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...

Step into the extraordinary worlds of Robert Sheckley, one of the most brilliant and imaginative writers of science fiction and satire. This meticulously curated collection brings together 14 of his most iconic works, showcasing his unparalleled ability to blend humor, intellect, and speculative fiction into unforgettable narratives. Sheckley’s sharp wit and visionary storytelling are on full display in classics like Cost of Living, where consumerism reaches absurd extremes, and Bad Medici...

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...

It's the twenty-first century and the ugliness of war no longer exists, except on a very personal level. Nowadays, people like Marcello Polletti, seller of Roman sunsets, and Caroline Meredith, lithe, beautiful, blond, and backed by corporate sponsors and the Roy Bell Dancers, hunt, chase, and kill one another for sport and for the entertainment of the masses—until something oddly like personal human feelings pops up to confuse the players and up the stakes as each of them seeks to kill a ...

People hunt and kill one another as public entertainment and to win prizes in "Seventh Victim," the short version of Sheckley's novel The 10th Victim, which was made into a movie.The twelve other stories in this collection are "The Monsters," "Cost of Living," "The Altar," "Shape," "The Impacted Man," "Untouched by Human Hands," "The King's Wishes," "Warm," "The Demons," "Specialist," "Ritual," and "Beside Still Waters."From the very beginning of his career, Robert S...

More than three dozen of the best and most popular stories by the acknowledged master of the short science fiction story. The thirty-nine works contained in this volume—twenty-six from the author's ten other Open Road collections, plus thirteen additional pieces unique to this volume—include these vintage Sheckley stories: "The Eye of Reality," "The Language of Love," "The Accountant," "A Wind Is Rising," "The Robot Who Looked Like Me," "The Mnemone," "Warm," "The Native Problem," "Fishing...

Tom Mishkin is piloting another routine supply flight when he hears an unusual noise and gets the distressing news: He's about to be stranded on a backward planet and forced to hike across unknown and probably hostile terrain to find a cache of spare parts and get going again. Mishkin's journey introduces him to strange aliens like a five-headed man-eating snake with Mob connections as his trek slowly warps into a metaphysical search for his soul and the meaning of human existence . . .

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...

Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy? Yes!Wandering Stars is the landmark collection of Jewish science fiction and fantasy. The first of its kind, it is an established and enduring classic.This is the first time in a science fiction collection that the Jewish People—and the richness of their themes and particular points of view—appear without a mask. Wandering Stars is a showpiece of Jewish wit, culture, and lore, of the blend of humor and s...

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 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...

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...