John Varley sold his first story, "Picnic on Nearside," in 1974. By 1985 his stories had garnered him three Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards, and nine Locus Awards, with a tenth Locus in 1987. This collection includes all of the Hugo and Nebula stories and several of the Locus stories. It's a great place to start if you've heard of Varley but haven't read him yet. Even if you have his other collections, you'll want this one as well, not only for the new material, but for the author's extensive comments that precede each story. ( )

every story within is different, yet they all contain a wonder, a spark that draws you in and pulls you forward. most exciting to me are the individual introductions lovingly written by the author detailing his life at the time each of the stories were written. ( )