In his latest science fiction volume Algis Budrys, author of 'The Unexpected Dimension' and 'Who?', continues to cast a scorching eye at life as it is lived today, skilfully extrapolating a present trend into the future, or presenting a current social problem in a new light. The stories are varied in mood and theme, yet they take an ironic view of mankind and its prospects, and the quality of writing is uniformly high.