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But suffice it to say a man and a robot come to Earth.
The robot begins to do something scary. And in the end, something good happens. In his day, author Will Jenkins, pen name Murray Leinster, wrote some incredible stories - in the good sense, not the bad sense - not the least of which was his most famous, First Contact , and arguably his most fun, A Logic Named Joe. If you love creative, entertaining and fascinating stories about early computers and their effects on society, then you might think A Logic Named Joe belongs on this list instead of Pipeline to Pluto , and you'd be right.
It should be here. But I chose Pipeline to Pluto , because while more understated, it's more of a human story, with a larger-than-life lesson, and - are you sensing a trend - it's got a grand old twist. It's simply a more impressive literary feat. Pipeline to Pluto is a highly detailed and convincing tale of space travel. It's anything but a space opera filled with glamour and adventure, though. The story describes a prosaic world of blue-collar transportation - freight, in fact.
Like much Golden Age science fiction, the story, told through fast-paced narrative and dialogue, isn't concerned with conveying a political viewpoint or defending a special interest group. It's concerned with ideas: It's the good-guys vs. It's essentially modern and optimistically heroic. It's righteous in a good way. It's better than T And all of this won't make any sense to you unless you read it. Suffice it to say that if stories like Pipeline to Pluto were written today, I'd be out there reading them instead of writing this.
And it's not just because there's a [spoiler alert: This list wouldn't be complete without Flowers for Algernon , but I almost left it out. This Hugo-award-winning short story and literary classic is simply amazing. Unfortunately, it almost didn't make it onto my list of best science fiction short stories of all time, because I couldn't read it. I have no spine when it comes to Nazi stories, stories about human lab experiments, and stories about mental disability.
This one is not a Nazi story, but it has two out of three, and that's enough for me. But my husband insisted that if I wouldn't read it, at least it should go on this list. And so here it is. If you're stronger than me, and if you didn't already read it in school, read Flowers for Algernon. It's one of the few science fiction stories that have become famous in the mainstream, and with good reason.
So what do you think about my selections? What are your favorite short stories in the science fiction genre, past or present? Please leave a comment and, if you feel like it, say why you think it's the best. See the author's disclosure regarding compensation for this article.
Sign in or sign up and post using a HubPages Network account. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites. Sprague de Camp -- that last one being MY fave time-travel novella. Great list, but misses a lot of classics. A Canticle for Leibowitz, perhaps because of the irony involved.
I like Nightfall as the premise is outstanding, but it is indeed a few page story pulled out to I enjoyed this hub and your selection of short stories. Of these authors however I only know Asimov and Heinlein.
The trouble is I mainly read science fiction novels and not short stories. My favourite Heinlein novel and the first I ever read was "Glory Road" and I must have read it four times now. I found "Stranger in a Strange Land" heavy going from about half way through. I do like H G Wells eg.
Time Machine and Edgar Rice Burroughs, but my favourite SF short story writer is Robert Silverberg though I can't tell you the names of any of his short stories off hand. One of his novels was Lord Valentine's Castle. I'm so happy it led you to some fun reading. Here's to the forgotten and the underdogs of SF! And if you come across anything else you think should be on this list in your reading travels, do post! Thanks for a great list! While I'm sure many would opt to select different stories, this list is a great jump off point for someone like me who has always cradled an affinity for science fiction but hasn't dabbled in the classics that set the stage for today's storytelling.
Dune initially lured me into the realm of sci-fi, which I re-read every two years or so because of its richness, but branching off into the classics seems all the more intriguing after today.
Hmm, it's been quiet here for a while, so I thought I'd update with some of my latest reads. I just read two short stories from the Golden Age: I sure wanted to like 'em. Both failed to be sufficiently "ooh, wow, YEAH! Thank you so much for buying my book, Steel Engineer, and even being the first to review it!
One of the all time classic sci-fi short stories, "All Summer in a Day" follows a day in the life of a young girl on the distant, rainy planet of Venus. For fans of science fiction and fantasy, short films offer fascinating new stories Fake documentaries are great, and they're making big splashes right now on the .
