Fairly subtle alt-world. I rather liked it. ( )

There are three pieces in this mini-collection: The title novella, an essay on what SF's social duty is, and an extended interview with the *fascinating* Author Arnason. All are worthy of your $8 and your eyeblinks. About that novella:

Honestly, I think I should simply put this in front of you:

"The thing your teachers may not have told you is how full of hope the late '60s were. Yes, there was violence. The police and FBI and National Guard were dangerous. Plenty of people—good people—died in fishy ways; and plenty went to prison for things they almost certainly did not do. But the times were changing, and many of us thought we were building a new world in the shell of the old. As it turned out, we were wrong, at least for the time being. The '60s wound down slowly through the '70s, and in 1980 Ronald Reagan began a long period of reaction."

...issue an apology for my entire generation for allowing the calamity that was Reagan's rule, and go quietly away. In fact, I suspect many (some even related to me) would like that a lot. So I won't do it.

But you *will* need to visit Ye Olde Blogge for the full text. That much trimming isn't worth my time. ( )

An intriguing novella told as an embedded story by a Lakota grandmother to her granddaughter. The story is an alternative history supposing mammoths still in existence in the American West at the time of European first contact with the First Nations people. The fight to save the mammoth becomes entwined with the establishment of land rights. Arnason is the 1991 recipient of the James Tiptree, Jr Award.

Mammoths of the Great Plains by Eleanor Arnason includes the title novella, her Guest of Honor speech for WisCon, and an interview. I picked this book up because it was on Michael Levy's "What to Read Next" list, and because I've known and admired Eleanor for several years. We aren't friends. She would recognize me, but probably wouldn't be able to come up with my name. We run into each other at Cons and coffee shops and have brief conversations. I'd call it a happy acquaintance.

Eleanor is a very socially conscious, idealistic writer who believes we're heading towards some sort of upheaval, so people need to be informed and make choices so the upheaval can be pushed towards a good outcome. This belief is the backdrop for Mammoths, an alternate history story masquerading as Lakota oral tradition. It's a very quiet, gentle story about dedication and preservation.

As for "Writing Science Fiction During World War III," I was in the audience when she first made this speech. At the time, it was the focusing moment of a very socially aware conference. Science Fiction & Fantasy writers often feel marginalized as though their work doesn't count because the academics won't touch it. It's "genre." The word "genre" is to be said as though your nose is not only tilted upwards, but also plugged by the oder of mildewing pulps. Eleanor's speech was an antidote to that. She had the audience revved up to go home and shape the future with their words. Reading it the second time, I still liked it, but it had lost it's impact. Perhaps I remembered too much. Perhaps it lost the energy of it's original situation.

The interview, though, was an absolute delight! It was filled with Eleanor's intelligence and wry sense of humor. Don't pick this book up and just read Mammoths, thinking the rest is filler on the author. There is no filler about this particular author. Her life and personality is so unique that only a bad writer could write a boring blurb about her. That said, don't expect a page turner from Mammoths, but if you're looking for a contemplative read about possibilities, you've picked up the right book. ( )