Absolute Magnitude: SF Adventures for the 90's

""Hard science fiction with an adventure slant has always been the lifeblood of science fiction,"" writes Lapine, and that's what he and Pagel provide in this above-average but not exceptional collection of 18 reprints from their successful small-press magazine, Absolute Magnitude. The pair have managed to attract an impressive number of big-name writers. Hugo Award winner Allen Steele opens the volume with ""Working for Mister Chicago,"" in which a deceased aerospace engineer finds himself resurrected and employed as a servant in the far future. ""The Minds That Jumped,"" by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre, uses a jazzy style reminiscent of Frederik Pohl's classic, ""Day Million,"" to tell a humorous tale of revenge, teleportation and body switching. Terry Bisson's very short ""10:07:24"" plays tricks with the passage of time and forces us to see our universe as something very strange. Another delightful story is Janet Kagan's ""Fermat's Best Theorem,"" which explains why no one has ever found an entirely satisfactory solution to that most famous of mathematical puzzles. Shariann Lewitt's ""Mice,"" perhaps the best entry here, concerns the strangely changed humanity of a future Earth and its odd reaction to the homecoming of a generation ship. Among other well-known writers included are Barry Longyear, Chris Bunch, Geoffrey Landis, Hal Clement and Alan Dean Foster. Although little here is likely to be on anyone's shortlist for the Hugo or Nebula, this is an enjoyable and nicely varied SF anthology. (May)