“Stross’s work offers a potent reminder of why short stories used to be the preferred delivery method for science fiction.†– The A.V. Club              Â
This selection of speculative fiction runs the gamut—from “Palimpsest,†a decidedly nontraditional time-travel novella, to “Dawn on the Farm,†an adventure of hapless secret agent Bob Howard (star of the Laundry novels: The Atrocity Archives, The Jennifer Morgue, and The Fuller Memorandum). Also included are “MAXOS,†a stunning example of the new flash-fiction form; his Locus Award-winning novella, “Missile Gapâ€; and “Unwirer,†a collaboration with Cory Doctorow. Rounding out the contents are “A Colder War,†“Rogue Farm,†“Trunk and Disorderly,†and “Snowball’s Chance,†four unique, genre-bending tales that could only come from the limitless imagination of one of the twenty-first century’s most daring visionaries, Charles Stross.