This is a reasonably satisfying anthology of ten varied stories, all set in our solar system (one for each planet plus the sun). All ten were new to me. My favorite was Michael Swanwick’s surreal “The Very Pulse of the Machine.” I also enjoyed Nancy Kress’ “Touchdown,” Brian Aldiss’ “The Difficulties Involved in Photographing Nix Olympica,” and John Varley’s “Goodbye, Robinson Crusoe.” Lucius Shepard’s “The Sun Spider” was perhaps the most ambitious story in the collection, but it didn’t quite click for me. The only one that left me truly disappointed was G. David Nordley’s “Dawn Venus,” a reasonably entertaining romantic adventure with wooden characters who interacted in unbelievable ways. ( )

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