Allen
Steele has long demonstrated himself as adept at writing short stories as
at novels. In fact,
Steele’s seven Hugo nominations (and awards) have all been in the
novella or novelette categories. Steele’s
fourth short story collection, American Beauty opens with one of
those nominees, “Agape Among the Robots” and continues to display his
various talents until it concludes with the nostalgic tribute to Victor
Appleton, “Tom Swift and His
Humongous Mechanical Dude.”
In fact, many of the stories in American Beauty have a nostalgic feel to them.
“Agape Among the Robots” bring to mind the works of Isaac
Asimov, although with a more credible love story than Asimov was ever able
to write. “Graceland” not
only references the music of Elvis Presley, but also is set in the
fabulous Riverworld of Philip José Farmer.
“Warning, Warning” is a poke at the television series “Lost
in Space.” These are not
the only pop cultural references in the stories collected in American Beauty.
For all these references, Steele also collected
stories with serious content, such as “A Walk Across Mars,” part of
Steele’s ongoing alternative history sequence which explores the
difference between events as they happen and events as they are reported.
“Missing Time” is another serious story, this time about a
politician who is given the opportunity to see the damage his good
intention cause to his city.
One way for authors to keep their writing fresh is
to branch out from their normal genres. For many SF authors, this means a
foray into fantasy. For
Steele, it meant a journey into the land of technothrillers.
He novel he planned to write did not come to fruition, but it did
result in the story “The Fine Art of Watching,” which was originally
published pseudonymously. It
does further demonstrate, however, that Steele is at home in various
genres and styles.
Some of the stories in
American Beauty, most notably “Missing
Time,” “Jake and the Enemy,” and “Warning, Warning” were
originally published in less than standard places, whether on the net, in
small press magazines or in mainstream magazines, and therefore will
provide something new even to those who religiously read the major SF
magazines. The nicely
produced collection also provides a more permanent home for those stories
previously found in the digests, allowing the reader to enjoy Steele’s
writing as often as desired.
