Michael Walsh of Old Earth Books happily passes along the good things a reviewer has to say about his new Howard Waldrop collection, “Others Worlds, Better Lives,” in the September 15 issue of the American Library Association’s Booklist:

Waldrop is an acknowledged master of the sf short story. This volume collects seven examples of his mastery of the lengthier novella and proves beyond much doubt that he is equally adept at it, too. “A Dozen Tough Jobs” transfers the Labors of Hercules to the 1920s South. “Fin de Cyclé” is a frank homage to Alfred Jarry, one of the founders of the Surrealist and Dada movements. “Major Spacer in the 21st Century!” essays an alternate history of the visual media and their consequences for the history of sf. “A Better World in Birth!” postulates the elimination of most of the classic nineteenth-century revolutionaries, including even Richard Wagner, in favor of, well, perhaps one could call them more constructive alternate figures, such as Bakunin, the father of collectivist anarchism. Add to this level of imagination outstanding clarity in the use of the English language and introductions that put each novella in the context of Waldrop’s long career, and you have a quite essential volume of his work.”