The Second Science Fiction Megapack

by Robert Silverberg (Editor/Contributor), Fritz Leiber, Murray Leinster

Hours of great reading await, with tales from some of the 20th century's most renowned science fiction authors, Here are 25 science fiction stories:

WHAT’S HE DOING IN THERE? by Fritz Leiber
THE MARCHING MORONS, by C.M. Kornbluth
GHOST, by Darrell Schweitzer
DEATH WISH, by Robert Sheckley
THE WAVERIES, by Fredric Brown
ADAM AND NO EVE, by Alfred Bester
FOXY LADY, by Lawrence Watt-Evans
THIN EDGE, by Randall Garrett
COMPANDROID, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
POSTMARK GANYMEDE, by Robert Silverberg
KEEP OUT, by Fredric Brown
THE HATE DISEASE, by Murray Leinster
UNIVERSAL DONOR, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
THE GREEN BERET, by Tom Purdom
MR. SPACESHIP, by Philip K. Dick
BRKNK’S BOUNTY, by Jerry Sohl
THE BATTLE OF LITTLE BIG SCIENCE, by Pamela Rentz
THE EGO MACHINE, by Henry Kuttner
THE MAN FROM TIME, by Frank Belknap Long
THE SENSITIVE MAN, by Poul Anderson
REVOLUTION, by Mack Reynolds
THE THING IN THE ATTIC, by James Blish
KNOTWORK, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
THE DUELING MACHINE, by Ben Bova and Myron R. Lewis
THE PLANET SAVERS, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

And don't forget to check out all the other volumes in the "Megapack" series! Search on "Megapack" in the ebook store to see the complete list...covering adventure stories, military, fantasy, ghost stories, and more!

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Amazon, Collections

614 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 14, 2011

About the author

There are many authors in the database with this name.

Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.

Reviews

[jersey9000]

Now that we are on the second collection, I am glad we've moved on a bit from that earlier form of Science Fiction- the kind where every woman is helpless, every white man is a hero, and every sentence ends with exclamation points. The first set was a mixed bag, but historically I found it interesting. This one, while the star rating remains the same (because there are some week tales in here for sure) has some great stuff in it. I enjoyed about 80% of this one. If you tried the first and wren't too into it, check this guy out.

[Andie]

Good anthology with some gems:

The first story “What’s He Doing in There?” is a quick, humorous take on how Earth people and Martians differ in their customs. Other stand out stories include “Keep Out” by Frederic Brown, “Postmark Ganymede” by Robert Silverberg, “Compandroid” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, “The Thing in the Attic” by James Blish, and the classic “The Marching Morons” by C.M. Kornbluth.

[Susan]

What's He Doing in There? • (1957) • shortstory by Fritz Leiber
The Marching Morons • (1951) • novelette by C. M. Kornbluth
Ghost • (1999) • shortstory by Darrell Schweitzer
Death Wish • (1956) • shortstory by Robert Sheckley
The Waveries • (1945) • shortstory by Fredric Brown
Adam and No Eve • (1941) • shortstory by Alfred Bester
Foxy Lady • (1992) • shortstory by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Thin Edge • (1963) • shortstory by Randall Garrett
♦ Compandroid by Nina Kiriki Hoffman RE-read 8/2/2015
Postmark Ganymede • (1957) • shortstory by Robert Silverberg
Keep Out • (1954) • shortstory by Fredric Brown
The Hate Disease by Murray Leinster
♦ Universal Donor by Nina Kiriki Hoffman RE-read 11/1/2015
The Green Beret • (1961) • shortstory by Tom Purdom
Mr. Spaceship • (1953) • novelette by Philip K. Dick
Brknk's Bounty • (1955) • shortstory by Jerry Sohl
The Battle of Little Big Science • (2010) • shortstory by Pamela Rentz
The Ego Machine • (1952) • novelette by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore [as by Henry Kuttner ]
The Man from Time • (1954) • shortstory by Frank Belknap Long
The Sensitive Man • [Psychotechnic League] • (1954) • novella by Poul Anderson
Revolution • (1960) • novelette by Mack Reynolds
The Thing in the Attic • [Pantropy] • (1954) • novelette by James Blish
Knotwork • (2002) • novelette by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
The Dueling Machine • (1963) • novella by Ben Bova and Myron R. Lewis
The Planet Savers • [Darkover] • (1958) • novella by Marion Zimmer Bradley

[Corinne]

I bought this book for Nina. 3 stories for $.99 but I also picked out some others to read also.

