As per any anthology, some stories are better than others. These are selected by Robert Silverberg, a wonderful author in his own right, but of a different age, and probably story selection that I wouldn't necessarily choose. Also, Zelazny was writing in the late 60's to 80's, and it shows. Some of these stories are weird, but of course, well written. For my favorites, "For a Breath I Tarry" is a story I've read before and it has stuck with me. Its a retelling of the Adam and Eve Myth, from a completely different angle. "Home is the Hangman" is a chilling story, and the ending comes out of left field. The rest of them blending into each other, not quite being memorable enough for me to remember. "24 Views of Mt. Fuji by Hokusai", "Permafrost", and "Come Back to the Killing Ground, Alice, My Love" are both chilling, stories about stalking.

I think that Zelazny has a way with words, and these stories are very influential on the science fiction genre, but for me, they didn't quite cut it. ( )

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3822535.html

An entire page has been omitted from the ebook. I repeat, the entire first page of the third story has been omitted. In fact, the last page of the previous story, "For a Breath I Tarry" is missing as well. Other pages are missing throughout the ebook. I don't think that I have ever seen this before, from any other ebook that I have ever read. It is shockingly contemptuous of the author and of the reader. I acquired this over a decade after publication, so there is no excuse for not fixing the problem.

In addition, the very title of the collection shows disrespect to both reader and writer. In Zelazny's lifetime, a largely different collection of stories was published with the same title, in 1980. Each story had an introduction from Zelazny, shedding light on what he was trying to do (and largely succeeding) in each case. There's none of that here, just an introduction from Robert Silverberg saying that Zelazny was a great guy and a great writer.

I never thought that the day would come when I actively disrecommended a book by Zelazny, one of my favourite authors, but that day has in fact come. All of the stories here are great, but all of them are readily available elsewhere, mostly in collections authorised by Zelazny in his lifetimes, and many of them can be found for free online. Shame on ibooks, Inc. for publishing such a crappy effort, and shame on the Zelazny estate for authorising it. I understand that the print edition of this collection was poorly produced and some buyers found that their copies fell apart. ( )

A more mature, with tongue firmly in cheek, Zelazny, this collection is a solid look at humans adapting and reacting to science and fantasy. Permafrost was a bit of a disappointment since I had heard Zelazny read it to celebrate the North Dakota weather. I suspect that Zelazny the reader could convey the cheeked tongue even better. ( )

SF & Fantasy short stories, several of which won awards. As always, he's a great read. The title story is his take on the Arthurian Legend & is, as always, unique. Other stories take fantasy into SF & vice versa in strange ways with a deft touch. He's one of the few authors that was a master of both the novel & short story. ( )

Zelazny has a gift, and that gift is an interesting narrative voice. Each of the stories in this collection has a very different style, from the biblico-mythologic "For a Breath I Tarry" to the meditative and very Japanese "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai". The style of his writing sets you in a different world and it almost doesn't matter where he then takes you. Zelazny also has some supernatural ability to provide lots of expository dialogue without making the narrative heavy. "Home is the Hangman" was a wonderful story and yet almost all of it is description of an AI, the process of creating it and the repercussions. It could have simply been an exploratory essay, but it made a great story, too.

"For a Breath I Tarry" was also one of my favorites. It is a sort of genesis tale involving machines and the mythos of humans. The topic of the story (machines trying to be human) has been done over and over and over again, but the voice he achieves here and the way he deals with the subject makes it a very balanced, very good story. (The characters who fill the role of deities kept reminding me of Archibald MacLeish's J.B.)

Another story (whose title I sadly forget) was a remarkably warm love story set in a euthenasia clinic. A man has to be a great writer to pull that one off!

This book renewed my joy in short stories and my faith in the writing ability of sci-fi/fantasy writers. Joy!