This is one of Varleys early short story collections. A number of the tales take place in his Eight Worlds universe (the one where Ophiuchi Hotline, Steel Beach, and The Golden Globe take place), and was likely the result of early experimentation of themes explored more fully in future novels.
Some short reviews of the individual stories follow:
Bagatelle: The story of a sentient cyborg bomb and the psychological drama to get it to defuse itself. Written long before 9/11 and the age of suicide bombers, this is the most dated story of the collection. At best, Varley can be accused of a lack of imagination here; I suspect real suicide bombers have a lot more complex and deep motivation that is described in this tale. 3 of 5 stars.
The Funhouse Effect: A story about the final voyage of a passenger liner carved out of the interior of a comet, on its last voyage before breaking up. Its a crazy story of people going crazy, but the trouble with stories about confused characters is that it makes confused readers as well. 3 of 5 stars.
The Barbie Murders: This was the first editions titular story (the collection was first called The Barbie Murders, but was changed (a letter came from Mattel, perhaps?) in later editions). Its the tale of the investigation of a murder in sub-population of people who all undergo surgical modifications to lose their identities and become visual clones of one another (thus: barbies). Its an exercise of police procedural in short form, but didnt really impress me very much. 3 of 5 stars.
Equinoctial: This was a charming story of a pair of Varleys interplanetary symbiotic pairs (featured in a number of Eight Worlds stories), as she/it searches for her children after theyve been stolen. I really like the human/Symb interaction with this model, and this story was no exception. Wonderful tale. 4 of 5 stars.
Manikins: I must have read this one somewhere else before, because it feels very familiar. Essentially the story of a psychiatric patient with the delusion that all humanity is female, and masculinity is a parasite passed down through the ages. Quirky and fun. 4 of 5 stars.
Beatnik Bayou: If you live in a universe where people change bodies all the time and children are rare, what is education like? Varley postulates that your one-on-one teacher takes a body the same age your are (at 7 years old) and becomes your best friend (for elementary school age, anyway). This story is about the end of the protagonists first stage of schooling and the beginning of the next. In other words: a coming of age story, in a strange kind of world. 4 of 5 stars.
Good-bye, Robinson Crusoe: A short story about taking a years-long vacation in young body in the islands. (Well, the islands at a disneyland under the crust of Pluto, anyway.) Half engineering wonder, half psychodrama, this was actually pretty good. 4 of 5 stars.
Lollipop and the Tar Baby: Hunting for black holes with your clone outside the orbit of Pluto. Fun. 4 of 5 stars.
Picnic on Nearside: The titular story of this edition, this is the story of a runaway and his friend who find a hippie on the near side of the moon. Yeah, it sounds weird to me as well. Im not sure why this one got the title; maybe because its the easiest to paint a cover for. I wasnt all that impressed. 3 of 5 stars.
Some short reviews of the individual stories follow:
Bagatelle: The story of a sentient cyborg bomb and the psychological drama to get it to defuse itself. Written long before 9/11 and the age of suicide bombers, this is the most dated story of the collection. At best, Varley can be accused of a lack of imagination here; I suspect real suicide bombers have a lot more complex and deep motivation that is described in this tale. 3 of 5 stars.
The Funhouse Effect: A story about the final voyage of a passenger liner carved out of the interior of a comet, on its last voyage before breaking up. Its a crazy story of people going crazy, but the trouble with stories about confused characters is that it makes confused readers as well. 3 of 5 stars.
The Barbie Murders: This was the first editions titular story (the collection was first called The Barbie Murders, but was changed (a letter came from Mattel, perhaps?) in later editions). Its the tale of the investigation of a murder in sub-population of people who all undergo surgical modifications to lose their identities and become visual clones of one another (thus: barbies). Its an exercise of police procedural in short form, but didnt really impress me very much. 3 of 5 stars.
Equinoctial: This was a charming story of a pair of Varleys interplanetary symbiotic pairs (featured in a number of Eight Worlds stories), as she/it searches for her children after theyve been stolen. I really like the human/Symb interaction with this model, and this story was no exception. Wonderful tale. 4 of 5 stars.
Manikins: I must have read this one somewhere else before, because it feels very familiar. Essentially the story of a psychiatric patient with the delusion that all humanity is female, and masculinity is a parasite passed down through the ages. Quirky and fun. 4 of 5 stars.
Beatnik Bayou: If you live in a universe where people change bodies all the time and children are rare, what is education like? Varley postulates that your one-on-one teacher takes a body the same age your are (at 7 years old) and becomes your best friend (for elementary school age, anyway). This story is about the end of the protagonists first stage of schooling and the beginning of the next. In other words: a coming of age story, in a strange kind of world. 4 of 5 stars.
Good-bye, Robinson Crusoe: A short story about taking a years-long vacation in young body in the islands. (Well, the islands at a disneyland under the crust of Pluto, anyway.) Half engineering wonder, half psychodrama, this was actually pretty good. 4 of 5 stars.
Lollipop and the Tar Baby: Hunting for black holes with your clone outside the orbit of Pluto. Fun. 4 of 5 stars.
Picnic on Nearside: The titular story of this edition, this is the story of a runaway and his friend who find a hippie on the near side of the moon. Yeah, it sounds weird to me as well. Im not sure why this one got the title; maybe because its the easiest to paint a cover for. I wasnt all that impressed. 3 of 5 stars.
