Wolfe is one of the greats of science fiction, but I found this story only averagely satisfying; it feels curiously old-fashioned to me. The tale focuses on the three surviving members of a six-person crew sent to explore an alien planet. One of the crew, Leif, is outside the ship as we join the story, and apparently hallucinating. On his return, Leif claims to have brought birds aboard ship with him; his crewmates, Ena and Brennan, doubt him – but soon have reason to question their assumptions.

‘Leif in the Wind’  revolves around the question of whether or not Leif is actually hallucinating; there’s some ambiguity along the way, but not enough, I don’t think, to sustain the story. And I don’t really feel the claustrophobic atmosphere for which the tale seems to be aiming.

Rating: ***