The John Varley Reader

Thirty Years of Short Fiction

By: John Varley

Narrated by: Arthur Morey, Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir, John Allen Nelson, Justine Eyre, Stefan Rudnicki, Susan Hanfield

From the moment John Varley burst onto the scene in 1974, his short fiction was like nothing anyone else was writing. His stories won every award the science fiction field had to offer, many times over. His first collection, The Persistence of Vision, published in 1978, was the most important collection of the decade and changed what fans would come to expect from science fiction.

Now, The John Varley Reader gathers his best stories, many out of print for years. This is the volume no Varley fan - or science-fiction fan - can do without.

©2004 by John Varley (P)2021 by Blackstone Publishing

How did I miss this guy?

I’ve always been a huge sci-fi fan. How did I miss this guy?
I really enjoyed these original works by John Varley. They fulfilled a need I have for taking my imagination in a completely new direction of conceivable future possibilities. And they don’t denigrate anyone in the process. The story concepts age well.
Often on older sci-fi I have found a slight distaste that I have to chock up to ‘sign of the times’ when there are few, (if any), references to strong women characters. It’s a turn-off if the female characters are weak. These stories are balanced well.
I really enjoyed the authors introductions. They made the stories feel more interactive.
I also enjoyed the narrators. They did a great job and it was a good idea to have different voices in the delivery of - was it 22+ hours of delivery.
This book is great sci-fi for mature young adults to open minded mature adults. It might be a little too much for immature readers.
Well done!

Great Writing

I was really dazzled by some of the stories, and the narration was superb. Warning though, there is a lot of mention of sex, and some involving children or young adults in some of the stories.

3 Hugo & 2 Nebula awards. Great narrators.

Back in the 1970's, I started reading everything in SF&Fantasy. John Varley was my favorite writer for awhile, until he wasn't writing enough to be in that top spot. Now he's just one of my favorites, much like Buster Keaton is one of my favorite directors. Still, he was the great writer of my youth. I spent years waiting for his book Demon to be released.

This collection is part stories, part autobiography. It starts with the burning of his apartment, a place where I used to send him the zines I made back then. He goes on to describe more of his early life in wonderful detail, then the first story starts, Picnic on Nearside. After that, more autobiography, then the next story.

All wonderful stories, with wonderful narrators. Highly recommended.

that was really good!

more plz!

I had never read John varley and... well now I wish I had found him sooner!

Satisfying short story collection

The John Varley Reader is a collection of eighteen short stories, novelettes, and novellas by John Var-ley spanning from the mid 70’s through to just past the turn of the millennium. Several entries are set in his Eight Worlds series. There are some, part of the Anna-Louise Bach franchise. The most well known of the set is his Persistence of Vision which follows a sighted individual who spends time with a colony of blind and deaf individuals. Press Enter is also quite good, predicting the rise of artificial intelli-gence.

Varley demonstrates a vast range from his futuristics tales to the present day, each with unique twists. Each story is preceded by an author’s introduction which in many instances is just his ramblings on his writing career and forays into motion pictures.

The narration is superb with a large ensemble cast that was chosen for the tone of the tales. Pacing is smooth throughout.