The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack: 25 Modern Classic and Stories

by Arthur C. Clarke, Nancy Kress, George Zebrowski

"The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack" presents 25 more mind-bending excursions through time and space, with great stories by such authors as Arthur C. Clarke, Nancy Kress, Lawrence Watt-Evans, George Zebrowski, Philip K. Dick, and many more! Included are:

OUT OF ALL THEM BRIGHT STARS, by Nancy Kress

THE HANGING STRANGER, by Philip K. Dick

WALKING JOHN AND BIRD, by Neal Asher

THE SYMPHONIC ABDUCTION, by Hannes Bok

THE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD, by Arthur C. Clarke

HILLARY ORBITS VENUS, by Pamela Sargent

MAYBE JUST A LITTLE ONE, by Reginald Bretnor

THE ULTROOM ERROR, by Jerry Sohl

REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS TO COME, by Lawrence Watt-Evans

THE ASTRONAUT FROM WYOMING, by Adam-Troy Castro & Jerry Oltion

PRIDE, by Mary A. Turzillo

CAT AND MOUSE, by Ralph Williams

THE RECORD, by Forrest J Ackerman and Ray Bradbury

THE NEW REALITY, by Reginald Bretnor

WHAT HATH ME? by Henry Kuttner

BRIDGE OF SILENCE, by George Zebrowski

SUN’S UP, by A.A. Jackson IV and Howard Waldrop

CONSIGNMENT, by Alan E. Nourse

THE SYNDIC, by C.M. Kornbluth

AFTER BONESTELL, by Jay Lake

THE JEWELS OF APTOR, by Samuel R. Delany

THE MISSISSIPPI SAUCER, by Frank Belknap Long

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE, by Murray F. Yaco

CANCER WORLD, by Harry Warner, Jr.

EGOCENTRIC ORBIT, by John Cory

And don't forget to search this ebook store for more entries in the Megapack series, covering everything from science fiction and fantasy to horror, westerns, pulp fiction, adventure, ghost stories, and much, much more!

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

634 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2013

About the author

Stories, works of noted British writer, scientist, and underwater explorer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, include 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

This most important and influential figure in 20th century fiction spent the first half of his life in England and served in World War II as a radar operator before migrating to Ceylon in 1956. He co-created his best known novel and movie with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.

Clarke, a graduate of King's College, London, obtained first class honours in physics and mathematics. He served as past chairman of the interplanetary society and as a member of the academy of astronautics, the royal astronomical society, and many other organizations.

He authored more than fifty books and won his numerous awards: the Kalinga prize of 1961, the American association for the advancement Westinghouse prize, the Bradford Washburn award, and the John W. Campbell award for his novel Rendezvous with Rama. Clarke also won the nebula award of the fiction of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979, the Hugo award of the world fiction convention in 1974 and 1980. In 1986, he stood as grand master of the fiction of America. The queen knighted him as the commander of the British Empire in 1989.

Reviews

[Sean Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable, eclectic collection to keep my scientific flame aglow. Particular favourites? THE HANGING STRANGER, which I'd read before, EGOCENTRIC ORBIT, MEMBERSHIP DRIVE, THE ASTRONAUT FROM WYOMING (which actually seemed more a novella) and REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS TO COME (the idea of which gripped me).

[jersey9000 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I have already reviewed the other five in this series, so by now there are not many surprises. This one tends to have "newer" stories, and some of them I actually remember reading from when I was younger, so maybe I am finally catching up, haha. There is some good stuff here: the best of the bunch was, for me The Astronaut from Wyoming. I had to deduct a whole star for the inclusion of Hillary Orbits Mars, though. I think that is easily the worst story in any of these collections thus far. Oh god, what a chore to slog through. It reads like the worst kind of fan fiction culled from someone's online journal. The whole thing isn't a story, just a bunch of really crappy "what if?" scenarios: what if Hillary became an astronaut instead of a politician? Oooh, oooh, and . . . and she marries Carl Sagan! And Bill is still president, but his VP is, is . . . Newt Gingrich! And then at the end Bill and Hillary meet, and she thinks he's attractive! Imagine that for like 20 pages where nothing happens.

Okay, rant over. If you liked the other ones, buy this one, but skip that story. Dear Sweet Baby Jeebus skip that story.

[Jim Kratzok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice anthology full of a variety of stories. Overall I'd have to say the stories were worth reading. There were two that were so bad, either because they were dated or just lousy (I don't recall and can't be bothered to look it up), that I just skipped ahead to the next story. That's the thing with a collection like this. Some stories are incredible and leave you feeling a sense of wonder and satisfaction. Others don't. But one man's meat is another man's poison, as they say.

[Alistair Ravie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the greatest. A couple of good stories, some ok and some stinkers.

There are better anthologies, but passed an otherwise dull day.

[Ricky Kimsey]

Great Read

This collection has some great stories. My favorites are two short stories by Arthur C. Clarke and Panela Sargent. The Clarke story is about monks hiring a computer company to help in their mission to catalog all the various names for God. The Sargent story is an alternative history story where Hillary Clinton didn't marry Bill Clinton and became an astronaut.

[Clarence Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

ReedIII Quick Review: Okay collection of often fairly lightweight science fiction. Some good and some not as good but most easy to read. The longer stories tended to be much too long and not as enjoyable.

[Earl Truss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems like the further I go in this series, the lower the quality of stories become.

[Squeaky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some real good stories here, some not to my taste. I really liked Hilary Orbits Venus!!

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all anthologies, I take them as an opportunity to read stories by favorite authors I may have never read and along the way find an interesting new author or two to add to my list of who to read. There was a mix of stories. some I really liked others just held me lukewarm. but 'eh that's what you usually get from a collection. im still a fan of anthologies and will continue to read them.

[Bill Borre]

"The Hanging Stranger" by Philip K. Dick - Ed comes out of his basement when he notices a body hanging from a lamppost. Ed gets agitated when nobody around reacts as if anything is wrong. He soon learns that the town has been invaded by alien insects and the body was left there as bait to draw out those unaffected.

"The Martian Shore" by Charles L. Fontenay - wc

[Eibo Thieme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories are exceptional, »The Nine Billion Names of God« by Arthur C. Clarke would suffice to make the price of about 1$ low, but I probably should have skipped all those stories which did not excite me after the first page.

[Magareshko · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some brilliant short stories here and some rather boring long ones. Hence the 3 stars.

[Mampersat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stories - but also some real sleepers.