Four of the first five stories in the collection form an excellent example. "Three-Legged Dog" is a psychological drama, following a young woman whose "accidental" death is causing her to haunt her husband, a genius among computer game designers. Her fears turn toward ambition as she learns to invade his gaming world and use it to her own ends.

In "The Shape of Murder", the passengers on a space liner in hyperspace, deprived of the drugs that prevent hallucinations, create the presence of a well-known fictional detective when a murder unexpectedly occurs. Not only is the famous detective completely true to character, the novel situation produces a drawing-room scene in which the mystery is solved in an altogether unique fashion.

The title story of the collection follows the daily routine of the Impresario Angel as he glides above the torments of Hell, exposing them to viewers from Heaven. But on this day his curiosity as to what the denizens of the inferno really talk about leads him to discover demons engaged in a plot to journey to Heaven. And that's where he always wished he was.

Then "Caucus Winter" re-visits the old nightmare of Colossus, the super-computer seizing control of the worlds arms systems. This time the computer is a new quantum computer, hacked into by U.S. right-wing extremists in order to hold the world hostage tom the threat of nuclear missiles. Watson both updates and twists the premise just enough to make the vision truly chilling once again.

The collection continues on, running the course from fantasy to hard science fiction, all with an idiosyncratic bend and all told with an impeccable sense of style. The Great Escape is a collection of stories to fit every mood of the reader who doesn't feel compelled to stay in one niche, but instead is looking for quality wherever he or she may find it.

Songwriters who are perceived as too eclectic sometimes fail to connect with any lasting audience. Their ability to mix styles actually works against them. Ian Watson's career is good evidence that in science fiction that problem can be avoided. His regularly published novels and stories nominated for major awards are testimony that the SF community has a place for a writer who doesn't necessarily stick to one kind of story or style. That's good for Ian Watson, and good for us.