As much as I loved John Varley’s new novel MAMMOTH (see our review here), I cannot look to THE JOHN VARLEY READER with even half as much enthusiasm.
This book collects a slew of his short stories over a three-decade timespan, and is arranged more or less chronologically. Varley introduces each with a welcome (and often hefty) discussion of his life at that time and how the story came to be. These are really interesting – particularly his multi-page account of turning “Air Raid” into the ill-fated feature film MILLENNIUM – but sadly, far more interesting than the stories that follow.
The earlier the stories are, the harder they are to penetrate. Part of this may be due to the fact that Varley was – as he admits in the intros – often quite high on drugs at that point in his life. They’re not a total bust; “Press Enter” is an interesting (if dated) take on technology run amok, “The Barbie Murders” is a flawed attempt at setting a mystery within a sci-fi backdrop and “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank” is an amusing curiosity for those who have howled at the Raul Julia film showcased on MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000.
I’ve no doubt Varley’s hardcore readers will welcome it with open arms. Me? I look forward to MAMMOTH 2.
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Great blog.I seem to be spending my time one Sudoku too much so this is a relief lol.