What do you think?
Rate this book
50 Short Science Fiction Tales
This anthology contains: Men Are Different by Alan Bloch; The Ambassadors by Anthony Boucher; The Weapon by Fredric Brown; Random Sample by T. P. Caravan; Oscar by Cleve Cartmill; The Mist by Peter Cartur; Teething Ring by James Causey; The Haunted Space Suit by Arthur C. Clarke; Stair Trick by Mildred Clingerman; Unwelcome Tenant by Roger Dee; The Mathematicians by Arthur Feldman; The Third Level by Jack Finney; Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful by Stuart Friedman; The Figure by Edward Grendon; The Rag Thing by David Grinnell; The Good Provider by Marion Gross; Columbus Was a Dope by Robert A. Heinlein; Texas Week by Albert Hernhuter; Hilda by H. B. Hickey; The Choice by W. Hilton-Young; Not with a Bang by Damon Knight; The Altar at Midnight by C. M. Kornbluth; A Bad Day for Sales by Fritz Leiber; Who's Cribbing by Jack Lewis; Spectator Sport by John D. MacDonald; The Cricket Ball by Avro Manthattan; Double-Take by Winston K. Marks; Prolog by John P. McKnight; The Available Data on the Worp Reaction by Lion Miller; Narapoia by Alan Nelson; Tiger by the Tail by Elan E. Nouse; Counter Charm by Peter Phillips; The Fly by Arthur Porges; The Business As Usual by Mack Reynolds; Two Weeks in August by Frank M. Robinson; See by Edward G. Robles Jr.; Appointment at Noon by Eric Frank Russell; We Don't Want Any Trouble by James H. Schmitz; Built Down Logically by Howard Schoenfeld; An Egg a Month from All Over by Idris Seabright; The Perfect Woman by Robert Sheckley; The Hunters by Walt Sheldon; The Martian and the Magician by Evelyn E. Smith; Barney by Will Stanton; Talent by Theodore Sturgeon; Project Hush by William Tenn; The Great Judge by A. E. van Vogt; Emergency Landing by Ralph Williams; and Obviously Suicide by S. Fowler Wright.
288 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1963
28 people are currently reading
1102 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,622 books26.7k followersWorks of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles,
The Foundation Trilogy
(1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
February 20, 2019
Fifty short short stories of science fiction gave me a wide range to enjoy my favorite genre.
Although there were some stories that I did not like, there were many that made me laugh, shudder, or simply contemplate the story's idea.
This collection is a good way to give authors, who may be unknown to you, a quick sample.
Although there were some stories that I did not like, there were many that made me laugh, shudder, or simply contemplate the story's idea.
This collection is a good way to give authors, who may be unknown to you, a quick sample.
July 10, 2012
Ballade of an Artificial Satellite (1958) poem by Poul Anderson 2/5
The Fun They Had (1951) by Isaac Asimov 4/5
Men Are Different (1954) by Alan Bloch 4/5
The Ambassadors (1952) by Anthony Boucher 4/5
The Weapon (1951) by Fredric Brown 4/5
Random Sample (1953) by T.P. Caravan 4/5
Oscar (1941) by Cleve Cartmill 4/5
The Mist (1952) by Peter Grainger 4/5
Teething Ring (1953) by James Causey 5/5
The Haunted Space Suit (1958) by Arthur C. Clarke 5/5
Stair Trick (1952) by Mildred Clingerman 3/5
Unwelcome Tenant (1950) by Roger Dee 4/5
The Mathematicians (1953) by Arthur Feldman 4/5
The Third Level (1950) by Jack Finney 5/5
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! (1952) by Stuart Friedman 4/5
The Figure (1947) by Edward Grendon 4/5
The Rag Thing (1951) by Donald A. Wollheim 3/5
The Good Provider (1952) by Marion Gross 3/5
Columbus Was a Dope (1947) by Robert A. Heinlein 4/5
Texas Week (1954) by Albert Hernhuter 4/5
Hilda (1952) by H. B. Hickey 4/5
The Choice (1952) by Wayland Hilton-Young 5/5
Not With a Bang (1950) by Damon Knight 3/5
The Altar at Midnight (1952) by C.M. Kornbluth 4/5
A Bad Day for Sales (1953) by Fritz Leiber 4/5
Who's Cribbing? (1953) by Jack Lewis 4/5
Spectator Sport (1950) by John D. MacDonald 4/5
The Cricket Ball (1955) by Avro Manhattan 4/5
Double-Take (1953) by Winston K. Marks 3/5
Prolog (1951) by John P. McKnight 3/5
The Available Data on the Worp Reaction (1953) by Lion Miller 3/5
Narapoia (1948) by Alan Nelson 4/5
Tiger by the Tail (1951) by Alan E. Nourse 5/5
Counter Charm (1951) by Peter Phillips 3/5
The Fly (1952) by Arthur Porges 4/5
The Business, As Usual (1952) by Mack Reynolds 4/5
Two Weeks in August (1951) by Frank M. Robinson 4/5
See? (1954) by Edward G. Robles, Jr. 5/5
Appointment at Noon (1954) by Eric Frank Russell 4/5
We Don't Want Any Trouble (1953) by James H. Schmitz 4/5
Built Down Logically (1951) by Howard Schoenfeld 4/5
An Egg a Month from All Over (1952) by Margaret St. Clair 4/5
The Perfect Woman (1953) by Robert Sheckley 3/5
The Hunters (1952) by Walt Sheldon 3/5
The Martian and the Magician (1952) by Evelyn E. Smith 4/5
Barney (1951) by Will Stanton 3/5
Talent (1953) by Theodore Sturgeon 3/5
Project Hush (1954) by William Tenn 4/5
The Great Judge (1948) by A.E. van Vogt 5/5
Emergency Landing (1940) by Ralph Williams 4/5
Obviously Suicide (1951) by S. Fowler Wright 3/5
Six Haiku (1962) poem by Karen Anderson 3/5
Editors' introductions 5/5
The Fun They Had (1951) by Isaac Asimov 4/5
Men Are Different (1954) by Alan Bloch 4/5
