What do you think?
Rate this book
A Work of Human Hands
260 pages, Paperback
Published February 27, 2026
1 person is currently reading
About the author
William Preston
101 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 5, 2026
The Thinking Person's Pulp Hero
Let me come right to the point. William Preston's Old Man pentalogy are some of the finest "Doc" stories ever written. This collection belongs on the shelf alongside the works of Lester Dent, Phillip Jose Farmer and Michael Chabon. It could also (theoretically) take up shelf space in and around that old secondhand copy of Augustine's Confessions, that you were forced to read back in college. Preston strikes just the right balance between nuanced characters, philosophical musings and a gaggle of outré threats. Oh, and while he's at it, Preston manages to delve into some of the enduring questions of the human condition (free will and the power of evil, anyone?). Is A Work of Human Hands an exercise in philosophical inquiry masquerading as mere pulp fiction? Has William Preston created a new genre (that of philosophical pulp)? Read it and find out...you'll be glad you did.
Let me come right to the point. William Preston's Old Man pentalogy are some of the finest "Doc" stories ever written. This collection belongs on the shelf alongside the works of Lester Dent, Phillip Jose Farmer and Michael Chabon. It could also (theoretically) take up shelf space in and around that old secondhand copy of Augustine's Confessions, that you were forced to read back in college. Preston strikes just the right balance between nuanced characters, philosophical musings and a gaggle of outré threats. Oh, and while he's at it, Preston manages to delve into some of the enduring questions of the human condition (free will and the power of evil, anyone?). Is A Work of Human Hands an exercise in philosophical inquiry masquerading as mere pulp fiction? Has William Preston created a new genre (that of philosophical pulp)? Read it and find out...you'll be glad you did.
Displaying 1 of 1 review