Since I've had this book up for quite some time and it's made very few sales, I'd say you're right, my pricing is unrealistic. But you're correct, this is a different economy. I just went and changed the price to be more competitive. Sorry you just missed the good price As for my name I'm a big one for pen names and have to admit I have quite a few.
Indeed, sometimes I think I decided to be a writer because it was the only legit way to have lots of cool pseudonyms! That was before the Internet, of course! I do have relatives from way-back in the Ukraine, I believe. And, this is a very good read. You write science fiction the way it ought to be written. Good sci-fi always has some wit, some theory, and some of the unexpected. The author name is Karen Kolodenko, not Chris Teldon Female writer using male name to bypass gender bias of sci-fi readers.
Either way, very good short story. I think you will get more sales with a lower price. It might bring some sales. Peace and best wishes. PS- -enko is Ukrainian. I'm living in Kiev, so I know all about -enko and -chuk. The politicians nowadays need good Ukrainian names to win elections. Thanks for following up, Steel Engineer. Yeah, Connie Willis isn't known for action-based stories. She's more character-based and about shifts in paradigms and often bridges science fiction and fantasy. I find her very re-readable, but my husband does not.
He is the major sciencefictionite around these parts and would put together a completely different list, I think, and include A Martian Odyssey. Well, I made a third effort to read Connie Willis' book today. I realized it was work. She does a lot of explaining through thoughts Not so much action. And, the sci-fi aspects are not that convincing. I will try some other stories. But, I plan to abandon page much sooner if it is not interesting. You're right - A Martian Odyssey was life-changing and society-changing and a true "first. I think I need to give it another read and come at it with expectations not so modern.
I bought Connie Willis' book, 12 stories, through your link. The preceding had no Kindle versions. I'll let you know later what I think. Hubbers should shop first for another hubber's link I'm looking forward to reading some of the books on the list again. There is a short story called Slow Birds by Ian Watson from I think about that I read about 10 years ago and just can't get it out of my head.
I agree with theframjak about "Nine billion names". Never read the "Last Question" by Aasimov. Another thing for my "to do" list. What a great list. I agree with many, my favorite remains Flowers for Algernon but I have read almost everything in your list. Some of these I had forgotten about! I agree with your comment on Heinlein though- I remember Stranger in a Strange Land and liking it hey- it was the 60s but the rest of his stuff I could do without. You have inspired me to do more Golden Oldies on my blog. We really do need to pay homage to the older writers and introduce the young uns to them.
What an interesting list! I love science fiction stories and the passing of Bradbury was just tragic and all too soon, a great light gone out in the literary sky. I had a top 50 list, but it was more than 10, words. So I decided to just make a top 10 list. Another issue with modern "science fiction" is the inclusion of fantasy elements and the repeat titles of a current story line until the old master has degenerated it completely series like Ringworld, Dune.
Nice list ive only read one of these Farewell to the Master and enjoyed it so will look into the rest of the list. This hub is all about the old SF masters, and I honestly meant to keep it that way.
But then, under the influence of a lot of caffeine, I decided it would be very, very wrong not to self-promote my brand new short story ebook available for purchase on Kindle:. It's not hard sci-fi - in fact, it's fairly squishy. But some of you might recognize the occasional gentle bow to some of the Golden Age greats Flowers for Algernon is a definite classic - I think it captures the hopes and frustrations of intellect in a way that few other works can match. Just out of curiosity, have you read Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"?
I, too, tend not to enjoy Heinlein much, but "Starship Troopers" seems to be far more realistic and "grounded" than most of his other works. You see and he made a very compelling argument that with a short story you are limited to the amount of time and more importantly the number of words you can use, not only to set the story up but also to complete it.
You see Asimov's argument was that with such constraints you had to be short, sharp and concise and it was only the true masters of their profession would could pull this off. Hence this book, good or bad, love or hate consisted of the work of authors who knew short stories and how to write them. Suddenly it makes you see the whole book in a totally new light and I for one was made to appreciate things I had not stopped to think about.
I know I often say this but sometimes a books is made by its introduction or end notes more than its contents and this is a perfect example. If you picked it up just for a collection of short stories, but if you read a little further you would realise this is something more. Aug 07, Ian rated it it was ok. Isaac Asimov wrote an entire introduction advancing the proposition that the effectiveness of short-short stories rests upon their "punch line.
