Better known for his novels, Prometheus Award winning author Ken MacLeod gathers most of his shorter fiction in this nicely produced volume by the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA). However, Giant Lizards from Another Star isn't just a short story collection. MacLeod includes most of his published poetry and a slew of essays on science and science fiction, convention reviews, blogentries on political events, and some smallish squibs or fictional future history snippets. Published in February of 2006 with an edition of only 1200 copies, and sold primarily from NESFA's web site (www.nesfa.com), I heard of the book almost by accident late last year. This seems to indicate a lack of marketing, probably because NESFA's budget limits such an expense.

The book is split into sections, each grouped together by similarity in form. Leading off with poetry, then fiction, essays on fiction, essays on science, etc., this makes it easy for readers to wander off at leisure and tackle each section in any order they choose. I started off with the poetry, set the fiction aside for last, and went through the rest of the book first. I took this path because I had certain expectations going into the book, and saw several of those expectations shattered, while others affirmed. MacLeod writes non-fiction essays often on his blog, The Early Days of a Better Nation , often about the Middle East, Scotland, and Marxism. Several of his essays were published in science and science fiction publications, fanzines, and newspapers.

Some of the most entertaining pieces in the collection include the con reports, usually from European cons in what might be considered the “outer rim” of fandom, such as Finland or Croatia.

The section “About science fiction” discusses political aspects as well as the current trends of sf books. MacLeod knows and admires fellow writer Charles Stross's books, and it's interesting how these two writers living in Scotland have influenced the sf field so much in the past decade. Some of the pieces appear a little too local, or maybe incidental. The audience for some of the essays on Scotland or British politics probably does not extend far into the US, but MacLeod is a polished and passionate writer. There is certainly great opportunity via the internet now to learn more about such matters. Of the handful of fiction stories, the two most interesting pieces are the novellas, "Cydonia" and "The Human Front." The former first appeared as a UK paperback in 1998, as part of the series called The Web. There are signs of the pre-dot-com internet boom in the story, back from the days when the world was getting wired and the future seemed unlimited. Tie in some conspiracy theory stuff from the X-Files, mix in politics and kids , and it is quite a nice little tale, though it certainly shows signs of aging. "The Human Front" was probably the longest MacLeod story that I had never read. Initially available in UK editions, it appeared in a Year's Bes Science Fiction anthology back in 2002 (edited by Gardner Dozois), and so a paperback version should now be available. (The crudely reprinted logo is lifted from that story's text, with apologies to MacLeod.) There are elements of the conspiracy theory in this story as well; the focus is two-fold with a political rebellion alongside tales of gray aliens in advanced aircraft. But what seems like a simple tale of deceit and power becomes a little weirder, turning into a sort of parallel worlds trope. Saving it for last made the effort worth the wait.

So is Giant Lizards from Another Star for Ken MacLeod completists only? Most likely, the answer is possibly, maybe. For a small press edition, the $25 cover price is quite a fair deal. Not every work here is memorable, but you learn a great deal about MacLeod as a writer and person in these pages. You will be hard pressed to find these stories elsewhere. Some stories, essays, and poems may have a rather narrow audience. Others deserve a great deal more.