How We Play the Game in Salt Lake: And Other Stories

by M. Shayne Bell

From the pen of acclaimed writer M. Shayne Bell, winner of the Writers of the Future Contest, here are futures to make come true . . . and also futures that should never come true -- but will.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0759550069
• ISBN13: 9780759550063
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

16 stories from one of the great sf writers of our time

Over the past fifteen years, M. Shayne Bell has gained a reputation as one of the contemporary masters of literary science fiction. Stories like "Mrs. Lincoln's China," "The Thing About Benny," and "Homeless, With Aliens" have become bywords among a certain type of speculative fiction reader - the kind of reader who knows that any month in which M. Shayne Bell's name appears on the cover of Asimov's, F & SF, or any of the other big SF mags is a month in which we have great reading to look forward to. Alas, though Mr. Bell has garnered critical acclaim and numerous nominations and awards for his work, he remains one of those writers whose stature among fellow writers outstrips his name recognition among readers at large. I (along with a lot of other professionals in the field) hope that this collection will help change that. HOW WE PLAY THE GAME IN SALT LAKE is a jewel of a short story collection. Bell's style is unfailingly spare, elegant and understated. His subjects range from paleontology and genetic engineering to AIDS, the global economy and domestic violence. His characters cover a vast territory stretching from Africa and Siberia, to the slums and condos and paleontology digs of the American West. And, as always, Bell's work is subtle, thoughtful, and extraordinarily big-hearted. These are stories to be savored again and again, and this collection is a wonderful summing up of the career to date of one of today's major sf writers.