The Robert Sheckley Megapack presents 14 short stories and 1 novel by the author Neil Gaiman called "probably the best short-story writer during the '50s to the mid-1960s working in any field." Here are tales of adventure in strange futures, full of the wry wit and piercing characterizations that made Sheckley one of the great writers working in science fiction!"Robert Sheckley: the best short-story writer the field has produced." — Alan Dean Foster"I had no idea the compet...

A man wakes up after a fatal car accident—in someone else's body—in this ahead-of-its-time Hugo Award–nominated classic.Thomas Blaine remembered the car accident that killed him—and then he woke up in the hospital. A nurse told him where he was. "You'd call it being in the future." A future where bodies are sold to the highest bidder as new homes for the minds of the rich, who are greedy for more life when their own bodies wear out or are damaged. Suddenly, keeping ...

A collection of witty science fiction including a Nebula Award–nominated story.In "Diplomatic Immunity," what happens when an alien ambassador arrives, telling the residents of Earth that they will be joining a galactic union whether they like it or not—and the ambassador is unkillable?The thirteen other stories in this collection are "The People Trap," "The Victim from Space," "Shall We Have a Little Talk?", "Restricted Area," "The Odor of Thought," "The Nec...

In a near-future rush to cure murder with technology, inventor-manufacturer Charlie Gelsen helps launch the watchbirds: autonomous machines funded by government and industry to stop violence before it happens. At first they seem like a triumph of science, detecting criminal intent through brain waves, glandular reactions, and learning circuits that make them eerily effective hunters of killers. But Gelsen grows increasingly uneasy, fearing that a machine given the power to judge human beha...

Anders, a young instructor on the brink of confessing his love to Judy, is suddenly interrupted by a mysterious voice in his mind pleading for help. At first he fears he may be losing his grip on reality, but the voice insists that he can only find it by learning to see "correctly." What begins as a private romantic moment quickly turns uncanny, as Anders discovers that ordinary surroundings can dissolve into distorted patterns, exposing how fragile the familiar order of the world may be. ...

Edited by the mysterious Rey Bertran, the Science Fiction Archive #1 features some of the greatest science fiction writing of all time. Featuring: The Sentimentalists, by Murray Leinster The Girls from Earth, by Frank Robinson The Death Traps of FX-31, by Sewell Wright Song in a minor key, by C.L. Moore Sentry of the Sky, by Evelyn E. Smith Meeting of the Minds, by Robert Sheckley Junior, by Robert Abernathy Death Wish, by Ned Lang Dead World, by Jack Douglas Cost of Living, by Robert Shec...

Minotaur Maze is Robert Sheckley's modern take on the myth of the Minotaur. It is a tour de force of imagination, fantasy, and creative confusion. Through brief chapters running from "How Theseus Got His First Mintoauring Job" to "I Hate to Blame Daedalus for Everything," "The Attack of the Self Pity Plant," "Daedalus Dispenses with Causality," and finally, "Falling Through the Story," we travel a maze as lethally complicated as the Minotaur's and arrive at the end breathless with...

A hapless Earthling must find his way home through a universe of absurdities in this science fiction romp from a Hugo and Nebula Award–nominated master.New York civil servant Thomas Carmody has never been particularly lucky. Imagine his surprise when he discovers he's won the grand prize in an Intergalactic Lottery he had no idea he'd entered.Whisked far away to Galactic Central to claim his award, he has two immediate, equally troubling revelations. Not onl...

All secret agents need to look out for William Nye, now known as Agent X. His recruitment was simple and his legend is brilliant but unearned. Somehow, he thinks he's the best there is, and we all know how pride goeth before a fall. The master of SF hilarity and biting social satire creates a spy world that has gathered praise from the greats of the genre.From the very beginning of his career, Robert Sheckley was recognized by fans, reviewers, and fellow authors as a master storyte...

Science fiction tales from "one of the genre's leading humorists" ( The New York Times Book Review).In "Pilgrimage to Earth," on a long-desired trip to the home planet, a young man finds a perfectly developed society and, finally, deep, true love—which, sadly, only lasts for a very limited time before the reset button removes all trace of it.The fourteen other stories in this collection are "All the Things You Are," "Trap," "The Body," "Ear...

Marvin Goodman thinks he has discovered an unknown paradise and buys "A Ticket to Tranai." What starts as Utopia ends up becoming a death trap.The eleven other stories included in this collection are "The Mountain Without a Name," "The Accountant," "Hunting Problem," "A Thief in Time," "The Luckiest Man in the World," "Hands Off," "Something for Nothing," "The Battle," "Skulking Permit," "Citizen in Space," and "Ask a Foolish Question."From the very beginning of his career, R...

A treasury of fiction from " one of SF's all-time masters of the humorous or satirical short story" ( Booklist).In "The Cruel Equations," a planetary explorer finds out how lethal it can be when a robot guard has been designed to do too perfect a job.The fifteen other stories in this collection are "Can You Feel Anything When I Do This?", "Cordle to Onion to Carrot," "The Petrified World," "Game: First Schematic," "Doctor Zombie and...