Arguably the best collection of Ellison tales that can be held for long periods in one hand (which by definition excepts the mammoth The Essential Ellison). The theme is modern deities -- not Yahweh or Muhammad or Mother Earth, but Microprocessor and Alienation and, of course, Cash.
Technically it's a retrospective: Quite a few old, previously collected classics are here ("Shattered Like a Glass Goblin," "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes"). But the real triumph lies in several newer tales -- principally, "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs," "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans" and the title story, a retelling of Genesis from the serpent's viewpoint -- that show Ellison entering whole new realms of imagination, innovation and self-assurance.
No Ellison collection before or since has been so eloquent and revelatory.
