I recently finished a wonderful collection of short fiction by the Scottish author Ian R. MacLeod. Journeys, brings together nine of his pieces, all previously published in various ‘zines or anthologies between 2006-2010. As examples, I will mention three of my favorite pieces…

"Taking Good Care of Myself". A man is sent into the future to assist his elder self with his own death.

"The English Mutiny", is an alternate history set in an England that has been conquered by the Raj (with help from Portugal). An old, mutilated soldier tells a story about his war days and his fellow soldier and pal Johnny, who he met as they were on their way to fight Scotland.

In "The Camping Wainwrights" a couple and their two teens set off on their annual holiday in the woods. Soon very weird things begin to happen, and everyone sees/experiences them except Dad who maintains his upbeat and jolly attitude in his ignorance….

McLeod is a favorite author of mine. His work is intelligent, beautifully written, and a joy to read. And no matter what the story is, one imagines the author smiling as sets his sentences down to paper ( )

These are very well-written stories on the very general theme of "the journey." Some are quite short, some quite long, and all are very good. Fans of MacLeod's Light Ages will find something for them here, but you needn't have read the series in order to appreciate it. ( )

...Journeys is my introduction to MacLeod's work and he strikes me as an author who is very comfortable with writing short stories. With the notable exception of Taking Good Care of Myself, the stories feel neither constrained by the word count or padded and especially the first is a problem one frequently encounters in short fiction. Although not all stories in the collection hit the bullseye, this story shows that a lot of the more exiting, experimental and innovative writing in genre fiction is still being don in the short form. MacLeod experiments to his heart's desire and more often than not, it pays off.

Full, slightly spoilerish Random Comments review ( )