Monday 30 April 2012

SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW: Vonnegut 1950-1960 - Kurt Vonnegut


Release Date: 26/04/12

SYNOPSIS:

Before winning international fame with Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut was a master of the drugstore paperback and the popular short story. This authoritative collection of his brilliant early work opens with Player Piano (1952), a Metropolis-like parable of breakneck technological innovation and its effect on those it robs of their livelihoods. The Sirens of Titan (1959), the interplanetary adventures of the world's wealthiest and most despised man, is both a pulp-fiction space opera and a satire on the vanity of human striving. The confessions of a German-American double agent well placed among the Nazi elite, Mother Night (1962) is a cautionary tale with a famous moral: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” Here too are six of Vonnegut's best short stories, gems that display his matchless talent for hilarious invention and caustic social criticism.

A companion volume, Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories 1963–1973, collects Cat's Cradle; God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater; Slaughterhouse-Five; Breakfast of Champions; and three short stories, including “Welcometo the Monkey House.”



REVIEW:

A selection of short stories by the Science Fiction Master which not only prove why he became one of the names but also bound in a hardback which will allow you to dip into time and again. Add to this real value for money, wonderful stories that will enchant, excite and take you on a journey which when blended with a solid use of descriptive text as well as some great characters, prove why he became a name. Great stuff.

No comments: