Never read any of the Left Behind books, so I'm sure some of the satire involved was lost on me. Still, amusing. ( )

This short volume is one of PM Press's "Outspoken Authors" series, as usual featuring several examples of Bisson's writing plus an interview and bibliography.

The title story is Bisson's take on the idea of the Rapture, in which proper Christians are whisked to heaven while the rest of us must suffer for seven years before Jesus's return. More specifically the LaHaye/Jenkins Left Behind books were on Bisson's mind. In this telling, the vanished are the rich, influential and cruel - for example, nearly everyone in an airplane's first class compartment disappears, but most in economy are untouched. With the bad people gone, the world gets on pretty well, actually. No more wars. But what about the Return in seven years' time? It's a fun story, maybe too heavy on the satire.

"Special Relativity, a One-Act Play in Three Scenes" brings Albert Einstein, Paul Robeson, and J. Edgar Hoover to a contemporary (2006) backyard to meet a group of young people putting together a protest against President George W. Bush. The clash of worldviews between two eras, today and that of the dead historical figures, and also between Hoover and the leftists, drives the humor.

The interview covers Bisson's career, and is interesting on how he has combined left activism with a career in science fiction. ( )