The Temple of Beauty contains five short stories – four of science fiction worthy of Asimov’s magazine and one of the fantasy genre. These stories are outstandingly rendered, concise and meaningful, containing themes of religious extremism, social outcry, and unlikely heroism, along the simple beauty of existence. The author’s expertise with vocabulary renders him an exceptional wordsmith. It isn’t often that I am so excited to read a book that I want to ignore everything else in my busy, creative life. I absolutely loved these stories. “Intraflection to Kill” and “The Commercial Agent,” in particular, gave me supreme gratification for the act of reading. There are no wasted words. The imagery let me stand on alien worlds and watch the scenes unfold in my imagination, true releases from reality.

5 Stars – Page-turning intrigue, humor, and action in perfectly sized doses.

Other Science Fiction and Fantasy short story collections