The Ambassadors (1952) by Anthony Boucher 4/5
The Weapon (1951) by Fredric Brown 4/5
Random Sample (1953) by T.P. Caravan 4/5
Oscar (1941) by Cleve Cartmill 4/5
The Mist (1952) by Peter Grainger 4/5
Teething Ring (1953) by James Causey 5/5
The Haunted Space Suit (1958) by Arthur C. Clarke 5/5
Stair Trick (1952) by Mildred Clingerman 3/5
Unwelcome Tenant (1950) by Roger Dee 4/5
The Mathematicians (1953) by Arthur Feldman 4/5
The Third Level (1950) by Jack Finney 5/5
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! (1952) by Stuart Friedman 4/5
The Figure (1947) by Edward Grendon 4/5
The Rag Thing (1951) by Donald A. Wollheim 3/5
The Good Provider (1952) by Marion Gross 3/5
Columbus Was a Dope (1947) by Robert A. Heinlein 4/5
Texas Week (1954) by Albert Hernhuter 4/5
Hilda (1952) by H. B. Hickey 4/5
The Choice (1952) by Wayland Hilton-Young 5/5
Not With a Bang (1950) by Damon Knight 3/5
The Altar at Midnight (1952) by C.M. Kornbluth 4/5
A Bad Day for Sales (1953) by Fritz Leiber 4/5
Who's Cribbing? (1953) by Jack Lewis 4/5
Spectator Sport (1950) by John D. MacDonald 4/5
The Cricket Ball (1955) by Avro Manhattan 4/5
Double-Take (1953) by Winston K. Marks 3/5
Prolog (1951) by John P. McKnight 3/5
The Available Data on the Worp Reaction (1953) by Lion Miller 3/5
Narapoia (1948) by Alan Nelson 4/5
Tiger by the Tail (1951) by Alan E. Nourse 5/5
Counter Charm (1951) by Peter Phillips 3/5
The Fly (1952) by Arthur Porges 4/5
The Business, As Usual (1952) by Mack Reynolds 4/5
Two Weeks in August (1951) by Frank M. Robinson 4/5
See? (1954) by Edward G. Robles, Jr. 5/5
Appointment at Noon (1954) by Eric Frank Russell 4/5
We Don't Want Any Trouble (1953) by James H. Schmitz 4/5
Built Down Logically (1951) by Howard Schoenfeld 4/5
An Egg a Month from All Over (1952) by Margaret St. Clair 4/5
The Perfect Woman (1953) by Robert Sheckley 3/5
The Hunters (1952) by Walt Sheldon 3/5
The Martian and the Magician (1952) by Evelyn E. Smith 4/5
Barney (1951) by Will Stanton 3/5
Talent (1953) by Theodore Sturgeon 3/5
Project Hush (1954) by William Tenn 4/5
The Great Judge (1948) by A.E. van Vogt 5/5
Emergency Landing (1940) by Ralph Williams 4/5
Obviously Suicide (1951) by S. Fowler Wright 3/5
Six Haiku (1962) poem by Karen Anderson 3/5
Editors' introductions 5/5
March 25, 2012
I was looking for some good old school science fiction to cleanse my palate. As much as I love modern fiction and historical non fiction, I selected this after feeling in a rut. This is an excellent collection and includes short stories by the masters of science fiction, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, etc. Also, it's immensely satisfying to read a short story and put the book aside for a while.
Right now I'm trying to find some current science fiction writers that match up to the standard set by the old masters. One which may be promising (I've ordered it) is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.
Right now I'm trying to find some current science fiction writers that match up to the standard set by the old masters. One which may be promising (I've ordered it) is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.
September 27, 2020
I originally read this book when I was about 35.
I will not list all story titles and authors names because those are listed at the top of the summary.
50 short science fiction stories. Most are pretty good, a few are OK or poor, and a select few are very good or standouts.
The few that I consider very good and/or standouts are
The Fun They Had Isaac Asimov
Teething Ring James Causey
Third Level Jack Finney
Rag Thing David Grinnell
Good Provider Marion Gross
Not With a Bang Damon Knight (although a very good story it is very depressing and somewhat disgusting IMO)
Perfect Woman Robert Sheckley
Barney Will Stanton
Project Hush William Tenn
The Great Judge A.E. Van Vogt
If anyone is interested in some very good short vintage science fiction, this is definitely the book for them.
I will not list all story titles and authors names because those are listed at the top of the summary.
50 short science fiction stories. Most are pretty good, a few are OK or poor, and a select few are very good or standouts.
The few that I consider very good and/or standouts are
The Fun They Had Isaac Asimov
Teething Ring James Causey
Third Level Jack Finney
Rag Thing David Grinnell
Good Provider Marion Gross
Not With a Bang Damon Knight (although a very good story it is very depressing and somewhat disgusting IMO)
Perfect Woman Robert Sheckley
Barney Will Stanton
Project Hush William Tenn
The Great Judge A.E. Van Vogt
If anyone is interested in some very good short vintage science fiction, this is definitely the book for them.
December 30, 2020
50 Short Science Fiction Tales is an anthology of very very short stories published - with very few exceptions - between 1950 and 1954. Many of these stories are little more than jokes with a sci-fi theme. As the tales are frequently one or two pages, there wasn’t a single story that I had to DNF. Unfortunately, this is also the weakest collection of stories that I’ve read as part of this blog. Many of the stories that are listed as “good” barely qualified for that status
Despite the anthology’s dismal performance, four includes stories made my “Great List.”
