4.5 stars, really. I loved most of the stories in this collection. The framing (that each of the stories is an "illustration" that comes alive on this man's body) is the reason the volume doesn't get a full five stars. It is kind of strange and doesn't really add anything to the anthology. It was easy to forget about once I got in to the stories. The short stories themselves were all pretty good. For the most part they were very well written and poignant - using futuristic scenarios to illustrate human qualities and flaws. It was a collection well worth reading.