Good Night, Mr. James: And Other Stories

3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews

A collection of mostly science fiction stories by Clifford Simak.

The logic behind the arrangement of most anthologies is a mystery to anyone but their editors, and that's true here. While the last volume (#3) in this series I reviewed had some of Simak's strongest work, this (#8) has a fair amount of filler - decent, but uninspiring, and not mostly at the level I look for from Simak. Happily, there are some standouts. The best stories are:

• Kindergarten - A mysterious alien box that gives perfectly targeted gifts. Highly reminiscent of “Operation Stinky” in volume 7, or vice versa, since that was written later.


• Death Scene - Foreknowledge of the coming day ends war, but it has its costs. A nicely understated story that illustrates its point without hitting us over the head with it.


• Census - When we've moved away from cities, and the census does more than just count people. The end leans toward the bathetic, but the bulk of the story is good.

Received free copy of book in exchange for honest review.

• Kindergarten - A mysterious alien box that gives perfectly targeted gifts. Highly reminiscent of “Operation Stinky” in volume 7, or vice versa, since that was written later.


• Death Scene - Foreknowledge of the coming day ends war, but it has its costs. A nicely understated story that illustrates its point without hitting us over the head with it.


• Census - When we've moved away from cities, and the census does more than just count people. The end leans toward the bathetic, but the bulk of the story is good.

Received free copy of book in exchange for honest review.