A collection of ten short pieces, mostly science fiction, although there's one fantasy story and one rather tedious essay. Most of the stories are pretty average, to be honest, and in this volume the flaws in the stories are rather reminiscent of the flaw in the essay - lots of technical detail, explained in ever more boringly obsessive detail. I mean, it's all very clever but the emotional connection isn't there for me... with one exception. There's one story in here that is, I think, excellent, and it drags up the others. "The Ugly Little Boy", about a Neanderthal child brought forward in time, and the relationship he develops with his caregiver, places as much emphasis on character as it does plot and it really pays off.