“SF writing of a rare quality” lifts this collection of stories from the renowned author of The Hustler and The Man Who Fell to Earth – Time Out

The author of the competitive pool thriller “The Hustler” and the groundbreaking sci-fi novel “The Man Who Fell to Earth”, Walter Tevis was also a master of the short story. His work was published in Playboy, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and many other magazines. This anthology collects some of his best short work. Full of wit, surprise, dark humor, and deep emotion, these stories pack a punch – and are ideal for fans of his longer work or those looking for an introduction to one of America’s most iconic sci-fi writers.

“The poetic imprints of a fine writer’s trail.” – The Times (London)

Contents

PART ONE: CLOSE TO HOME

1. Rent Control (1979)

2. A Visit From Mother (1981)

3. Daddy (1981)

4. The Apotheosis of Myra (1980)

5. Out of Luck (1980)

6. Echo (1980)

7. Sitting in Limbo (1981)

PART TWO: FAR FROM HOME

8. The Other End of the Line (1961)

9. The Big Bounce (1958)

10. The Goldbrick (1957)

11. The Ifth of Oofth (1957)

12. The Scholar’s Disciple (1969)

13. Far From Home (1958)

Review

"A moral tale that has elements of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Superman, and Star Wars."--Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Set in a far future in which robots run a world with a small and declining human population, this novel could be considered an unofficial sequel to Fahrenheit 451, for its central event and symbol is the rediscovery of reading."--San Francisco Chronicle
"Because of its affirmation of such persistent human values as curiosity, courage, and compassion, along with its undeniable narrative power, Mockingbird will become one of those books that coming generations will periodically rediscover with wonder and delight."--The Washington Post
"I've read other novels extrapolating the dangers of computerization but Mockingbird stings me, the writer, the hardest. The notion, the possibility, that people might indeed lose the ability, and worse, the desire to read, is made acutely probable."--New York Times bestselling author ANNE MCCAFFREY
"Walter Tevis is science fiction's great neglected master, one of the definitive bridges between sf and literature. For those who know his work only through the movies, the lucid prose and literary vision of Mockingbird and The Man Who Fell to Earth will come as a revelation."
--AL SARRANTONIO, Author of The Five Worlds saga

From the Inside Flap

Mockingbird is a powerful novel of a future world where humans are dying. Those that survive spend their days in a narcotic bliss or choose a quick suicide rather than slow extinction. Humanity's salvation rests with an android who has no desire to live, and a man and a woman who must discover love, hope, and dreams of a world reborn.