This anthology has been a pleasure to read. It compiles some of the best stories published in Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine during over 65 years and the result is a well-balanced and highly enjoyable mixture of old and more recent stories; of classic and less known tales (although all of them are by really well-known authors); of stories I had already read and of stories which were new to me; of deep, dark, sad, light and funny works.
I didn’t care for all the stories, of course, but I didn’t dislike a single one, and most of them were notable and even excellent. Among those new to me my standouts were those by George Alec Effinger, Stephen King and C. M. Kornbluth; and among my re-reads, those by Robert Sheckley, Harlan Ellison, and “The People of Sand and Slang”, by Paolo Bacigalupi, my absolute personal favorite.
Highly recommended for any short fiction lover and a must-read for SF/fantasy fans. ( )