"The Fun They Had” by Isaac Asimov. You’ve probably read this story before, anthologized in thousands of classroom reading collections for students. This story of students who find a ‘real book’ is, for many young people, probably their entry into literary science fiction.
“The Weapon" by Fredric Brown. An intense and impactful story of a scientist who has invented the ultimate weapon and he late-night visitor who intends to teach him a lesson. A great science fictional statement with an economy of words.
“The Good Provider” by Marion Gross. A gentle and kind story of a time travel inventor and his practical wife. Absolutely charming.
“The Altar at Midnight” by C.M. Kornbluth. One of the longer stories in the book, but still quite short. A wonderful character study of a young man on leave from his space work. Dripping with the humanity found in the seedier sides of life and heavily reminiscent of Depression-Era stories.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the exceptional introduction by Isaac Asimov. It is one of the best I’ve ever read about the specific nature of Science Fiction and why characterization will often not be the writers priority.
Here is a sample.
"The author of such a book [not SF], relieved of the necessity to do more than nail two sticks together to supply the background, has ample time to devote to the minutiae of characterization. How fortunate he is!
…
The disadvantage is that the background, however cleverly introduced, takes up time. I should judge about half the space in a good science fiction story must be devoted to detailing the background. This leaves only half the space for such things as characterization, and in a novel of the usual length it is no wonder that the science fiction author sometimes misses a bit in these areas."
50 Short Science Fiction Tales Is Rated 58%.
4 Great / 19 Good / 12 Average / 15 Poor / 0 Dnf
The Fun They Had by Isaac Asimov. 1951
Great. Two children discover a ‘real book.’ From the time they were printed on paper!
Men Are Different by Alan Bloch. 1953
Good. A robot’s misunderstanding of men leads to some horrible problems.
The Ambassadors by Anthony Boucher. 1952
Average. A strange first contact story with werewolves.
The Weapon by Fredric Brown. 1951
Great. A scientist who created the ultimate weapon receives a late night visitor with a horrible lesson to teach him.
Random Sample by T. P. Caravan. 1953
Good. Alien first contact is unfortunately with horrible nasty children.
Oscar by Cleve Cartmill. 1941
Poor. Monster story with traveling con artist.
The Mist by Peter Cartur. 1952
Poor. Fantasy gimmick about stepping through mist.
Teething Ring by James Causey. 1953
Average. Traveling salesman from ‘somewhere else’ presents a family with technology they should never have seen.
The Haunted Space Suit by Arthur C. Clarke. 1958
Good. What if you aren’t alone inside this spacesuit?
Stair Trick by Mildred Clingerman. 1952
Good. Bartender with a secret ‘trick’ meets a woman who takes it to the next level.
Unwelcome Tenant by Roger Dee. 1950
Good. Interstellar travel reveals a horrible secret about the human condition.
The Mathematicians by Arthur Feldman. 1953
Poor. A dumb joke of a story of aliens conquering the earth.
The Third Level by Jack Finney. 1952
Good. Another of Finney’s quietly beautiful time travel stories.
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! by Stuart Friedman. 1952
Average. Finding love when people are just numbers.
The Figure by Edward Grendon. 1947
Average. Exploration of insect like and the future.
The Rag Thing by David Grinnell. 1951
Good. Creepy tale of dangerous new life arising in a flop house.
The Good Provider by Marion Gross. 1952
Great. A man thinks his invention is worthless, but his wife finds an ingenious way to use it.
Columbus Was a Dope by Robert A. Heinlein. 1949
Good. The spirit of discovery in interrogated at a bar. With a touch of irony.
Texas Week by Albert Hernhuter. 1954
Poor. A man seems to have been changed by Texas Week on the TV
Hilda by H. B. Hickey. 1952
Average. A playboy gets his comeuppance when his robot falls in love with him.
The Choice by W. Hilton-Young. 1952
Good. Very very short story of a man returned from the future.
Not With a Bang by Damon Knight. 1950
Poor. Nasty story of the last man trying to convince the last woman to sleep with him.
The Altar at Midnight by C.M. Kornbluth. 1952
Great. A young man, damaged from his time in space, connects with an older man to drink their way through seedy bars.
A Bad Day for Sales by Fritz Leiber. 1953
Good.. Robot salesman finds himself in the city on a particularly bad day.
Who’s Cribbing? by Jack Lewis. 1953
Poor. Author suspects that a time travel has been stealing his writing.
Spectator Sport by John D. MacDonald. 1950
Poor. The first man to travel to the future finds himself around people that don’t care.
The Cricket Ball by Avro Manhattan. 1955
Poor. A dense ball causes issues the spiral up the chain of command.
Double-Take by Winston K. Marks. 1953
Average. A Hollywood producer is in conflict with another more talent person.
Prolog by John P. McKnight. 1951
Average. Neanderthals and the dawn of language.
The Available Data on the Work Reaction by Lion Miller. 1953
Good. A mentally challenged man builds a cool machine at his chicken coop.
Narapoia by Alan Nelson. 1951
Poor. Man comes in for psychological care and says he feels like his always following someone.
Tiger by the Tail by Alan E. Nourse. 1951
Average. Woman arrested for putting retail products into her limitless purse.
Counter Charm by Peter Phillips. 1951
Poor. Fantasy with a weird SF twist at the end.
The Fly by Arthur Porges. 1952
Average. The more a man studies a fly caught in a spider’s web, the stranger this situation becomes.
The Business, As Usual by Mack Reynolds. 1952
Poor. Man travels to the future and must barter with the person he meets
Two Weeks in August by Frank M. Robinson. 1951
Average. Co-worker play a prank on a man by pretending they’ve taken a vacation to Mars
See? by Edward G. Robles Jr. 1954
Good. Four hobos - well drawn - have contact with a strange object.
Appointment at Noon by Eric Frank Russell. 1954
Poor. A man is waiting in the lobby for a busy executive.
