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I found "Stranger in a Strange Land" heavy going from about half way through. I do like H G Wells eg. Time Machine and Edgar Rice Burroughs, but my favourite SF short story writer is Robert Silverberg though I can't tell you the names of any of his short stories off hand. One of his novels was Lord Valentine's Castle. I'm so happy it led you to some fun reading. Here's to the forgotten and the underdogs of SF!
And if you come across anything else you think should be on this list in your reading travels, do post! Thanks for a great list! While I'm sure many would opt to select different stories, this list is a great jump off point for someone like me who has always cradled an affinity for science fiction but hasn't dabbled in the classics that set the stage for today's storytelling.
Dune initially lured me into the realm of sci-fi, which I re-read every two years or so because of its richness, but branching off into the classics seems all the more intriguing after today. Hmm, it's been quiet here for a while, so I thought I'd update with some of my latest reads. I just read two short stories from the Golden Age: I sure wanted to like 'em. Both failed to be sufficiently "ooh, wow, YEAH! Thank you so much for buying my book, Steel Engineer, and even being the first to review it! Since I've had this book up for quite some time and it's made very few sales, I'd say you're right, my pricing is unrealistic.
But you're correct, this is a different economy. I just went and changed the price to be more competitive. Sorry you just missed the good price As for my name I'm a big one for pen names and have to admit I have quite a few. Indeed, sometimes I think I decided to be a writer because it was the only legit way to have lots of cool pseudonyms! That was before the Internet, of course! I do have relatives from way-back in the Ukraine, I believe. And, this is a very good read. You write science fiction the way it ought to be written. Good sci-fi always has some wit, some theory, and some of the unexpected.
The author name is Karen Kolodenko, not Chris Teldon Female writer using male name to bypass gender bias of sci-fi readers. Either way, very good short story. I think you will get more sales with a lower price. It might bring some sales. Peace and best wishes. PS- -enko is Ukrainian. I'm living in Kiev, so I know all about -enko and -chuk. The politicians nowadays need good Ukrainian names to win elections. Thanks for following up, Steel Engineer. Yeah, Connie Willis isn't known for action-based stories. She's more character-based and about shifts in paradigms and often bridges science fiction and fantasy.
I find her very re-readable, but my husband does not. He is the major sciencefictionite around these parts and would put together a completely different list, I think, and include A Martian Odyssey. Well, I made a third effort to read Connie Willis' book today. I realized it was work. She does a lot of explaining through thoughts Not so much action. And, the sci-fi aspects are not that convincing. I will try some other stories. But, I plan to abandon page much sooner if it is not interesting. You're right - A Martian Odyssey was life-changing and society-changing and a true "first.
I think I need to give it another read and come at it with expectations not so modern. I bought Connie Willis' book, 12 stories, through your link. The preceding had no Kindle versions. I'll let you know later what I think. Hubbers should shop first for another hubber's link I'm looking forward to reading some of the books on the list again.
There is a short story called Slow Birds by Ian Watson from I think about that I read about 10 years ago and just can't get it out of my head. I agree with theframjak about "Nine billion names". Never read the "Last Question" by Aasimov. Another thing for my "to do" list.
What a great list. I agree with many, my favorite remains Flowers for Algernon but I have read almost everything in your list.
Some of these I had forgotten about! I agree with your comment on Heinlein though- I remember Stranger in a Strange Land and liking it hey- it was the 60s but the rest of his stuff I could do without. You have inspired me to do more Golden Oldies on my blog.
We really do need to pay homage to the older writers and introduce the young uns to them. What an interesting list! I love science fiction stories and the passing of Bradbury was just tragic and all too soon, a great light gone out in the literary sky. I had a top 50 list, but it was more than 10, words.
So I decided to just make a top 10 list. Another issue with modern "science fiction" is the inclusion of fantasy elements and the repeat titles of a current story line until the old master has degenerated it completely series like Ringworld, Dune. Nice list ive only read one of these Farewell to the Master and enjoyed it so will look into the rest of the list. This hub is all about the old SF masters, and I honestly meant to keep it that way. But then, under the influence of a lot of caffeine, I decided it would be very, very wrong not to self-promote my brand new short story ebook available for purchase on Kindle:.
It's not hard sci-fi - in fact, it's fairly squishy. But some of you might recognize the occasional gentle bow to some of the Golden Age greats Flowers for Algernon is a definite classic - I think it captures the hopes and frustrations of intellect in a way that few other works can match. Just out of curiosity, have you read Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"? I, too, tend not to enjoy Heinlein much, but "Starship Troopers" seems to be far more realistic and "grounded" than most of his other works.
