The Wind from a Burning Woman

Greg Bear

3/16/2000

Greg Bear is one of those authors whose minds twist in strange ways. When I read tales like the short stories in this collection, I can only shake my head. The imagination this man has is phenomenal. Science fiction is the perfect media for a mind that wanders like this.

The last of these stories, Hardfought was a Nebula Award winner. I had trouble keeping up with this one, or understanding it. My favorite was Mandala. In this world many years in the future, cities were created so they were part organic and part machine. Once they were able to judge right and wrong, they kicked humans out of them. Now a human wants back in. The White Horse Child is an interesting look at attitudes towards artists, in this case, writers.

These are fascinating tales for the most part. At times my attention would wander, especially during the last one. Yet by the end my whole attention was pulled in, waiting to see what would happen. Any science fiction reader will find a story he/she likes.

Check out more about this collection in paperback at