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. ...

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...

An ordinary king finds himself on an extraordinary quest in this intergalactic soap opera by the acclaimed sci-fi author and "precursor to Douglas Adams" ( The New York Times).Dramocles, an ordinary king on an ordinary planet, finds himself thrust into an adventure that combines soap opera, Greek tragedy, and Shakespearean drama as he unwillingly—and disastrously—seeks to fulfill his destiny. Unfortunately, that destiny is only revealed to him piece by pie...

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...

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...

In "The Prize of Peril," everyone lives on . . . because when someone is about to die, the emergency squad is always there to bring that person back—whether he or she wants it or not.The seven other stories in this collection are "The Humours," "Triplication," "The Minimum Man," "If the Red Slayer," "The Store of the Worlds," "The Gun Without a Bang," and "The Deaths of Ben Baxter."From the very beginning of his career, Robert Sheckley was recognized by fans, reviewers, and f...

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...

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...

In Dead Run, Robert Sheckley once again proves his versatility and razor-edged command of noir fiction, bringing back the cynical, quick-witted investigator Stephen Dain in a tense, atmospheric mystery that smolders with danger and sardonic charm. When Dain takes on what seems like a simple missing-person case, he soon finds himself neck-deep in a labyrinth of deception where every ally has a hidden motive — and every truth leads straight to a corpse.Sheck...

In Live Gold, Robert Sheckley plunges his hardboiled hero Stephen Dain into a glittering, treacherous world where greed, deceit, and glamour collide. When Dain is hired to recover a cache of stolen gold, he quickly discovers that every lead comes with a double-cross — and that the real treasure isn't what's buried, but who's willing to kill for it. Set against a backdrop of sun-drenched coastlines, smoky bars, and luxury gone rotten, Sheckley's noir pulses with cy...

In "The Status Civilization," the protagonist, Will Barrent, finds himself in a bizarre and oppressive society known as Omega. Barrent has been wrongly convicted of a crime and sentenced to life imprisonment on Omega, a planet where the entire population consists of prisoners.The novel follows Barrent's attempts to navigate the harsh and unforgiving environment of Omega while seeking to prove his innocence and escape from the planet. As he interacts with other inmates and uncovers the trut...

In Prospector's Special, the story revolves around a futuristic scenario involving space travel and resource exploitation. The central plot focuses on a group of space prospectors who are on a mission to mine valuable resources from an alien planet or asteroid. These prospectors, equipped with advanced technology and driven by the promise of great wealth, face a series of challenges and unexpected developments.The story often features Sheckley’s trademark humor and satirical observations a...