It gets a bit melodramatic in a few places, but still a good read. Why not expand it to a Top Twenty or Top Thirty list? I know that I - at least - would also enjoy reading your Hub on that topic, too. Let me be one of the crowd who will lambaste you for not putting Nightfall in the top spot in SF short stories. It should be there. It has all the elements including, as you so aptly point out, the wonderful surprise ending. Asimov should have left it at that.
He should have resisted the temptation to turn it into a novel. It came out while I was reviewing, and I read it and was disappointed, especially after the nice, tight writing and great plot of the original. I absolutely agree with including By His Bootstraps. An excellent time-travel paradox story.
Clark's The Star comes to mind as another story that would have qualified for this list, as does R. And read Flowers for Algernon - the original. It's not gruesome, though it is sad. There is, particularly toward the end, a sensitive sort of reverie, a bittersweetness. In a way, it is a sort of paradigm for Alzheimers disease now, as Charlies watches his gifts slip away from him.
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I loved the story. The story was fun to read. It wasn't depressing with one exception. The story stayed with me - I thought about it for a long time - either in my nightmares or giggling about it spontaneously at work. The story was well-written. I was either not aware of any major writing flaws or I got a shiver of delight at the way the words are written. The story gripped me and didn't let go. I never thought, "I've got to go get my laundry out of the dryer" in the middle of it.
The story made me feel a sense of wonder. Even decades after it was written, in the age of the iPad and Android and suchlike. The story is important. It did something new that changed the way science fiction was written afterward, or it changed society. Best Science Fiction Stories of All Time These are the best science fiction stories of all time, according to somebody who spent much of her life thinking that science fiction sucked.
Disclaimer This might be obvious, but these are ten of the best science fiction stories ever in my own opinion. Short reviews of the stories and why I Iiked them. Best Science Fiction Stories Ever: Time in Advance by William Tenn Note: Daisy, In the Sun by Connie Willis Connie Willis, speculative fiction novelist and author of tragic science fiction Passage and comic science fiction To Say Nothing of the Dog , is one of the most popular modern science fiction authors writing today.
Nightfall by Isaac Asimov I'll probably be lambasted for not putting this one in the number 1 spot. Contains the short story, Nightfall. The novel of the same title is a different book. The Lady Who Sailed the Soul, Cordwainer Smith Under the pen name Cordwainer Smith, Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger wrote a series of related short stories taking place in a futuristic world that is drawn with an eerie combination of cool, clinical precision and fairy tale lyricism. The Lady Who Sailed the Soul. Pipeline to Pluto by Murray Leinster In his day, author Will Jenkins, pen name Murray Leinster, wrote some incredible stories - in the good sense, not the bad sense - not the least of which was his most famous, First Contact , and arguably his most fun, A Logic Named Joe.
Contains Pipeline to Pluto.
PS- -enko is Ukrainian. So why do bookshops display them together? Don't read them out of sequence or you will get confused. It's not the writing. Gripping story,fascinating,immaculately drawn characters living in believable world s.
What Do You Think? What is your favorite science fiction short story of all time? Do you like the science fiction short stories published today? I love the science fiction short stories being published today. The sci fi short stories of today are all right, I guess. I read 'em, anyway. I dislike the short stories published in the science fiction genre these days.
I'll be happy if I never read another vampire story again! I dislike the stories today: What are you talking about? Vampire stories aren't science fiction. But anyway, yeah, the stories these days suck. Here's what I think about modern short speculative fiction: The writing's good, but the stories are bad. No, actually, the stories are good, but the writing's awful.
I hate the short stories of today. Story, writing, characters, setting - everything.
The Wonderful Day: Science Fiction Stories [E. C. Tubb] on www.farmersmarketmusic.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Then the Devil had smiled. The door of Hell. Read "The Wonderful Day: Science Fiction Stories" by E. C. Tubb with Rakuten Kobo. "Then the Devil had smiled. The door of Hell cracked open and, for a while .
Furthermore, virtually nothing good's been published in the genre for forty years. I don't like science fiction, actually. I don't like short stories, actually. Questions must be on-topic, written with proper grammar usage, and understandable to a wide audience. Number one in my list. This was very awesome I like it I love it when I am reading these all My favorite is the night fall one Thanks But I hope and wish that make it more interesting Awesomely Thank you.
Hi John, I'm so happy it led you to some fun reading. I also gave you a 5-star review on Amazon. That should help, too. Too hard to pick just ten, but i think The Sentinel by A. Clarke should be included. Interesting list- I made a list of the greatest novels of all time. But then, under the influence of a lot of caffeine, I decided it would be very, very wrong not to self-promote my brand new short story ebook available for purchase on Kindle: A Time Travel Comedy http: Otherwise, I generally agree with your Top Ten list.
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