Though most of the stories in this collection have the indelible stamp of the 70s on them - both in tone and relationship to technology - they are all readable and enjoyable. The most memorable to me was The Equalizer, about an Israeli scientist who discovers a superweapon and has to grapple with the consequences of potential proliferation. It reminded me of Jorge Luis Borges' short story Deutsches Requiem a little, and there were some other stories like Outward Bound that also touched on the ideas of culture and self-sacrifice vs self-preservation in a similar way. This wasn't a mind-blowing collection though, I guess mainly because it feels like all of these ideas have been picked over to death already. Spinrad wrote a response to literary critics after this came out, addressing the charge that he didn't present a single original voice in the collection. While it's true that there's somewhat of a diversity of style here, it's not like each voice is wildly different, and overall for whatever reason this isn't a particularly essential science fiction touchstone. Harsh, I know, but it's not a complete waste of time either. ( )

surrealistic magic realism..pretty good--for the'60s ( )

The Last Hurrah of the Golden Horde is a collection of 18 of Norman Spinrad’s short stories published in various magazines and short story collections between 1963 and 1969.

Carcinoma Angels - if you send your thoughts into do battle in uncharted territory be sure to remind them to keep a map so they can find their way back. – 4 stars

The Age of Invention – modern civilization – caveman style – 2 stars

Outward Bound – if your world of interstellar trading is one of hibernation and sub-light speed travel what would you think about the possibility of faster-than-light travel? - 4.5 stars

A Child of Mind – if you are part of an initial planet survey team and you find a planet with a life form that will give you anything you want for a price…what will you do? – 3.5 stars

The Equalizer – So we have a conversion bomb – now what? – 2 stars

The Last of the Romany – In a world where no one cares about traveling/exploring the desire to travel/explore must be taught. – I’ve always liked this story particularly the line “In fact, you can only do these things if you’re a little bit stupid. Stupid enough to believe that somewhere, sometime, there still is a Baghdad, and Samarkand is still Far.” – 5 stars

Technicality – how do you fight a militant pacifist? – 5 stars

The Rules of the Road – If you really want to travel to the stars you are going to have to learn how to do it. This story, like Clifford Simak’s “The Big Front Yard” is one of those stories I really wish was fact and not fiction. - 100 stars

Dead End – being taken care of even with absolutely nothing to do beats being in pain with absolutely nothing to do. - 1 star

A Night on Elf Hill – You’re a spacer at the end of your career and you have to pick one planet to call home. You know of one planet that appeals to every emotion and thought you ever had...but... –should you go there or somewhere else? - 3.5 stars

Deathwatch – even if immortality becomes a genetic trait recessive genes will still be a fact of life. – 2.5 stars

The Ersatz Ego – a psychiatric Manchurian candidate. – 3.5 stars

Neutral Ground – a consciousness-expanding drug lets you take voyages through you own mind to other places…and in those other places you get the feeling you are not alone. -3 stars

Once More, With Feeling – two time travelers from different eras meet up in San Francisco in 1967. – 1 star.

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane – Superman with a psychiatric problem will need a Supershrink. – 1.5 stars

Subjectivity – what happens when drug induced hallucinations become real? – 4 stars

The Entropic Gang Bang Caper – I could never quite decide the point of this short story - unrated

The Last Hurrah of the Golden Horde – a satirical take on drug dealing - .5 stars

Overall I think the short stories in this collection of Mr. Spinrad’s work have aged well. My favorite, of course, is Rules of the Road which I’ve read and re-read more times than I can recall. ( )