A Better Mantrap

by Bob Shaw

A brilliant collection of original stories.

A predatory alien accidentally teleported to Earth.

A mad scientist and his imprisoned ghost.

A space traveller returns to face an accusation of murder.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Collections, Fiction

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Bob Shaw was born in Northern Ireland. After working in structural engineering, industrial public relations, and journalism he became a full time science fiction writer in 1975.

Shaw was noted for his originality and wit. He was two-time recipient (in 1979 and 1980) of the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer. His short story Light of Other Days was a Hugo Award nominee in 1967, as was his novel The Ragged Astronauts in 1987.

Reviews

[Ian House · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly interesting mix of sci-fi stories from 1982. A pretty enjoyable collection although nothing is really groundbreaking. Being written in the late 70s/early 80s some of these tales have aged. Shaw's presentation of women in particular can be a little jarring.

Thoughts on individual stories:

- Conversion - creepy monsters from outer space. Really good dark story. 4/5.
- Crossing the Line - A tight well crafted story about a robot dog and the value of family. Great stuff 5/5.
- Small World. Well written but something of nothing with an inconsequential side plot. 2/5.
- The Kingdom of O'Ryan - A very fun story that has you questioning the two parties at first. Goes a little crazy at the end. Unique. 4/5.
- Dream Fighter - A fantasy story which was a bit of a surprise. Telepathic boxing with imagined constructs in a short underdeveloped short that had a lot of potential. 3/5.
- The Cottage of Eternity - This one was rough, very long and dull. It tries to Science-ify ghosts with a particularly hammy story and tone. 1/5
- In the Hereafter Hilton - a quick tale of a house designed for executing criminals. Not much to it. 3/5.
- Amphitheatre - I have read this one before and it has some real issues with sexism/misogyny and a weird ending BUT the creature and some of the atmosphere is great. 4/5
- Frost Animals - By far the longest tale int be collection. A somewhat interesting tale that merges a murder mystery with deep space time dilation. A good idea but somewhat slow and more could've been done with the actual mystery. 3/5

[Andrew Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't quite work

This is a small collection of a few of Mr. Shaw's short stories. He attempts to craft them each with a twist to attempt to make them innovating & give them an interesting development. Unfortunately, most of these twists don't quite work and come across rather lamely.

[John Mount · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob Shaw - Genius

Thank you Kindle for bringing me back in touch with the sci-fi writers of yesterday. Bob Shaw was one of the best.

[Gloria Finocchi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antologia di storie di fantascienza. L'ho trovato, nell'insieme, piuttosto mediocre. Le ambientazioni sono molto datate, c'è sempre il sapore degli anni 50/60. Dimenticabile.

[Libbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Wikipedia:
A Better Mantrap (ISBN 0-586-05706-4) is a collection of science fiction short stories by Bob Shaw, published in 1982. It includes:

"Conversion"
"Crossing the Line"
"Small World"
"The Kingdom of O'Ryan"
"Dream Fighter"
"The Cottage of Eternity"
"In the Hereafter Hilton"
"Amphitheatre"
"Frost Animals"

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of nine science fiction stories.