Endangered Species

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 512 pages
• Published by: Orb Books August 26, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0765310333
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0765310330
• Book Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Weighs: 1 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
Wolfe, whose tetralogy The Book of the New Sun was the most acclaimed science fiction series of the 1980s, offers his second collection, a hefty volume of over thirty stories in a variety of genres--SF, fantasy, horror, mainstream. Many of them are variations on themes and situations found in folklore and fairy tales; Wolfe's deconstructions/reconstructions are provocative, multilayered, resonant. Occasionally, too, they seem intentionally enigmatic. Two of the stories, "The Cat" and "The Map," are set in the universe of his New Sun novels. "A Cabin on the Coast" tells of a promising politician who loses his lover to the fey folk living in the sea. He strikes a bargain for her return, promising to undergo twenty years of servitude. When his lover finally returns, he has lost his youth, and with it, we assume, his future. "In the House of the Gingerbread" is a variation on "Hansel and Gretel" rewritten as a contemporary detective story; and "The Detective of Dreams" is an Arabian Nights tale as told by G. K. Chesterton--its spiritual subtext is made explicit in the end. A predominance of great stories makes this a rewarding book.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Genetic engineering brings mythology to life in "The lady Who Loved the Centaur Pholtus" and "The lady the Unicorn Loved," while a college experiment in social systems goes dangerously awry in "When I Was Ming the Merciless." Wolfe's second collection of short stories exemplifies the sometimes elusive, always challenging vision of an author whose love of language exceeds the boundaries of genre. For most libraries.-- JC
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Endangered Species (Mass Market Paperback) Wolfe's second short story collection is packed with excellence, but it goes on too long. At over five hundred pages and twenty stories, it is hard to maintain interest while reading straight through the book. The book is still worth reading, containing many stories of the highest quality, but I suggest reading through it at a slower pace.