Fireflood

''Fireflood and Other Stories'' is the first collection of short work by Vonda N. McIntyre, published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin in 1979 and reprinted in paperback by Timescape Books in 1981. UK editions were issued by Gollancz in 1980 and by Pan Books in 1982; it was also issued by the Science Fiction Book Club. ''Fireflood'' placed fifth in the annual Locus Poll for best collection.

Contents

* "Fireflood" ('' F&SF'' 1979)
* " Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand" ( ''Analog'' 1973)
* "Spectra" ('' Orbit 11'' 1972)
* "Wings" (''The Alien Condition'' 1973)
* "The Mountains of Sunset, the Mountains of Dawn" ('' F&SF'' 1974)
* "The End’s Beginning" (''Analog'' 1976)
* "Screwtop" (''The Crystal Ship'' 1976)
* "Only at Night" (''Clarion'' 1971)
* "Recourse, Inc." (''Alternities'' 1974)
* "The Genius Freaks" (''Orbit 12'' 1973)
* "Aztecs" (''2076: The American Tricentennial'' 1977)

Reception

Thomas M. Disch gave the collection a mixed review, noting the "literary failings" of a talented but inexperienced writer. He faulted McIntyre's work for manifesting "two extraordinary features", which he suggested contributed to her success with her "chosen audience": first, "a worldview that divides everyone into an uncaring, imperceptive, closed-minded Them and a loving, hip, holistic, and victimized Us"; second, "a tendency toward tears." He praised McIntyre as "a talented storyteller nda writer who works at perfecting her craft and extending her range," singling out her ability to "write spare, modulated prose of varying intensity.""Books -- 1979: Fluff and Fizzles"
'' F&SF'', July 1980

References

{{Reflist

1979 short story collections
Science fiction short story collections
American short story collections
Houghton Mifflin books