John Varley

From the moment John Varley burst onto the scene in 1974, his short fiction was like nothing anyone else was writing. His stories won every award the science fiction field had to offer, many times over. His first collection, The Persistence of Vision, published in 1978, was the most important collection of the decade, and changed what fans would come to expect from science fiction.Now, The John Varley Reader gathers his best stories, many out of print for years. This is the volume no Varley fan-or science fiction reader-can do without.

An unlikely group of seven suburban misfits band together to construct a spaceship built out of old tanker cars that they call Red Thunder, determined to beat the Chinese in a race to become the first humans to set foot on Mars.

From back cover Ace paperback September 1999: All the universe is a stage -- and Sparky Valentine is its itinerant thespian. He makes his way from planet to planet as part of a motley theater troupe, bringing Shakespeare -- a version of it anyway -- to the outer reaches of Earth's solar system. Sparky can transform himself from young to old, fat to thin, even male to female, by altering magnetic implants beneath his skin. Indispensable hardware for a career actor -- and an interstellar con man wanted for murder...

Earth has been taken over by bizarre beings, and Man has made a new life on other planets, a strange life made possible by information provided by beings from Ophiuchi.

The son of one of the first men to fly to Mars and back, Ray Garcia-Strickland is now a disgruntled Martian, tired of the Red Planet's overdevelopment and the gravity-dependent tourist Earthies. But that doesn't stop him from fearing the worst when Earth is struck by an unknown object, causing a massive tsunami. Living high on his father's glory was okay, but now Ray must literally come down to Earth-and solve one of its greatest mysteries.

Too dark a scan to actually read.

Editorial: Escape to Reality? - essay by Isaac Asimov In the Country of the Blind, No One Can See - short story by Melisa Michaels Keepersmith - novelette by Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron Good Taste - novelette by Isaac Asimov To Sin Against Systems - novelette by Garry R. Osgood Louisville Slugger - short story by Jack C. Haldeman, II A Delicate Shade of Kipney - short story by Nancy Kress Air Raid - short story by John Varley [as by Herb Boehm] A Many Splendored Thing - short story by Linda Isaacs Boarder Incident - short story by Ted Reynolds Low Grade Ore - novelette by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. The Missing Item - short story by Isaac Asimov Heal the Sick, Raise the Dead - short story by Steve Perry [as by Jesse Peel] Polly Plus - short story by Randall Garrett A Time for Terror - novelette by Barry B. Longyear [as by Frederick Longbeard] Perchance to Dream - short story by Sally A. Sellers The Small Stones of Tu Fu - short story by Brian W. Aldiss Born Again - short story by Sharon N. Farber Good-Bye, Robinson Crusoe - novelette by John Varley How It Happened - short story by Isaac Asimov Quarantine - short story by Arthur C. Clarke Cautionary Tales - short story by Larry Niven A Bait of Dreams - novelette by Jo Clayton Against a Crooked Stile - short story by Nancy Kress Joelle - novella by Poul Anderson Dance Band on the Titanic - novelette by Jack L. Chalker [as by Jack Chalker] Softly Touch the Stranger's Mind - short story by E. Amalia Andujar Lorelei at Storyville West - short story by Sherwood Springer On the Way - short story by Conway Conley The Napoli Express - novella by Randall Garrett Darkside - novelette by Gary D. McClellan No Room in the Stable - short story by A. Bertram Chandler African Blues - short story by Paula Smith Coming of Age in Henson's Tube - short story by William John Watkins [as by William Jon Watkins] Home Team Advantage - short story by Jack C. Haldeman, II Star Train - short story by Drew Mendelson Bystander - short story by Alan Dean Foster Time and Hagakure - short story by Steven Utley Ghosts - short story by Keith Minnion A Simple Outside Job - short story by Robert Lee Hawkins The Last Defender of Camelot - novelette by Roger Zelazny Lost and Found - short story by Michael A. Banks and George Wagner Hellhole - short story by David Gerrold The Man Who Took the Fifth - short story by Michael Schimmel The Adventure of the Global Traveler or: The Global Consequences of How the Reichenbach Falls into the Wells of Iniquitie - short story by Anne Lear Backspace - short story by F. M. Busby On the Q167 File - short story by John M. Ford Horseless Carriage - short story by Michael A. Banks Pièce de Résistance - short story by J. F. Bone [as by Jesse Bone] Lipidleggin' - short story by F. Paul Wilson Omit Flowers - short story by Dean McLaughlin Message to Myself - short story by Diana L. Paxson One Rejection Too Many - short story by Patricia Nurse But Do They Ride Dolphins? - short story by Frederick S. Lord, Jr. When There's No Man Around - short story by Stephen Goldin Longshot - short story by Jack C. Haldeman, II Nothing for Nothing - short story by Isaac Asimov To Fill the Sea and Air - short story by F. Paul Wilson Guilt - novelette by James E. Gunn [as by James Gunn] Proud Rider - novelette by Barry B. Longyear

"Despite wars with Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as 9/11, the United States' dependence on foreign oil has kept the nation tied to the Middle East. A scientist has developed a cure for America's addiction--a slow-acting virus that feeds on petroleum, turning it solid. But he didn't consider that his contagion of an Iraqi oil field would spread to infect the fuel supply of the entire world ... In Los Angeles, screenwriter Dave Marshall heard this scenario from a retired U.S. Marine and government insider who acted as a consultant on Dave's last film. It sounded as implausible as many of his scripts, but the reality is much more frightening than anything he can envision. An ordinary guy armed with extraordinary information, Dave hopes his survivor's instinct will kick in so he can protect his wife and daughter from the coming apocalypse that will alter the future of Earth--and humanity ..."--

From a master of science fiction comes a brand-new noir novel set in the Eight Worlds universe, where a detective hunts for the biohackers who have created a dangerous new disease. Christopher Bach was a policeman in one of the largest Lunar cities when the A.I. Lunar Central Computer had a breakdown. Known as the Big Glitch, the problem turned out to be a larger war than anyone expected. When order was restored, Chris's life could never be the same. Now he's a private detective, assisted by his genetically altered dog Sherlock, and emulates the tough guys in the noir books and movies that he loves. When Bach takes the case of a woman involuntarily infected with an engineered virus, he is on the hunt to track down the biohackers in the infamous district of Irontown. But if he wants to save humanity, he'll have to confront his own demons.

From the back cover: The invaders came in 2050... They did not kill anyone outright. They said they came on behalf of the intelligent species of Earth -- dolphins and whales. The invaders quietly destroyed every evidence of technology, then peacefully departed, leaving behind plowed ground and sprouting seeds. In the next two years, ten billion humans starved to death. The remnants of humanity that survived relocated to the moon and other planets. But they are not alone in their struggle -- someone or something, somewhere in deep space, is sending them advanced scientific data via the Ophiuchi Hotline. And by the twenty-fifth century, the technological gifts from the Hotline -- especially its biological and medical solutions -- have created a world unlike any ever known or imagined...

Souls - novella by Joanna Russ Fire Watch - novelette by Connie Willis Melancholy Elephants - short story by Spider Robinson Cascade Point - novella by Timothy Zahn Blood Music - novelette by Greg Bear Speech Sounds - short story by Octavia E. Butler Press Enter ▮ - novella by John Varley Bloodchild - novelette by Octavia E. Butler The Crystal Spheres - short story by David Brin