Overall review:
Excellent, memorable science fiction anthology - all of the nine stories in this collection are well-written, entertaining: worth owning, this.
Standout stories:
1.) "Ancient, My Enemy": A clan of mountain-ranging cannibals, led by a feud-minded chief (Hehog), track a group of prospectors back to civilization. Excellent, memorable tale that resonates on multiple levels with its timeless themes and troubling emotions.
2.) "Tiger Green": Intriguing story about a human crew that's trapped on a jungle world, awash in their own nightmares and impending insanity, who are trying to escape. Like other stories in this anthology, "Green" sports a strong, satisfactory sense of morality, humanism and logic, especially in how the men's situation(s) play out.
3.) "The Friendly Man": A time traveler (Mark Toren) discovers that his arrival in a strangely familiar future may be less - and more - than he expected. Compact, fun Twilight Zone-esque read.
4.) "Love Me True": Another compact, fun Twilight Zone-esque entry, this one about a soldier (Ted Homan), whose exotic, affectionate alien pet (Pogey) raises red flags among his commanding officers.
5.) "The Bleak and Barren Land": Bureaucratic pettiness forces a Colonial Representative (Kent Harmon) into an untenable political and survival situation - trying to head off an impending conflict between planet-native aliens (Modorians) and incoming imperious human settlers. This is a masterful story, resonant on multiple levels and increasingly intense; it's also one of the best pieces in this collection.
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