Originally intended to be a collaboration with the author, this collection of the most memorable short stories of the late George Alec Effinger is a tribute from those who best knew his work--his friends, fellow writers, and editors. In addition to handpicking their favorite pieces, Michael Bishop, Neil Gaiman, Barbara Hambly, Mike Resnick, Howard Waldrop, and others have contributed a personal introduction or afterword to accompany each selection that reveals their deep respect for and insights into the author. The short stories "The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything" and "Everything but Honor," both Hugo Award finalists, are among those included. Of special interest are seven previously uncollected short stories and a poem written under the author's pen name, O. Niemand. Introduced by Gardner Dozois, former editor of "Asimov Science Fiction Magazine," these stories are uniquely written in the style of other authors including Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, James Thurber, and Mark Twain. Considered by Effinger to be "sympathetic homage" rather than parody or caricature, they present his perspective on how these noted authors would have tackled science fiction, such as "The Man Outside," the John Steinbeck-inspired story about a loner in a domed city on an asteroid deep in space. <BR>

"Selected and introduced by Nebula-winner Effinger's fellow SF authors, these 22 provocative short stories represent three decades of fiction written under great physical and financial hardship. His friends often described Effinger (1947 — 2002), who called himself 'Piglet,' as 'fey,' a quality echoed in 'Two Sadnesses' and 'At the Bran Foundry,' both of which denounce a world gone so mad it devours its own young. Among his most memorable works are the eight 'O. Niemand' stories, pitch-perfect pastiches of such writers as Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck, which chronicle life, alienation and death on the asteroid Springfield, 'a rock in the middle of nowhere.' In the brilliant 'Solo in the Spotlight,' a U.S. president faced with an international 'situation' while on Air Force One depends on his teenage daughter to pull solutions out of her Barbie doll Tarot deck. While commenting on the absurdity of human actions, this compassionate tale underlines the awful truth that nobody's really in charge any more. Agent, Richard Curtis. (May)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)