The Jaguar Hunter

Eleven tales, 1984-86, from a writer of weird tales whose rise to fame has been meteoric - and deservedly so. One secret of Shepard's success is that his stories have an intriguing philosophical basis: they occur in worlds (ours, too, perhaps) where technology and science (reason) are slowly giving way to magic (unreason, intuition); Shepard's stories anticipate the turmoils and terrors associated with such a transition. His war stories, for instance, project the Vietnam experience ahead into a nightmarish, equally terrifying and meaningless clash in Central America: soldiers deranged (or inspired) by supernatural events struggle to come to terms with themselves, in combat ("Salvador") or behind the lines (the long story "R & R"). Other yarns superbly evoke the lush Caribbean landscape and its juxtaposition with the spirit world. Shepard's horror tales, too, are far from routine, what with wind elementals, Hindu shadow-creatures, and Nazis in various guises. And there are parable-like entries (a confidence trickster vows to slay a vast, immobilized dragon - by covering it with toxic paint; a civilized female alien is trapped in a male human body on barbaric Earth). All these, even when they don't quite come off have a satisfying depth and weight; Shepard never panders nor retreats into empty phrases. The price tag is hefty, but worth it. If you read no other story collection this year, read this one. (Kirkus Reviews)