Sunday, July 12, 2009

Review: Moon Flights by Elizabeth Moon


Moon Flights Elizabeth Moon

Night Shade Books 7.99 us

pb 401 pp collection of stories

When I first received Moon's new book, I went straight to the TOC. One look and I am thinking...what? No stories about trip to the moon? what gives?! So lets talk for a moment about the unfortunate title of this collection....Moon - stories - flights of fancy - ummmm Moon.....Trips! No....Moon - Flights! Yeah! Groan.. And what's with the same ole Vatta style picture on the front...that's downright misleading.

Ok, clumsy title and misleading cover art aside, lets take a moment to talk about the contents.

First off the book opens with an excellent introduction from the grand dame of science fiction Anne McCaffrey. Next we only have to consider Moon's earlier works like the Vatta Wars series or the short story Tideline to realize that she is a major force in the science fiction world. So how does that transfer to Moon Flights. Well consider Elizabeth has included a new Vatta story for the book...that alone should be reason enough to check the book out. Her story "Say Cheese" is a refreshing departure from the War series but still captures the universe well and does it with good humor. But shorts like If Nudity Offends You or Gifts demonstrate a full range of not only the science fiction and mil/sci-fi but well into the fantasy realm as well.

And if this deters you from reading Moon Flights, you're missing out on some of her best examples to date of science fiction and military based science fiction like "Politics"

And there are many more, 15 Stories in all, that straddle the line or land well on either side. What is clear with this compilation is Moon is a force to be reckoned with whatever style or theme she should choose to write in. Thought provoking, intriguing and vastly entertaining are not an overstatement. Well worth checking out!

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