Fireflood and Other Stories explained

Fireflood and Other Stories
Author:Vonda N. McIntyre
Cover Artist:Charles Shields
Country:United States
Language:English
Genre:science fiction short stories
Publisher:Houghton Mifflin
Release Date:1979
Media Type:Print Hardcover, Paperback
Pages:281
Isbn:0-395-28422-8

Fireflood and Other Stories is the first collection of short work by Vonda N. McIntyre, published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin in 1979 and reprinted in paperback by Timescape Books in 1981. UK editions were issued by Gollancz in 1980 and by Pan Books in 1982; it was also issued by the Science Fiction Book Club.[1] Fireflood placed fifth in the annual Locus Poll for best collection.[2]

Contents

Reception

Thomas M. Disch gave the collection a mixed review, noting the "literary failings" of a talented but inexperienced writer. He faulted McIntyre's work for manifesting "two extraordinary features", which he suggested contributed to her success with her "chosen audience": first, "a worldview that divides everyone into an uncaring, imperceptive, closed-minded Them and a loving, hip, holistic, and victimized Us"; second, "a tendency toward tears." He praised McIntyre as "a talented storyteller [and] a writer who works at perfecting her craft and extending her range," singling out her ability to "write spare, modulated prose of varying intensity."[3]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?38597 ISFDB bibliography
  2. http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit90.html#3507 Locus Index to SF Awards
  3. http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472068968-18.pdf "Books -- 1979: Fluff and Fizzles"