DAUGHTERS OF EARTH AND OTHER STORIES. Merril, Judith. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, c1985. 383pp, paper, $5.95, ISBN 7710-5837-3. CIP Grade 8 and up Reviewed by Ron Rennie Volume 14 Number 4 1986 July The reader is presented here with eleven stories, most written thirty years ago. None, really, have dated, because this author explores relationships (I did not say human) using a style that has classified her as a science fiction writer. Merril uses possible future technological developments as a means to get the reader to stop and think about many inherited assumptions. The predominant place of women in the stories is not unusual today, but certainly was thirty years ago in science fiction writing. The stories themselves range from the here-on-earth development of psychic powers between people in "Peeping Tom" to (my favourite) the development on a distant planet of interspecies psychic vibrations in "Homecalling." As is the case with most short story collections, different people will have different responses, depending on whether they like action, or thought, a puzzle, or a tale full of symbols. Some stories have a happy ending, some do not, and some explore the concept of how people might react in different situations. Although "Homecalling" is the longest story in the collection, I think it would be an excellent literary exploration of relationships for bright grade 8 students on into high school. Ron Rennie, Daniel McIntyre C.I., Winnipeg, Man.