We Don’t Want Any Trouble by James H. Schmitz. 1953
Good. Scary story of frog like aliens and their first interactions to humanity.
Built Down Logicially by Howard Schoenfeld. 1951
Poor. Stupid logic puzzle without substance.
An Egg a Month from All Over by Idris Seabright. 1952
Good. Weird story of an alien egg wrongly shipped to a weird man.
The Perfect Woman by Robert Sheckley. 1954.
Average. A robot wife malfunctions.
The Hunters by Walt Sheldon. 1952
Poor. People are hunted by invaders from another world
The Martian and the Magician by Evelyn E. Smith. 1952
Average. All science was actually due to magic.
Barney by Will Stanton. 1951
Good. A man spends time with with his science project rat.
Talent by Theodore Sturgeon. 1953
Poor. Rural boy has strange powers.
Project Hush by William Tenn. 1954
Good. The army tries to discover who has pull a base on the moon.
The Great Judge by A. E. Van Vogt. 1948
Good. A condemned man tries an ingenious method to turn the tables on the Great Judge.
Emergency Landing by Ralph Williams. 1940
Good. Fun tale of military bureaucracy and a crashed spacecraft.
Obviously Suicide by Fowler Wright. 1951
Good. 30 Men know a simple formula that will destroy the world. Whatever can be done about it?
Despite the anthology’s dismal performance, four includes stories made my “Great List.”
"The Fun They Had” by Isaac Asimov. You’ve probably read this story before, anthologized in thousands of classroom reading collections for students. This story of students who find a ‘real book’ is, for many young people, probably their entry into literary science fiction.
“The Weapon" by Fredric Brown. An intense and impactful story of a scientist who has invented the ultimate weapon and he late-night visitor who intends to teach him a lesson. A great science fictional statement with an economy of words.
“The Good Provider” by Marion Gross. A gentle and kind story of a time travel inventor and his practical wife. Absolutely charming.
“The Altar at Midnight” by C.M. Kornbluth. One of the longer stories in the book, but still quite short. A wonderful character study of a young man on leave from his space work. Dripping with the humanity found in the seedier sides of life and heavily reminiscent of Depression-Era stories.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the exceptional introduction by Isaac Asimov. It is one of the best I’ve ever read about the specific nature of Science Fiction and why characterization will often not be the writers priority.
Here is a sample.
"The author of such a book [not SF], relieved of the necessity to do more than nail two sticks together to supply the background, has ample time to devote to the minutiae of characterization. How fortunate he is!
…
The disadvantage is that the background, however cleverly introduced, takes up time. I should judge about half the space in a good science fiction story must be devoted to detailing the background. This leaves only half the space for such things as characterization, and in a novel of the usual length it is no wonder that the science fiction author sometimes misses a bit in these areas."
50 Short Science Fiction Tales Is Rated 58%.
4 Great / 19 Good / 12 Average / 15 Poor / 0 Dnf
The Fun They Had by Isaac Asimov. 1951
Great. Two children discover a ‘real book.’ From the time they were printed on paper!
Men Are Different by Alan Bloch. 1953
Good. A robot’s misunderstanding of men leads to some horrible problems.
The Ambassadors by Anthony Boucher. 1952
Average. A strange first contact story with werewolves.
The Weapon by Fredric Brown. 1951
Great. A scientist who created the ultimate weapon receives a late night visitor with a horrible lesson to teach him.
Random Sample by T. P. Caravan. 1953
Good. Alien first contact is unfortunately with horrible nasty children.
Oscar by Cleve Cartmill. 1941
Poor. Monster story with traveling con artist.
The Mist by Peter Cartur. 1952
Poor. Fantasy gimmick about stepping through mist.
Teething Ring by James Causey. 1953
Average. Traveling salesman from ‘somewhere else’ presents a family with technology they should never have seen.
The Haunted Space Suit by Arthur C. Clarke. 1958
Good. What if you aren’t alone inside this spacesuit?
Stair Trick by Mildred Clingerman. 1952
Good. Bartender with a secret ‘trick’ meets a woman who takes it to the next level.
Unwelcome Tenant by Roger Dee. 1950
Good. Interstellar travel reveals a horrible secret about the human condition.
The Mathematicians by Arthur Feldman. 1953
Poor. A dumb joke of a story of aliens conquering the earth.
The Third Level by Jack Finney. 1952
Good. Another of Finney’s quietly beautiful time travel stories.
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! by Stuart Friedman. 1952
Average. Finding love when people are just numbers.
The Figure by Edward Grendon. 1947
Average. Exploration of insect like and the future.
The Rag Thing by David Grinnell. 1951
Good. Creepy tale of dangerous new life arising in a flop house.
The Good Provider by Marion Gross. 1952
Great. A man thinks his invention is worthless, but his wife finds an ingenious way to use it.
Columbus Was a Dope by Robert A. Heinlein. 1949
Good. The spirit of discovery in interrogated at a bar. With a touch of irony.
Texas Week by Albert Hernhuter. 1954
Poor. A man seems to have been changed by Texas Week on the TV
Hilda by H. B. Hickey. 1952
Average. A playboy gets his comeuppance when his robot falls in love with him.
The Choice by W. Hilton-Young. 1952
Good. Very very short story of a man returned from the future.
Not With a Bang by Damon Knight. 1950
Poor. Nasty story of the last man trying to convince the last woman to sleep with him.
The Altar at Midnight by C.M. Kornbluth. 1952
Great. A young man, damaged from his time in space, connects with an older man to drink their way through seedy bars.
A Bad Day for Sales by Fritz Leiber. 1953
Good.. Robot salesman finds himself in the city on a particularly bad day.
Who’s Cribbing? by Jack Lewis. 1953
Poor. Author suspects that a time travel has been stealing his writing.
