Think Like a Dinosaur and Other Stories collects 14 of James Patrick Kelly's best short stories since 1984 in a very nicely packaged hardcover edition. John Kessel contributes an introduction to Kelly's work, but for those who haven't read the title story already, read this first because Kessel (with a warning, at least) gives away the ending. The stories themselves demonstrate Kelly's broad range. Some, like "Heroics," "Faith," and "Dancing with the Chairs," come very close to reading like mainstream literary fiction. At the other end of Kelly's spectrum are stories that resemble cyberpunk, but Kelly strips the glamour and romance from the cyber underworld.

Kelly's fiction, as represented here, usually depicts rather pessimistic futures. Kessel, in his introduction, calls Kelly "ruthless," and it's a good description of Kelly's approach to fiction as a tool for social criticism. However, unlike some of the more prominent contemporary social critics in science fiction, from both the left and the right, Kelly doesn't blame specific elements (multinational corporations or liberal political policies, for example) for the deterioration in the social order. Instead, his fiction depicts individuals struggling in a social context in which both individual and collective irresponsibilities have contributed to the dystopian climate.

The characters are the real focus in Kelly's stories, however, and the real strength of his writing. His social criticism never descends to propaganda, precisely because Kelly matches his characters to his background, and their actions come logically from their circumstances, something Kelly handles equally well whether writing about the distant future or the recent past.

An outstanding showcase for a fine writer...

There's not a weak story in Think Like a Dinosaur and Other Stories. The title story, "Think Like a Dinosaur," won the Hugo Award in 1996, but it's only one of many very fine works collected here. In this story, humans team with a technologically superior reptilian race to teleport researchers to distant planets. The story revolves around the necessary duties of the human assistant when something goes wrong during a sending. It's a very poignant and emotional story about alien influence on human thought.

The best story, however, is "Mr. Boy." In this novella, genetic alteration is commonplace. The main character undergoes regular stunting treatments, so that even though he is 25, biologically he's still pre-adolescent. His wealthy mother has had herself transformed into a nearly full-scale model of the Statue of Liberty, and Mr. Boy lives inside her. In the story, he finds himself attracted to a new girl in town, whose family doesn't believe in genetic alteration. As their friendship grows, he begins to change, and questions the lifestyle he has chosen. It's a very well crafted piece, both entertaining and thematically ambitious.

Other especially strong stories include "Crow," the innovative "Breakaway, Backdown," "Pogrom," and "Monsters."

Think Like a Dinosaur and Other Stories is an excellent showcase for Kelly's work. His stories throughout the book are both entertaining and provocative. This collection thoroughly demonstrates that Kelly should be considered one of the finest writers in the field.