Subject: Review: ALL-AMERICAN ALIEN BOY by Allen Steele

From: "Evelyn C Leeper" <[email-masked]>
Date: 14 Jan 1998 10:45:50 -0500

ALL-AMERICAN ALIEN BOY by Allen Steele
         Ace, ISBN 0-441-00460-1, 1997 (1996), 267pp, US$5.99
                  A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
		    Copyright 1998 Evelyn C. Leeper

     There is no story in this collection titled "All-American Alien Boy,"
but the subtitle of the book gives us the answer to the title: "The United
States as Science Fiction, Science Fiction as a Journey: A Collection."
Who is the "All-American Alien Boy"?  It's Steele.  But it's also each of
us.  Well, some of us are All- American Alien Girls, but you get the
idea.

     After all, isn't there something a bit alien in the idea of renting
out your body for science ("The Good Rat")?  Alien, yes, but also very
capitalist and, well, American.  Whether it's the shopping mall, the
demolition derby, or Rock City, Steele takes something very American, and
shows us how alien it is at the same time.

     As if that isn't enough, Steele's introductions actually add
something to the understanding of the stories. Too many authors, when
confronted with the task of introducing their own stories, resort to
either a bald description of how they came to write the story, or some
brief -- preferably humorous -- anecdote about it. Steele uses this
opportunity to talk about the ideas behind the story -- what he thinks
about UFO abduction stories, for example.

     What this means is that even if you have all the stories from their
original publications, this book is still worth getting.

%T      All-American Alien Boy
%A      Allen Steele
%C      New York
%D      1996
%I      Ace
%O      paperback, US$5.99 [1997]
%G      ISBN 0-441-00460-1
%P      267pp

Evelyn C. Leeper    |  [email-masked]
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