Spectator Sport by John D. MacDonald. 1950
Poor. The first man to travel to the future finds himself around people that don’t care.
The Cricket Ball by Avro Manhattan. 1955
Poor. A dense ball causes issues the spiral up the chain of command.
Double-Take by Winston K. Marks. 1953
Average. A Hollywood producer is in conflict with another more talent person.
Prolog by John P. McKnight. 1951
Average. Neanderthals and the dawn of language.
The Available Data on the Work Reaction by Lion Miller. 1953
Good. A mentally challenged man builds a cool machine at his chicken coop.
Narapoia by Alan Nelson. 1951
Poor. Man comes in for psychological care and says he feels like his always following someone.
Tiger by the Tail by Alan E. Nourse. 1951
Average. Woman arrested for putting retail products into her limitless purse.
Counter Charm by Peter Phillips. 1951
Poor. Fantasy with a weird SF twist at the end.
The Fly by Arthur Porges. 1952
Average. The more a man studies a fly caught in a spider’s web, the stranger this situation becomes.
The Business, As Usual by Mack Reynolds. 1952
Poor. Man travels to the future and must barter with the person he meets
Two Weeks in August by Frank M. Robinson. 1951
Average. Co-worker play a prank on a man by pretending they’ve taken a vacation to Mars
See? by Edward G. Robles Jr. 1954
Good. Four hobos - well drawn - have contact with a strange object.
Appointment at Noon by Eric Frank Russell. 1954
Poor. A man is waiting in the lobby for a busy executive.
We Don’t Want Any Trouble by James H. Schmitz. 1953
Good. Scary story of frog like aliens and their first interactions to humanity.
Built Down Logicially by Howard Schoenfeld. 1951
Poor. Stupid logic puzzle without substance.
An Egg a Month from All Over by Idris Seabright. 1952
Good. Weird story of an alien egg wrongly shipped to a weird man.
The Perfect Woman by Robert Sheckley. 1954.
Average. A robot wife malfunctions.
The Hunters by Walt Sheldon. 1952
Poor. People are hunted by invaders from another world
The Martian and the Magician by Evelyn E. Smith. 1952
Average. All science was actually due to magic.
Barney by Will Stanton. 1951
Good. A man spends time with with his science project rat.
Talent by Theodore Sturgeon. 1953
Poor. Rural boy has strange powers.
Project Hush by William Tenn. 1954
Good. The army tries to discover who has pull a base on the moon.
The Great Judge by A. E. Van Vogt. 1948
Good. A condemned man tries an ingenious method to turn the tables on the Great Judge.
Emergency Landing by Ralph Williams. 1940
Good. Fun tale of military bureaucracy and a crashed spacecraft.
Obviously Suicide by Fowler Wright. 1951
Good. 30 Men know a simple formula that will destroy the world. Whatever can be done about it?
December 24, 2020
[***] Ballade of an Artificial Satellite (1958) poem by Poul Anderson
The Fun They Had (1951) by Isaac Asimov [**]
Men Are Different (1954) by Alan Bloch [**]
The Ambassadors (1952) by Anthony Boucher [**]
The Weapon (1951) by Fredric Brown [**]
Random Sample (1953) by T.P. Caravan [****]
Oscar (1941) by Cleve Cartmill [***]
The Mist (1952) by Peter Grainger [***]
Teething Ring (1953) by James Causey [**]
The Haunted Space Suit (1958) by Arthur C. Clarke [*]
Stair Trick (1952) by Mildred Clingerman [**]
Unwelcome Tenant (1950) by Roger Dee [***]
The Mathematicians (1953) by Arthur Feldman [***]
The Third Level (1950) by Jack Finney [**]
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! (1952) by Stuart Friedman [**]
The Figure (1947) by Edward Grendon [***]
The Rag Thing (1951) by Donald A. Wollheim [***]
The Good Provider (1952) by Marion Gross [***]
Columbus Was a Dope (1947) by Robert A. Heinlein [**]
Texas Week (1954) by Albert Hernhuter [***]
Hilda (1952) by H. B. Hickey [***]
The Choice (1952) by Wayland Hilton-Young [***]
Not With a Bang (1950) by Damon Knight [****]
The Altar at Midnight (1952) by C.M. Kornbluth [**]
A Bad Day for Sales (1953) by Fritz Leiber [****]
Who's Cribbing? (1953) by Jack Lewis [***]
Spectator Sport (1950) by John D. MacDonald [***]
The Cricket Ball (1955) by Avro Manhattan [**]
Double-Take (1953) by Winston K. Marks [*]
Prolog (1951) by John P. McKnight [***]
The Available Data on the Worp Reaction (1953) by Lion Miller [**]
Narapoia (1948) by Alan Nelson [***]
Tiger by the Tail (1951) by Alan E. Nourse [***]
Counter Charm (1951) by Peter Phillips [**]
The Fly (1952) by Arthur Porges [***]
The Business, As Usual (1952) by Mack Reynolds [***]
Two Weeks in August (1951) by Frank M. Robinson [***]
See? (1954) by Edward G. Robles, Jr. [**]
Appointment at Noon (1954) by Eric Frank Russell [*]
We Don't Want Any Trouble (1953) by James H. Schmitz [**]
Built Down Logically (1951) by Howard Schoenfeld [*]
An Egg a Month from All Over (1952) by Margaret St. Clair [**]
The Perfect Woman (1953) by Robert Sheckley [***]
The Hunters (1952) by Walt Sheldon [**]
The Martian and the Magician (1952) by Evelyn E. Smith [*]
Barney (1951) by Will Stanton [***]
Talent (1953) by Theodore Sturgeon [***]
Project Hush (1954) by William Tenn [*]
The Great Judge (1948) by A.E. van Vogt [*]
Emergency Landing (1940) by Ralph Williams [*]
Obviously Suicide (1951) by S. Fowler Wright [**]
Six Haiku (1962) poem by Karen Anderson [***]
The Fun They Had (1951) by Isaac Asimov [**]
Men Are Different (1954) by Alan Bloch [**]
The Ambassadors (1952) by Anthony Boucher [**]
The Weapon (1951) by Fredric Brown [**]
Random Sample (1953) by T.P. Caravan [****]
Oscar (1941) by Cleve Cartmill [***]
The Mist (1952) by Peter Grainger [***]
