Thursday, November 13, 2014

"The Game of Blood and Dust" by Roger Zelazny

First Publication:  Galaxy, April 1975

Cover Artist:  Jack Gaughan

 I remember reading this in Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine when it originally was published.  At that time, Zelazny was still writing the original “Amber” series (which was being serialized in Galaxy).  “The Game of Blood and Dust” shows what happens when two beings with god like powers use the Earth as their chessboard.  Changes to our history are the moves in the game.  As expected, I liked this story.  Zelazny poetic use of language always appeals to me.  In a very short story, he manages to cover the history of man.

Recommended.

1 comment:

Carl V. Anderson said...

Has to be fun to look back and remember reading this when it was released. While I enjoy reading magazines and e-zines featuring short SFF fiction that are coming out currently, there is something that seems so much more special about these older magazines and the authors who were published in them. I realize that is just looking back through nostalgia-lensed glasses, but I cannot help feeling that way.