Subject: TOMORROW SUCKS edited by Greg Cox and T. K. F. Weisskopf

From: [email-masked] (Evelyn C Leeper)
Date: Sun, 8 Jan 1995 04:58:12 GMT

TOMORROW SUCKS edited by Greg Cox and T. K. F. Weisskopf
             Baen, ISBN 0-671-87626-0, 1994, 271pp, $4.99
                   A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
		    Copyright 1994 Evelyn C. Leeper

     In these days when it seems as though publishers think every
anthology must have at least two dozen stories, all new, it's almost a
relief to see a good, old-fashioned reprint anthology, even if it is
titled "Tomorrow Sucks" and has a terribly trendy cover.  Think of it:
there are only eleven stories here, and they've all been printed
before.  Of course, the fact that they are by such authors as Ray
Bradbury, Brian Stableford, Keith Roberts, Roger Zelazny, and
C. L. Moore may help sell this radical concept.

     The stories are bracketed by essays by the editors talking about
the history of the vampire story and its connection with science
fiction, since what supposedly sets these vampire stories apart is that
they *are* science fiction.  (The cover caption is "SF in a Jugular
Vein.")  But the editors seem willing to stretch a point--if there's
something science-fictional about "Kaeti's Nights" by Keith Roberts, I
must have missed it.

     As with most anthologies, there are some good stories and some
not-so-good (in my opinion, of course--your mileage may vary).  The
Roberts and the Stableford stories are very good (and perhaps the least
science-fictional of the bunch).  On the other hand, I tired of Spider
Robinson's "Callahan" stories long ago, and his foray into the world of
vampires hasn't changed my mind.  One wonders how they missed Damon
Knight's classic "Eripmav" (with NESFA scoring a merchandising coup
when they reprinted it--on a T-shirt!).

     In general, although I like science fiction, I seem to prefer my
vampire stories as more supernatural and less scientific, at least
based on my likes and dislikes here.  Even so, there's a wide enough
range of lesser known vampire stories here that there will be something
to please most fans of the genre.

%E   Cox, Greg 
%E   Weisskopf, T. K. F. 
%B   Tomorrow Sucks
%I   Baen
%C   New York
%D   October 1994
%G   ISBN 0-671-87626-0
%P   271pp
%O   pb, $4.99

-- 
Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | [email-masked]
"As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as 
 certain about anything as were the people who built this place."
            -Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg on her visit to Auschwitz