Teething Ring (1953) by James Causey [**]
The Haunted Space Suit (1958) by Arthur C. Clarke [*]
Stair Trick (1952) by Mildred Clingerman [**]
Unwelcome Tenant (1950) by Roger Dee [***]
The Mathematicians (1953) by Arthur Feldman [***]
The Third Level (1950) by Jack Finney [**]
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! (1952) by Stuart Friedman [**]
The Figure (1947) by Edward Grendon [***]
The Rag Thing (1951) by Donald A. Wollheim [***]
The Good Provider (1952) by Marion Gross [***]
Columbus Was a Dope (1947) by Robert A. Heinlein [**]
Texas Week (1954) by Albert Hernhuter [***]
Hilda (1952) by H. B. Hickey [***]
The Choice (1952) by Wayland Hilton-Young [***]
Not With a Bang (1950) by Damon Knight [****]
The Altar at Midnight (1952) by C.M. Kornbluth [**]
A Bad Day for Sales (1953) by Fritz Leiber [****]
Who's Cribbing? (1953) by Jack Lewis [***]
Spectator Sport (1950) by John D. MacDonald [***]
The Cricket Ball (1955) by Avro Manhattan [**]
Double-Take (1953) by Winston K. Marks [*]
Prolog (1951) by John P. McKnight [***]
The Available Data on the Worp Reaction (1953) by Lion Miller [**]
Narapoia (1948) by Alan Nelson [***]
Tiger by the Tail (1951) by Alan E. Nourse [***]
Counter Charm (1951) by Peter Phillips [**]
The Fly (1952) by Arthur Porges [***]
The Business, As Usual (1952) by Mack Reynolds [***]
Two Weeks in August (1951) by Frank M. Robinson [***]
See? (1954) by Edward G. Robles, Jr. [**]
Appointment at Noon (1954) by Eric Frank Russell [*]
We Don't Want Any Trouble (1953) by James H. Schmitz [**]
Built Down Logically (1951) by Howard Schoenfeld [*]
An Egg a Month from All Over (1952) by Margaret St. Clair [**]
The Perfect Woman (1953) by Robert Sheckley [***]
The Hunters (1952) by Walt Sheldon [**]
The Martian and the Magician (1952) by Evelyn E. Smith [*]
Barney (1951) by Will Stanton [***]
Talent (1953) by Theodore Sturgeon [***]
Project Hush (1954) by William Tenn [*]
The Great Judge (1948) by A.E. van Vogt [*]
Emergency Landing (1940) by Ralph Williams [*]
Obviously Suicide (1951) by S. Fowler Wright [**]
Six Haiku (1962) poem by Karen Anderson [***]
January 6, 2016
This book contains 50 stories, all of which are very short, being between 300 and 3000 words. Fortunately, they are also pretty good stories, with only a few being ones I wouldn't consider worth reading. The brevity exaggerates the effect of having a short story: since you don't have time to get to know characters, you should concentrate on expressing an idea instead of feelings. Almost all of the short stories that weren't worth reading fell into that trap - the story was about a character and how they felt, and ideas were forced to the background.
For example, I don't really care about a middle-aged man whose life is pointless until he gets killed by an alien that hatches out of an egg, because I've only known the character for four pages. The alien was actually kind of neat, but there's not enough time to expand on it because the space was taken up with the man's pointless life as he incubates and hatches an egg.
Most of the stories in this collection, however, are quite good and easy to read because they're so short.
For example, I don't really care about a middle-aged man whose life is pointless until he gets killed by an alien that hatches out of an egg, because I've only known the character for four pages. The alien was actually kind of neat, but there's not enough time to expand on it because the space was taken up with the man's pointless life as he incubates and hatches an egg.
Most of the stories in this collection, however, are quite good and easy to read because they're so short.
August 26, 2020
I treasured this book when I first read it at age 13 (AKA the "golden age of science fiction"). Much to my surprise I found it still delights and has not lost much of its lustre. All of the stories are from the fifties, and include the requisite atomic apocalypse vibe. It seems that there was more variety in topic and tone back then than there is now. Space opera and/or noirish sensibility are now inescapable. When this anthology was published writers seemed freer and less full of themselves. Finally, not wanting to spoil any surprises (and most of these stories hinge on an irony) I recommend this book on the strength of one story: "The Available Date on the Worp Reaction." This is apparently the only published work by Lion Miller and is worth the effort to find this long out of print paperback.
March 28, 2021
Collier Books produced high quality paperback editions of science fiction and mysteries in the nineteen-sixties. This is a selection of short tales they published that includes some of the great names from the two decades prior to that. Included are selections from Poul Anderson, Anthony Boucher, Frederic Brown, Heinlein, Damon Knight, Fritz Leiber, Robert Sheckley, Theodore Sturgeon, and A. E. van Vogt along with many others. You meet robots and aliens of every size and scope. The edges of reality are strained by the imaginations of these authors and the result is a great selection of stories from the classic age of science fiction.
March 18, 2021
Nice and easy read for a sci-fi virgin like myself.
Most stories are very enjoyable, thought-provoking or simply funny, but not all can be winners. My favourite is "The Weapon" by Frederic Brown.
Was not impressed with the poems sandwiching the stories though.
Most stories are very enjoyable, thought-provoking or simply funny, but not all can be winners. My favourite is "The Weapon" by Frederic Brown.