Only read these:

~ Nina Kiriki Hoffman - COMPANDROID 1990 - 3* Not enough of a story for me. We meet an android and the little boy he is caring for. We learn that his mind was wiped for this assignment. He was assigned to the boy's mother previously. Parts of his previous assignment start being accessible to this assignment and it indicates that he is becoming self aware...

~ Nina Kiriki Hoffman - UNIVERSAL DONOR 1989 - 4* Very unique. A vat that grows donor parts has a bit of conscienceness.

~ Nina Kiriki Hoffman - KNOTWORK 2002 - 3.5* a story that shows the reasons I love her. The way she writes magic is always interesting and unique. I can't say I loved the story/plot that much tho.

~ Lawrence Watt-Evans - FOXY LADY 1992 4* I usually love his shorts stories so I never skip them when I come across them in a anthology. Done now. I liked it. Easy to read, interesting, futuristic. A man wins a AI as a game show prize...

~ Fritz Leiber - WHAT'S HE DOING IN THERE? 1957 2* alien comes to earth, human & alien misunderstand each other.

~ Darrell Schweitzer - GHOST 1999 1* The ghost in the title is referring to "ghost writers" in the future. I wasn't fond of the way the author wrote the story so I couldn't absorb it well but if I understood the gist, in the future, the actors can be replaced by AIs but the writers can't be.

~ Philip K. Dick - MR. SPACESHIP 1953 DNF war stuff that just went through my eyes and out my ears and disappeared.

~ Jerry Sohl - BRKNK'S BOUNTY 1955 3* cute. Aliens were touring earth and one slipped away. It became friends with the MC and when the alien's family finally found it, the MC was gifted with something that helped him get his current job in the carnival.

~ Robert Silverberg - POSTMARK GANYMEDE 1957 3* an experienced spaceship patrol man is reassigned to postal worker. Surprisingly his old skills were very needed on his first delivery.

[Sotolf Flasskjegg]

This collection really had its ups and downs, some of the stories were really forgettable, others amusing, it took me quite a bit of time to get through it, but I'm really happy that I did.

The last story in particular was very good, and was in itself worth the price of the entire collection. It was really tender, and exploratory, and it had a bit of everything, and with an ending like that I was really tempted to give the whole collection an extra star, it really was a 5 star story, but I don't think that would be completely right when I look through my comments throughout reading.

If you like me like sci-fi, and want to see some different stories around it this is a good collection, and it's fun to see some different stories, there was a lot of good stories in there, but also some duds that were more of a chore to go through.

I found this second collection to be better than the first one, and I'm quite sure that I will go back to reading more of these collections, but I need to give them a bit of breathing room in between, or else I'm burning out on them. I'll say one thing from sure though, there is really a crazy good value for the price here, I paid less than a euro for the collection, and I got so many hours of entertainment out of it. So I know I'm repeating myself, but this is close to a four star book, but it's not quite there for me, but if you have a buck, and some hours there are far worse ways to spend them than getting this collection.

[Eros Fratini]

Finito con una certa fatica.
Come per gli altri due volumi Megapack letti finora (1° e 3°) non esiste un filo conduttore tra i racconti, e si passa dai superclassici alla fantascienza contemporanea.
Tra i migliori che mi sento di segnalare ci sono sicuramente The Marching Morons (che mi ha fatto molto pensare a Idiocracy), The Waveries, Adam and No Eve, The Ego Machine (un piccolo capolavoro) e The Thing in The Attic.
Per il resto... c'è un po' troppa fantascienza militaresca per i miei gusti.

