Great selection of stories grounded in sci-fi but with a heavy psychological component to counterbalance the high-tech stuff. Engaging from the first page to the last. ( )

A collection of early stories, which do not lack for ideas but are somewhat routine otherwise

Hopscotch

Hopscotch is now a game but the Ancient Egyptians considered it a path to enlightenment. Alan and Linda are on a road journey, following a path which Linda has mathetically worked out will coincide with paranormal events. Their journey starts with a rain of fish and gets stranger and stranger.

Halo

A prospector, living on the frozen world of Dew, which orbits the dwarf star Crucible, picks up a warning message from an approaching Cycler trading ship that all is not as it should be onboard.

The dragon of Pripyat

Gennady is sent into the town of Pripyat, next to the sealed Chernobyl site, on a mission to investigate reports of a 'dragon' which comes out at night. The initial Ballardian tone, as Gennady starts to like living next to 'hot spots' of radiation in the deserted town, changes into a less poetic tale of blackmail and networked hijinks.

The cold convergence

An eccentric recluse on Titan is the target of a psychologist, sent to re-habilitate him. What seems like a case of madness from loneliness turns out to be something pivotal to the future.

Making ghosts

Graham joins Maier's lab team working on realising a VR environment. However, Barley, another researcher, is perfecting a neural net representation of Maier's brain activity and the two projects merge, to produce 'ghosts' of human consciousness in a cybernetic setting.

The engine of recall

Leo Modest, an experienced military pilot, is hired to fly a decommisioned warship close to a dangerous pulsar to investigate an anomaly that looks to be artificial. Nearby is a planet that contains the remains of the Aknitari, an extinct alien race about which nothing is known. There is treachery from all parties.

Solitaire

Solitaires are an alien race who are super-intelligent masters of technology, yet they cannot use language and have no need for contact with their kind except to breed. A female felon, who has read up on the experiences of human stowaways on Solitaire vessels, escapes a trial by stowing away on one.

Allegiances

In a Balkan war scenario Irina is looking for vengeance for her son. Special powers give this an SF edge. Very mundane.

The pools of air

A crack in the atmospheric integrity of a craft flying through the violent atmosphere of Saturn causes a reporter along for the ride to confront her fears.

Alexander's road

Gennady is in Azerbaijan, investigating rumours of stolen ex-Soviet nuclear missiles, that might unleash a new war along "Alexander's Road", the path of the famous conqueror of ancient times. ( )

Excellent stories! I really loved this book! ( )