'Tourism' by M. John Harrison is not for sale. It was published by Bantam Spectra as a "Collector's Limited Edition" chapbook in celebration of their publication in the U.S. of Harrison's novel 'Light.' The reviewer received it as a an unexpected bonus with purchase of a limited edition book from Small Beer Press. (The reviewer notes one other Library Thing reader has tagged the story with 'Year's Best Science Fiction 22', so it may have been anthologized since production of the chapbook.)

The story is fifteen pages long. The characters are intriguing and the writing makes you want to read more. Unfortunately, there is no more. Definitely SF, the story relates some events in a sort of disreputable bar located near - well, let the opening sentence speak for itself: "Jack Serotonin sat in a bar on Strait Street, just inside the aureole of the Raintown event, in conversation with a fat man from another planet who called himself Antoyne."

The big drawback of this story is that there is no movement in any discernable direction, and no climax. The focus shifts from one character to another, and one gets no more than a glimpse of the character before the story is on to another. Basically, the story gives a quick snapshot of a few minutes' time in the several characters' lives, and there isn't enough there for a tale. Because 'Tourism' is published in connection with publication of 'Light' in the U.S., one may suspect these are characters in 'Light,' and in that context, it would be a very interesting lead-in to that novel. However, as a stand-alone story it doesn't have enough going for it to make it enjoyable, hence a two-star rating. The reviewer has not read 'Light.' ( )