The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth, and other stories

by Roger Zelazny
Reviewed date: 2004 Jul 12
252 pages
cover art

I liked this collection of stories. Zelazny is not my favorite writer, but these short stories show he is a master of science fiction. Some of the stories were great, some were clearly dated. I recommend this collection only to fans of Roger Zelazny. For the casual science fiction fan I recommend you find a collection of stories from a variety of authors. The stories in this collection are:

  • The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth
    Deep sea fishing gone amuck.
  • The Keys to December
    Second best story in the collection. A man in cold sleep is awakened at intervals to check that the Worldchanger machines terraforming the planet are working correctly.
  • Devil Car
    Smart cars with AI turn feral, attack unsuspecting highway travelers.
  • A Rose for Ecclesiastes
    A scientist translates the Martian High Tongue and uncovers the secrets of the Mars.
  • The Monster and the Maiden
  • Collector's Fever
  • The Mortal Mountain
    Jack Summers climbs The Gray Sister, the highest mountain in the universe. But someone or something on the mountain does not want him to reach the top. My favorite story of the collection.
  • This Moment of the Storm
    "Man is the sum total of everything he has done, wished to do or not to do, and wished he had done, or hadn't."
  • The Great Slow Kings
  • A Museum Piece
    Got no purpose in life? Become a museum statue.
  • Divine Madness
  • Corrida
  • Love Is An Imaginary Number
  • The Man Who Loved the Faioli
  • Lucifer

The short shorts (that is, the really really short stories) in the collection are some of the best. The Great Slow Kings, Collector's Fever, Corrida, and Lucifer are among my favorites.


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