Gabi says, of title story:
"The short story that affected me when I was 13 or 14 was "Out there where the big ships go" by Richard Cowper. There was a sentence there that - as simple as it was - changed how I looked at things."
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I can tell which sentence she means. Cowper is philosophical. Well-read, well-educated, and with a large vocabulary, too. This are not typical SF stories. Reduced to summaries, they're not amazing, but dressed up in Cowper's ethereal & surreal stylings, they are worth reading. As the back blurb says, this is "science fantasy." Well, tbh, I'm not sure about the last one, as it's not my thing,* and so I dnf'd that 64 p. novella.

Mostly they show potential. I will consider more by Cowper.

*If you must know, it was some weird mishmash of Celestine Prophecy, Burroughs, Lovecraft, and Shangri-La. I read the last page and it really seemed as if I missed nothing by not slogging through the middle. Again, that's just me... I know some of you are fans of those kinds of stories. ( )

Rarely have I loved so much an author's prose and hated so much all of his ideas. ( )

An excellent collection by an under-recognized author. The ordering of stories in this collection moves from science fiction of the future variety to eventually more historical science fiction a la Wells and eventually Haggard. The title story is reminiscent of Hesse's Glass Bead Game. A young boy meets an aging star pilot who brought back a chess-like game that sweeps the world, but may be something more than just a game. I didn't buy the premise but I did enjoy the story. The Custodians takes place at a remote monastery where the past and future are strongly linked. Paradise Beach recalls Bradbury's The Veldt but is set as more a mystery. The Hertford Manuscript uses a modern story frame to eventually tell what happened next to the hero of the Time Machine, very much in the writing style of Wells. Finally The Web of the Magi forgoes modern framing to tell a story in straight H Rider Haggard mode.

Strong solid stories throughout in a mix of narrative styles. Highly recommended. ( )