‘Ssoroghod’s People’ by Larry Niven

An alien walks into a bar… Apparently this is part of Niven’s Draco Tavern series and it is possible that being familiar with other stories in the series enriches the reading experience. Coming to it cold it is just another club story.

Quality: **
Shiftiness: **

”Bassador’ by Catherine Wells

It is only in an anthology like Redshift that a story this average could stand out. ”Bassador’ is the sort of SF story that is the bread and butter of the magazines: an unfamilar world, presented by degrees, with a small revelation at the end. Here, however, such standard competency is rare.

Quality: ***
Shiftiness: ***