Science Fiction Aficionados discussion

Please use this folder to create threads that list short stories and anthologies worth discussing.

short stories as in flash fiction?

short stories INCLUDING flash fiction!

my favorite short story anthologies:

Galactic Empires 1 & Galactic Empires 2
edited by brian aldiss

Okay - here is a list! Some hidden short story gems. There are stories that get anthologised many times but these I have only seen once. If you all think this is worthwhile, I have the details of which anthology I did find them in.

Also, this first list is pre-1970.


The Gnarly Man : L Sprague de Camp
The Sound Machine : Roald Dahl
The Mindworm : C M Kornbluth
Protected Species : HB Fyfe
The Fun they Had : Isaac Asimov
The Quest for St Aquin : Anthony Boucher
Command Performance : Walter M Miller
The Snowball Effect : Katherine Maclean
Lot : Ward Moore
The Liberation of Earth : William Tenn
Pyramid : Robert Abernathy
The [Widget], the [Wadget] and Boff : Theodore Sturgeon
The Failed Men : Brian W Aldiss
The Other Celia : Theodore Sturgeon
Space-Time for Springers : Fritz Leiber
For Love : Algis Budrys
The Store of the Worlds : Robert Sheckley
The Handler : Knight
The First Men : Fast
The First Days of May : Veillot
The Short Life : Francis Donovan
Christmas Treason : James White
Slow Tuesday Night : R A Lafferty
A Two Timer : David Masson
The Jigsaw Man : Larry Niven
Kyrie : Poul Anderson
Masks : Damon Knight
Going Down Smooth : Robert Silverberg

Anyone read any of those?

my gosh, paul, THIS IS AWESOME. i don't think i've read a single one! a couple look familiar, but i'm not sure. and i would love to find out details on where to find them. do you have any particular favorites?

i take it that the Knight of "The Handler" is also damon knight?

oops yes, - okayI will re-jig this and add sources; I take it you would be interested in a list from the 70s & 80s?

Okay, I have re-jigged the list and added sources with links, and also done a short 70s list too - I've put them in their own topics. With the links the lists don't look as pretty, but they're probably more useful!
I'll do a 1980s list at some point.

Here's a free short story - time travel - by Shane Lindemoen. He says it was inspired by Unburning Alexandria http://www.shanelindemoen.org/4/post/...

I found a 1989 free short story from Baen by Robert Silverberg: "Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another: AD 2130" here:
http://www.baen.com/Chapters/97816257...
For those who enjoy historical figures presented realistically.

Fun with Your New Head by Thomas M. Disch

Actually I've no idea if it's any good, I just love the title!

I'm 70 years old so I remember the days when SF came mostly in pulp magazines, although there were a few 'slicks'. In the 30's, 40's and early 50's SF was short stories. There were few novels other then more mainstream stuff that used SF in their plot like 1984 and Brave New world. SF novels and books began to appear more often in the 50's and many of these were 'fix-ups' made from combining several short stories using the same characters and universe. The first Foundation novel by Asimov was a classic example. SF short stories never went away with the advent of a huge market for novels but hey are no longer the major way for Sf writers to get into print 60 and more years ago. Later i may try to list some of my favorites but right now i would like to mention the shortest SF story ever written (as far as I know) by Fredric Brown. "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door..."