Air Raid

John Varley
Air Raid Cover

Air Raid

illegible_scribble
8/11/2021
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This story packs an amazing amount of worldbuilding into a small space without outright infodumping. Although it's a vision of a grim future, it also has that masterful sensawunda and an innovative concept that was mindblowing at the time it was written (albeit much repeated since).

Readers who enjoy this story are encouraged to seek out the novel-length version entitled Millennium; some SFF fans rate the short story as better, others favor the novel as superior. (The movie version starring Cheryl Ladd and Kris Kristofferson is probably best left as a curiosity for completists.)