Status Updates From Virtual Unrealities: The Sh...

I love the old-style science fiction, and Alfred Bester is especially great at it. The stories are really pretty off-the-wall, and I'm only a quarter of the way through the book.

A surprising number of stories are post-apocalyptic - in the case of "Adam and No Eve" with a nice twist ;-)

...there is too much to mention, but I really liked the portrayal of the genius scientist in "The men who murdered Mohammed" - very much not what I expected, but nice! And "They don't make life like the used to" is full of interesting twists and a weird atmosphere.

"Ody and Id" and "Starlight, Starbright" are based on somewhat similar premises - the first is better, but both are a bit pedestrian. "5,271,009" (plus or minus 1000) is very different, very experimental, and very Freudian. It leaves me a bit perplexed...

I really liked "Disappearing Act" - full of subtle and not-so-subtle jibes against militarism and blind patriotism, and with a nice twist at the end. I was very surprised when I found out that this story dates back to 1953, long before the jading experience of Vietnam.

Ouch, some of these shorts stories are just bad.
Just finished a good story that still left me annoyed because I have an actual degree in history.