A selection of science fiction short stories and novelettes from overlooked golden-age/new-wave author Daniel F. Galouye. Galouye is best known for Simulacron-3, which was way ahead of its time and more or less The Matrix 35 years early. The book was adapted into a German mini-series called World on a Wire in the 1970s and a film called The Thirteenth Floor in 1999, the same year as The Matrix. Galouye isn't overly stylistic. His prose functions and rarely calls attention to itself, though I would not call it clinical. I have only brushed the surface of Galouye's work, but what I have read tells me that the appeal is in his ideas, which are suitably delivered and usually without the kind of campiness that often comes with the sci-fi of this period. This collection is a mixed bag, but I enjoyed reading most of the stories in spite of some flaws.


Shuffle Board - 3.9

A future setting in which the earth is plagued by an unmanageable build-up of radioactive waste all over the globe. "Shuffle crews" are constantly required to expose themselves and move the materials around to less lethal locations, only for them to negatively impact other areas and cause more problems later down the line; the cycle repeats itself from generation to generation. The coordinator for the "shuffle board", short-staffed and overwhelmed with tasks, finds himself secretly faking his public radiation levels in order to lead necessary operations - but what will the consequences be for his pregnant wife?

This was an interesting concept, functionally delivered. Easy to read and an interesting ending. Worthwhile.


Recovery Area - 2.9

An interesting tale of space colonisation, switching perspectives between the home race and the invader. Starts off in a very intriguing fashion with good worldbuilding but ultimately becomes a bit of a slog. Characters are hard to keep track of here, either because their double-barrelled alien names are plucked from 'how to write fantasy' guides or simply because they are so thinly drawn. Ultimately, it became less compelling for me as it went on.


Rub-a-dub - 3.9

An at times confusing but very inventive and cerebral exploration of identity and nature of the soul. A woman is undergoing a psychological procedure in order to remove three personalities that were previously imprinted on her, done for the sake of a mission that required a light load but several skillsets. The difficulty is these personalities have a sense of individuality; they feel they have a right to live and are being killed off. The story is engaging throughout and features some fun, wacky sequences as the impressions dance about the Id, dodging attacks on their existence and sense of reality. It gets a little weird with a romantic angle that has some odd implications, and I wasn't entirely convinced by the conclusion.


Reign of the Telepuppets - 2.75

A collection of machines sent out to a planet gain a sense of self, forgetting their origins, with one concluding that it must be God. The story concerns an unwitting team sent to investigate the situation and a mysterious third party who observe them from afar. There are a lot of neat ideas, but the story is very muddled and it is not well paced. By the end I was admittedly a bit confused as to what was going on. Not one of the strongest in the collection.


Project Barrier - 2.5

Readable and mildly interesting, but I couldn't quite bring myself to seriously invest in bears with human characteristics. A little too reliant on the big reveal, which I saw coming a mile away. The less you know going in the better, though I would consider it skippable.


The 1st and 3rd stories in the collection are easily the strongest. Simulacron 3 is a much stronger work than both. I'm looking forward to reading Dark Universe. ( )