Slow Sculpture

“A consummate storyteller and someone whose stories had not only heart, but brains and depth.” —Connie Willis, from the foreword “One of the all-time masters of the sci-fi short story. This multivolume project to bring many of his classic tales back into print is long overdue.” —Publishers Weekly “Sturgeon’s often tender explorations of alien minds were as carefully worked out as Faulkner’s exploration of the mind of the idiot in The Sound and the Fury. His emphasis on psychology instead of blasters prepared the way for most modern masters of the science fiction genre.” —Stephen King “Sturgeon was, in several senses, the conscience of modern science fiction.” —The New York Times “Sturgeon’s stories have an emotional impact unmatched by almost any other writer.” —Arthur C. Clarke “One of the best writers in America … Sturgeon is a master storyteller certain to fascinate all sorts of readers, not only science fiction fans.” —Kurt Vonnegut “Intelligent, humane, tantalizing stories, every one of which evokes the sense of wonder. Sturgeon’s stories are treasures from Elfland.” —Carl Sagan “A terrific writer; I enjoyed every word he published.” —Robert Heinlein “Sturgeon wrote miraculous short stories.… He found his urgency directed in becoming the John Dos Passos, the William Faulkner, the Ring Lardner, the James Thurber, the Virginia Woolf of science fiction.” —Jonathan Lethem “The most literate and lyrical writer science fiction ever had.” —Spider Robinson, from the afterword