Multiple Hugo- and Nebula-winner Card offers short, revealing commentaries on these 22 compelling short stories, novelettes, and novellas, noting that short work has inspired some of his best and best-known long fiction. These short science fiction, fantasy and “literary” stories, along with a handful of Hatrack River tales (related to the Alvin Maker series) and four stories “written by a Mormon, about Mormon culture, for Mormon readers,” illustrate Card's fascination with complex child protagonists, touchingly portrayed in “Inventing Lovers on the Phone”; absorption with moral dilemmas, wrapped up in family love and tensions in “Worthy to Be One of Us”; and new views of old traditions, familiar and discomfiting in “Homeless in Hell” and “Christmas at Helaman's House.” Card intended several of the included stories, like the powerful “In the Dragon's House,” to open novels not yet written, but even on their own they provide significant examples of his perennial themes: morality, salvation and redemption. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Apr.)

The state of short fiction in fantasy and sf has changed since Card's earlier collection, Maps in a Mirror (1990). His cogent introduction suggests that the change hasn't been for the better. But Card is one of those writers equally comfortable with any length of form, and so here is "Elephants of Poznan," originally published in a Polish sf magazine; "Inventing Lovers on the Phone," a fantasy story written for Stars (2003), an anthology inspired by the songs of Janis Ian; "50 WPM," from In the Shadow of the Wall (2002), an anthology of stories responding to the Vietnam Wall; and two original novellas from the Hatrack River (i.e., Alvin Maker) saga, arguably the single finest work of American fantasy to date. The book's last section contains stories reflecting Card's Mormon faith and his broader awareness of religion as an influence on literature, history, and the world. None of these stories shows any diminution in Card's mastery of language, pacing, and characterization.

Adult/High School The prolific Card published one short story collection, Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card (Tor, 1990), which supposedly included all of the short fiction he was willing to share. But apparently there are now a lot more selections, as demonstrated by this hefty volume. This compilation, composed of science fiction, fantasy, literary tales, and Mormon stories contains no clunkers. There is some truly innovative and wonderful storytelling here. Card's ability to create believable characters that readers come to care about remains his strongest selling point. Sometimes those characters happen into other worlds, as in "Space Boy" and "Dust." Other times they stay firmly grounded in this one, yet their stories give a new and different perspective on life. Teens who enjoy Card's earlier work, who like short stories, or who are just looking for a new world to lose themselves in can't go wrong here. Standout stories include "Space Boy," "Homeless in Hell," "Inventing Lovers on the Phone," and "50 WPM." Short essays give the origins of the individual selections. Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI

This collection of Card's short fiction showcases his diversity and his skill as a storyteller. Stories are grouped into Science Fiction, Fantasy, Literary, Hatrack River (Alvin Maker stories), and Mormon Stories. Some take place, directly or tangentially, in the worlds created for Card's novels. Waterbaby and Keeper of Lost Dreams, for example, are backstories for Magic Street (Tor, 2005/VOYA December 2005), but although Atlantis is set in the same world as Pastwatch (Tor, 1996/VOYA April 1996), it bears no relation to it other than sharing the Pastwatch technology. After each story, Card includes a note in which he explains how he came to write the story, where it was first published, and other general thoughts about the piece. The stories are as varied as Card's work, covering the bases of speculative fiction. Many feature children or teens as the main characters. Space Boy is about a boy who finds a very unusual way to travel to another world where he must rescue his mother. Dust is a very different story, but also about a boy who travels to another world and saves his mother's life. Other stories pose interesting questions, considering whether elephants are gods in The Elephants of Poznan; examining a premature aging phenomenon that causes people in their twenties to develop dementia in Geriatric Ward; and discussing human intelligence as an infection in Heal Thyself. It is a thought-provoking and highly entertaining collection.-Sarah Flowers.