Book Review: Dreamwish Beasts and Snarks

Dreamwish Beasts and Snarks
By Mike Resnick
Published by Golden Gryphon Press
ISBN-13: 978-1-930846-60-9

The latest book I've read for IjustFinished.com was quite enjoyable!

Dreamwish Beasts and Snarks by Mike Resnick is a collection of short stories spanning the author's career. The common thread of each story is a safari of sorts, most set in the far far future but with the feel and detail of an old-world British Empire expedition. Often the hunt isn't for a normal animal or alien animal, but for targets such as a unicorn, vampires, or the elusive Snark.

There are a couple of stories set in the past, but still with a science-fiction edge (such as finding Teddy Roosevelt and Dracula together in Manhattan, or a different kind of Tarzan story). A few are told in first-person, including the sequel to the title story which features the hunt for the Dreamwish Beast (itself a type of SF Moby Dick story as the author himself mentions in the book); and a couple of stories are related as seminar presentations, giving them a unique in-universe feel.

All-in-all, Dreamwish Beasts and Snarks brings adventure in short, fun safaris through the galaxy and is a nice change of pace from the Science Fiction stories of war, transhumanism, and giant robots that abounds today.