injection of humor that is Jeff Bredenberg's "The Human Ingredient," and too many of its entries disappoint, like "Nonstop to Portales," which isn't up to Connie Willis's usual snuff. Ultimately, this work is nobler in aim than in execution-and reading it serves as a poor substitute for another run through the best work of its legendary subject. (May)