Was not impressed with the poems sandwiching the stories though.
July 17, 2020
A couple of years later and this would have been called a bathroom reader. The stories range from two to nine pages, with the vast majority at five pages and less. There are more two pagers than eight and above.
The stories are generally good old-school fiction; there are a larger than normal number of twist endings, probably partly because of the limitations of size.
James Causey’s “Teething Ring” is a good example of misplaced high technology, like Mimsy Were the Borogoves but a lot shorter.
Arthur C. Clarke’s “The Haunted Space Suit” shows off his prediction of communications satellites.
Robert A. Heinlein gets in a good jab at people wanting to legislate against risky ventures in “Columbus Was a Dope”.
W. Hilton Young’s “The Choice” is possibly the most unique twist ending in the bunch.
Edward G. Robles, Jr.’s “See?” was possibly the funniest, and may or may not be a scam by a couple of hoboes.
A.E. Van Vogt’s “The Great Judge” did not go where I expected it to, though it was telegraphed from the start.
S. Fowler Wright’s “Apparent Suicide” starts out looking like an early investigation into the graphs of destruction, but quickly turns into just another example of writers thinking a simple scientific discovery can be thwarted by killing the people who know about it.
Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson bookend the stories with poetry, Poul with a ballad and Karen with haiku.
The book does a great job of meeting its goals; its goals aren’t very high, but they are worthwhile.
The stories are generally good old-school fiction; there are a larger than normal number of twist endings, probably partly because of the limitations of size.
James Causey’s “Teething Ring” is a good example of misplaced high technology, like Mimsy Were the Borogoves but a lot shorter.
Arthur C. Clarke’s “The Haunted Space Suit” shows off his prediction of communications satellites.
Robert A. Heinlein gets in a good jab at people wanting to legislate against risky ventures in “Columbus Was a Dope”.
W. Hilton Young’s “The Choice” is possibly the most unique twist ending in the bunch.
Edward G. Robles, Jr.’s “See?” was possibly the funniest, and may or may not be a scam by a couple of hoboes.
A.E. Van Vogt’s “The Great Judge” did not go where I expected it to, though it was telegraphed from the start.
S. Fowler Wright’s “Apparent Suicide” starts out looking like an early investigation into the graphs of destruction, but quickly turns into just another example of writers thinking a simple scientific discovery can be thwarted by killing the people who know about it.
Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson bookend the stories with poetry, Poul with a ballad and Karen with haiku.
The book does a great job of meeting its goals; its goals aren’t very high, but they are worthwhile.
Those crisp cucumbers
Not yet planted in Syrtis—
How I desire one!
February 18, 2018
Typically when I review an anthology, I will enumerate my favorite stories and briefly provide a blurb about each one. In the case of 50 Short Science Fiction Tales—edited by the legendary Isaac Asimov and renowned anthologist Groff Conklin—that would be a daunting and tedious task.
Suffice it to say that like any collection, certain stories are better than others and this one is no exception. However, the majority of the entries are some combination of witty, engaging, chilling, thought provoking, or amusing. Of course, how could it be otherwise with such luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, C.M. Kornbluth, Robert Sheckley, Theodore Sturgeon, and A.E. Van Vogt, just to name a few.
Most of the stories here are no more than 3,000 words. The book opens with a short poem by Poul Anderson and closes with six haiku written by his wife, Karen.
Overall, I highly recommend this anthology both to aficionados of the golden age of science fiction or as an introduction to many of the top talents of the time.
Suffice it to say that like any collection, certain stories are better than others and this one is no exception. However, the majority of the entries are some combination of witty, engaging, chilling, thought provoking, or amusing. Of course, how could it be otherwise with such luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, C.M. Kornbluth, Robert Sheckley, Theodore Sturgeon, and A.E. Van Vogt, just to name a few.
Most of the stories here are no more than 3,000 words. The book opens with a short poem by Poul Anderson and closes with six haiku written by his wife, Karen.
Overall, I highly recommend this anthology both to aficionados of the golden age of science fiction or as an introduction to many of the top talents of the time.
June 9, 2019
The Haunted Space Suit by Arthur C. Clarke
See also Mindwebs audiobook ##22 Part 2.
2nd 15mins Audiobook Streamed from https://archive.org/details/MindWebs_...
Taken From the book "50 short science fiction tales" edited by Asimov.
Paranoia takes hold as an astronaut prepares to rescue an obsolete satellite before it becomes space junk. Did his suit actually contain the ghost of the unfortunate Bernie Sanders, (not the American politician who is currently president of the US, in the far preferable alternative reality where logic and truth beat prejudice and propaganda in the last election). Or does that strange sound and worse, those intermittent touches, mean that there is an alien life-form trapped inside his space suit and perhaps preparing to breakfast on astronaut? The ending turns out to be ....aww ..
22 Mindwebs-770926_Harrisonburg / Haunted Space Suit Kurt Vonnegut / Arthur C. Clarke
See also Mindwebs audiobook ##22 Part 2.
2nd 15mins Audiobook Streamed from https://archive.org/details/MindWebs_...
Taken From the book "50 short science fiction tales" edited by Asimov.
Paranoia takes hold as an astronaut prepares to rescue an obsolete satellite before it becomes space junk. Did his suit actually contain the ghost of the unfortunate Bernie Sanders, (not the American politician who is currently president of the US, in the far preferable alternative reality where logic and truth beat prejudice and propaganda in the last election). Or does that strange sound and worse, those intermittent touches, mean that there is an alien life-form trapped inside his space suit and perhaps preparing to breakfast on astronaut? The ending turns out to be ....aww ..
22 Mindwebs-770926_Harrisonburg / Haunted Space Suit Kurt Vonnegut / Arthur C. Clarke
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2022
Anthologies of short shorts (i.e. very short short stories) are rare. Asimov and Conklin edited two (I think) and another in Fantasy (not a great one it must be said).