Do your damnedest to ignore the blurbs — if you can manage it, you'll be much better of Isaac Asimov wrote an entire introduction advancing the proposition that the effectiveness of short-short stories rests upon their "punch line. Do your damnedest to ignore the blurbs — if you can manage it, you'll be much better off. Oct 14, Fred Hughes rated it liked it. An oddball collection of really really short science fiction stories. Some of the authors are well known and others I've never heard of.
Most stories are from the 50's 60's and 70's with the ocassional 's story. Some show flashes of brilliance while others not so much. Depending on how much you read the ending of some of them is obvious while others are may sophisticated. So if like your science fiction in small bites this is the book for you. Light reading, nothing too heavy to absorb.
Jan 10, Murray rated it it was amazing. This is my favorite collection of stories! Dec 05, Bad-at-reading rated it it was amazing Shelves: If groan-worthy Twilight Zone twists and terrible, awful puns are your thing, this is an essential anthology. I love both of these things unashamedly. May 26, Helen Patrice rated it liked it.
I first read this book possibly Loved it to bits. Rereading it now, I find the many of the ideas limited, and relying on the set-up of a fairly crappy pun. A fair few dated attitudes, too. Apr 06, Gisele rated it it was amazing Shelves: The title is a bit misleading. The included short stories are "short short" in length, but few are actually great. Coming from a host of major and minor science fiction and fantasy writers there are many themes exercised throughout the work and co-editor Isaac Asimov himself includes four of his short stories.
For one, George R. Martin's "FTA," a short involving interstellar travel, is surprisingly good considering The title is a bit misleading. Martin's "FTA," a short involving interstellar travel, is surprisingly good considering that he is known for his fantasy work "A Song of Ice and Fire.
Although a prolific mathematician and science writer, his stories, like most of the shorts in this work of , are dull. For each story, Azimov includes a one phrase introduction to the story in attempt to provide a comedic summary of the upcoming story. Sadly, these quips are more distracting then they are helpful and coupled with the large amount of disposable short stories, this work largely disappoints. Only short stories from George R. Nolan, R Sheckley, H. Plachta save this collection from complete failure. Oct 02, Michael Tildsley rated it liked it. This is a collection that, for the most part, doesn't take itself too seriously.
It seems that most of the time short-short stories only ever really have time to convey one emotion, and the easiest emotion to send out in a short amount of time is humor. I don't dislike that, and many of the funny stories in this collection are memorable, but so too are the ones that end in tragedy. Here are the stories I thought were worthy of five stars in and of themselves: Hoch "The Destiny o This is a collection that, for the most part, doesn't take itself too seriously.
Aug 30, Cheri Arbuckle rated it really liked it. I love good flash fiction. This book is a great combination of both. In here are stories from the biggest names in SF prior to Some stories are better than others, as to be expected with any short story collection, but particularly one this size. Keep in mind the age of these stories while reading them.
He begins to build a boat from the wreckage and gathers the town to his vision. Beasts of the Southern Wild is immediately brought to mind by this incredibly moving short, which makes sense as they share the same director.
The 1up Fever Another faux—doc…maybe? The question as to how many levels of reality exist in our iPhone—connected world is central to The 1up Fever. The game turns the city into a live—action Super Mario Brothers , only played for Bitcoins and run by a mysterious benefactor. Pennebaker, and the style reminds me of Run Lola Run. Requiem for a Robot Sometimes, films turn on you. The drunken robot has been a popular subject for comedic science fiction since before Bender showed up on Futurama.
At once hilarious and heart—breakingly sad, Requiem for a Robot tells its story in a lo—fi way that never once makes you question the existence of a cardboard robot. The film uses archival footage from NASA along with period—style animation and a soundtrack that reminds me of what would happen if Wendy Carlos and Phillip Glass had a kid who wrote s sci—fi scores.
The editing is flawless with fast cuts and intense transitions that make this an amazing adventure indeed. Christopher J Garcia is a writer, fanzine editor, curator, filmmaker, and historian from Boulder Creek, California.