The first story, Jason Stoddard's "The Elephant Ironclads" features an alternate version of Navajo civilisation, where scientists are searching for uranium, and two native boys are fascinated by armoured elephants of legend. It could've worked, it should've worked, but for me it didn't. Mostly, it was the speech patterns that Stoddard employs, which I found frustrating in their repetitiveness. Elizabeth Bear, who is undoubtedly a top quality writer, delivers "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall," which offers an new slant on the famous clashes between Liston and the then Cassius Clay. It's a fine piece of social commentary, but again this hardly qualifies as science fiction. "North American Lake Monsters" by Nathan Ballingrud, details the disintegration of both a washed up critter on a lake shore, and the relationship of a dysfunctional family. Once more, aside from the presence of the unknown creature's corpse, there is no justification for labelling this work as SF. Margo Lanagan does better with "The Goosle," her rather adult take on Hansel and Gretel. This is clearly a work of fantasy, although perhaps not the kind most readers would anticipate. Sex slaves, a plague, murder, these are the bones of Lanagan's beast, and it makes for uneasy reading. The contribution which entertained me most, was Jeffrey Ford's "Daltharee," which is about a city in a bottle. At turns funny, scary, and wistful, it details how the city came to be and what may be in its future. It also has this compilation's most bona fide SF character, in the form of the mad scientist Mando Paige.

In all there are sixteen stories on offer here, several of them written by authors at the top of their game. While some of the works were not to my personal taste, the only real complaint I have is that the title of this collection should be different. So as not to promise something that isn't delivered. Perhaps, "The Del Rey Book of Speculative Fiction," would be more appropriate. The book will appeal to readers who prefer a dry, literary approach to their fiction, and don't mind it being light on both science and fantasy.