In this volume you'll find the King, the God of the short short of course (Fredric Brown), but if you know him already you'll have bought all his books long ago, so is there anything else of note?
There is, there is, and plenty as well. As not everyone is equally gifted in handling such a difficult genre, some stories do not work very well, some are too predictable, some are a sort of repeat of things many times seen etc.
But there are wonderful little gems in there too, priceless texts that do more in 300 words than most novels in 300 pages.
In this volume you'll find the King, the God of the short short of course (Fredric Brown), but if you know him already you'll have bought all his books long ago, so is there anything else of note?
There is, there is, and plenty as well. As not everyone is equally gifted in handling such a difficult genre, some stories do not work very well, some are too predictable, some are a sort of repeat of things many times seen etc.
But there are wonderful little gems in there too, priceless texts that do more in 300 words than most novels in 300 pages.
April 2, 2023
SHORT science fiction and I mean short. No singular story went beyond 5 pages. Which makes for a quick read but it takes a special author to make something special with so little words.
Average of the stories = 2.12
Most stories were perfectly fine, mostly 2's and 3's with only a couple standouts and even more real stinkers. But I'll just highlight the highs.
Robert Heinlein - The more I read from him the more I understand how legendary he was. "Columbus Was a Dope" is a retelling of the timeless debate 'Why explore any further?'. With the slightest of twists to make it fresh yet again.
Jack Finney - Wonderful little story about "The Third Level" above Grand Central Station and the secret within. Can't wait to see read more from him.
Average of the stories = 2.12
Most stories were perfectly fine, mostly 2's and 3's with only a couple standouts and even more real stinkers. But I'll just highlight the highs.
Robert Heinlein - The more I read from him the more I understand how legendary he was. "Columbus Was a Dope" is a retelling of the timeless debate 'Why explore any further?'. With the slightest of twists to make it fresh yet again.
Jack Finney - Wonderful little story about "The Third Level" above Grand Central Station and the secret within. Can't wait to see read more from him.
December 12, 2018
This compilation of science fiction stories is no doubt a good book. There is plenty of stories (50, obviously) to read, and the book is quite thick. However, some of the stories are kinda weird, and others don’t show their sci-fi qualities. Some foul language is used. The book is a science fiction work (or rather, 50 science fiction works), so it doesn’t exactly make sense. So what? Science fiction writers take liberties in writing stories, because they don’t HAVE to make sense (except for hard science fiction…).
January 10, 2018
If you like short story science fiction, this is a MUST READ. Developing a story line, characters, plot, beginning-middle-end, and engaging writing is a very difficult task. Doing this in a way that entertains and educates is even harder. But doing all of this in a story that less than ten pages is a seemingly impossible task. Yet this book contains great story after great story by a range of authors that successfully perform this task. You will want to read it again and again!
October 6, 2017
Honestly, the fiction in the selecetion doesn’t really stand up to the test of time. A lot of the concepts are overdone and it felt pretty monotonous reading through all of these. Additionally, there were only four total female authors out of the 50 proclaimed in the book. All in all, this just wasn’t that appealing to me. I give it a solid 2 stars.
August 4, 2020
As with any collection, some of the short stories were definitely better than others. But overall, this was a pretty decent collection, and I enjoyed each story at least on some level. Since the stories are so short, it is easy to read a couple of them here and there, between doing other tasks. Would I re-read this? Probably not. But it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.
November 18, 2020
This really is a book containing 50 short stories yet only containing 286 pages. That means an average of only 5.72 pages per story. I think the longest one was eight pages and a few were only one page. I was surprised at the quality of the stories. There were only a few that I did not like or just didn't understand. If you like short stories this is the book for you.
December 29, 2020
Even though most of these 50 stories are slight and predictable, they are fun, but a handful did impress. Those include:
- "The Weapon" by Fredric Brown
- "The Fly" by Arthur Porges
- "Columbus Was a Dope" by Robert A. Heinlein
- "The Altar at Midnight" by C. M. Kornbluth
- "An Egg a Month From All Over" by Idris Seabright
- "Double-Take" by Winston K. Marks
- "A Bad Day for Sales" by Fritz Leiber
- "Narapoia" by Alan Nelson
- "Not With a Bang" by Damon Knight
- "The Weapon" by Fredric Brown
- "The Fly" by Arthur Porges
- "Columbus Was a Dope" by Robert A. Heinlein
- "The Altar at Midnight" by C. M. Kornbluth
- "An Egg a Month From All Over" by Idris Seabright
- "Double-Take" by Winston K. Marks
- "A Bad Day for Sales" by Fritz Leiber
- "Narapoia" by Alan Nelson
- "Not With a Bang" by Damon Knight
July 9, 2017
This was my first proper science fiction - and perhaps it's a good thing that I started with short stories. I liked almost 90% of the stories in this collection, but the others felt a little obscure.
November 17, 2018
A really fine collection, which shows (among other things) how broad a genre science-fiction is, and how difficult it is to define. It moves from, my favourite, Haunted Spacesuit to dealing with education. From comedy to Cold War, science-fiction covers it all.
November 27, 2023
This is a fun, easy to read collection. The stories are all short with surprise endings. With 50 choices, some are better than others, but even a lesser one goes by fast. I enjoy plots twists and science fiction, so this was right up my alley.
June 28, 2018
I love a good collection of classic sci-fi shorts. As always some better than others but overall an enjoyable read.
January 30, 2019
Some enjoyable tales, and some that are alright. Overall it's a good book, but some stories are not to my taste.
May 18, 2019
Pretty good old sci-fi. Some of the stories are pretty short, but with a couple exceptions, they were all pretty good.
July 13, 2021
A simple way to dip one’s toe into Science Fiction and a variety of authors.
October 13, 2021
I enjoyed these short sci fi tales!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews