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Alternatives is one of the Robert Adams short fiction collections that did the rounds in the 80s, pulling together stories from the Horseclans extended universe and from his other postapocalyptic-historical projects. The volume reads almost like an extended notebook from a writer who was never not working on something.
The strongest pieces are the early Horseclans-adjacent vignettes, which have the lean punch that the pulp short form rewards. The longer pieces sag in the way Adams's longer fiction sometimes did. The collection as a whole is for completists rather than for newcomers.
Three stars. Recommended only to readers already inside the Horseclans catalog who want to fill in the corners. Not the entry point for Adams.
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