Literary Matters: Roger Zelazny; Donald S. Grubbs, Christopher S. Kivas and Ann Crimmins (eds.): Last Exit to Babylon: The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, Volume 4

We tend to be fairly enthusiastic about Roger Zelazny around here. He was, after all, one of the foremost figures in science fictions New Wave, and one of the most consistently inventive science fiction and fantasy writers ever. And we’ve reviewed a lot of his work, both novels and, as today, short stories, essays, and other shorter writings. Today’s offering is Last Exit to Babylon, which is a typically Zelazny title. Cat Eldridge gives us a teaser:

This volume leads off with two superb introductions, one by Joe Haldeman and the other by Steven Brust, the first fondly remembering when he met Zelazny and how the anti-hero of Damnation Alley was originally to be named after his brother; the latter on what Zelazny meant to him as a newly minted writer.

OK, I can hear you: “Where’s the beef?” Well, read Cat’s review to get to the meat of the collection.