[Ricky Kimsey]

Darkover And Other Places

The highlight of this volume is The Planet Savers which is the first volume in the Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It can be enjoyed with no knowledge of the rest of the series.

Along with that you got stories by Philip K. Dick,Mack Reynolds and other fine writers too.

[Jewell Moreno]

What a great ecclectic group of stories. Among my favorites was "The Waveries", "The Hate Disease", and "THe Dueling Machine" and "The Planet Savers". I am really enjoying classic sci fi, and it is amazing to me how relevant it still is today. I am so glad I found these collections of megapacks.

[James King]

Another good anthology

Another collection of old and new. I especially liked revisiting Darkover, a world I hadn't visited in at least 20 years.

[Pat]

Nice selection of stories.

[Richard]

Good read

Some stories better than others. Nevertheless enjoyable. They want thirteen more words but I have finished my review. So long pals.

[Bill Borre]

“Death Wish” by Robert Sheckley - Three men stuck in a spacecraft ask the computer if there is any way they can return to Earth alive given their circumstances. The computer answers yes but they must put up with each other's company for 2300 years with no sleep from the longevity serum provided until the spacecraft returns to Earth.

“Mr. Spaceship” by Philip K. Dick - Philip offers a military project to his old professor to transplant his brain into a rocket ship. The professor is a pacifist and kidnaps Philip and his estranged wife to take them into space and colonize a new planet.

“Postmark Ganymede” by Robert Silverberg - Preston has to deliver the mail to a colony on Ganymede that has been surrounded by ice worms.

"Brknk's Bounty" by Jerry Sohl - wc

[Carole O'Brien]

At the moment this Megapack of Short story's are 49p on Amazon.
My favorite short stories were:

"What's he doing in there" Fritz Leiber
"The Waveries" Fredric Brown
"Marching Morons" C. M. Kornbluth
"Foxy Lady" Lawerence Watt Evans
"Postmark Gannymede" Robert Silverberg, This short story really stood out for me I loved it.
"Keep out" Fredrik Brown.
"Brknk's Bounty" Jerry Sohl, loved this one, it gave me the feel good factor.
" Knotwork" Nina Kiriki Hoffman, this is a story I adored.
"The Planet Savers" Marion Zimmer Bradley.

[Mike]

This is a nice collection of classic SF short stories. Notably, it contains the first of C.M. Kornbluth's great duo: "The Marching Morons". The second, "Little Black Bag" is in the first volume. The rest of the stories are all very good, some seem dated, but others are fresh as when they were written. "The Planet Savers" seemed to me a good example of the latter. The plot centers around deliberate use of multiple personalities.

[Stuart]

Not as good as the first one tbh. There was still a few really nice little reads (the final one I really liked for example) but there was a lot more stuff this time where I just didn't enjoy it. Still, hard to complain when it was 49p

5/10

[Kelvin]

Sci-Fi -good and bad

On the whole the 2nd volume was better than the 1st. Most of the stories were well written although some of them either rambled or needed more explanation within the story. Having said that I'm looking forward to volume 3.

[Bryan Kornele]

Most of these stories were just bad.

[Taekwondodo]

I didn't really enjoy the stories in this compilation as much as the first one.

[Steve Davies]

This volume was certainly an improvement over the first, but many of the stories show their age still.

Worth a read for the sci-fi fan regardless.

[Jupiter Barrera]

Some great, some good, some ok.

[Craig]

Read for "The Waveries"

[Klaus-Michael Lux]

Some of the stories are really bad, most of them are okay though. Not much brilliance to be found here overall.

[Glinda Harrison]

Normally, I love golden age science fiction, but this collection just didn't do it for me. The first megapack was good, this one, not so much.

[Bryan Urbuteit]

It was good.

[Dr Janice Flux]

this is sort of a mixed bag, some horrible, a couple transcendent, most in the middle somewhere.

[Matthew Webb]

F

F-ing great! What a treat to read. Much better than creepypasta. These short stories are a delight. Baklava. Perfect Strangers.