Her Smoke Rose Up Forever Author:James Tiptree, Jr. Among SF writers, James Tiptree, Jr. -- nee Alice Sheldon -- was a rare bird indeed. Born to a father who was an attorney, naturalist and explorer and a mother who was a geographer, travel writer and O. Henry finalist, Sheldon lived a life of contradictions. A staunch feminist who wrote under a man's name, an ex-soldier and retired ... more »CIA agent who was paralyzingly afraid of meeting people; a depressive recluse who protected her privacy fiercely yet who corresponded generously with fans, she wrote only two sf novels but her output of short sf was substantial. Weighty and disquieting, these stories established her as one of the finest short fiction writers the genre ever produced.
Sheldon began writing science fiction as James Tiptree, Jr., in 1968, and soon earned a place on the Nebula Award ballot with "The Last Flight of Doctor Ain," a tale of germ warfare on a startlingly personal level. This collection contains that and 17 more brilliant stories that explore the dark sides of biological identity and the unreliability of perception, the alien among us, and humanity's place in an indifferent universe.
Here are "And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side," in which humanity loses itself in an alien-loving cargo-cult. . . "The Man Who Walked Home," about a time traveler who triggers WWIII. . . "The Women Men Don't See," that tells how a plane crash in the Yucatan launches female travelers on a trip to the stars. . . "And I Have Come upon This Place by Lost Ways," a tale of science and missed opportunities. . . and "Your Faces, O My Sisters! Your Faces Filled of Light!," the story of the only free woman in the world and what inevitably becomes of her. Also included are the Hugo- winning "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" and "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?," and Nebula winners "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" and "The Screwfly Solution."
When Tiptree's real identity was finally revealed, her fans were surprised and delighted -- just as you will be when you discover these unforgettable tales.
SFBC 50th Anniversary Collection, Volume #20.« less