THE BEST FROM FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION

Mixed. A rather disappointing assortment of stories in this the sixteenth series. But there are three stand-outs: Lloyd Biggle, Jr.'s And Madly Teach is a persuasive indictment of education by rote as it depicts a television teacher faced by the trendex ratings rather than students; Kenneth Bulmer's The Adjusted is a nice little horror piece a la Kafka as two men roam the tops of pens staring down at the pitiful humans living out a mesmerized mirage existence; Robert M. Green's Apology to Inky displaces time giving a man a chance to rectify a childhood mistake. On the other end of the scale, would you believe John Christopher's lamentable tale about a homosexual dog?