An overview of the best science fiction short stories of the 20th century as selected and evaluated by critically-acclaimed author Orson Scott Card.

    He hires the husband-and-wife detective team of Ted and Cynthia Randall to follow him and find out. But Ted and Cynthia are mystified when they find that their own memories of what happens during their investigation do not match. There is a thirteenth floor to Jonathan's building that does not exist, there are mysterious and threatening beings living inside mirrors, and all of reality is not what they thought it was.Contents...And He Built a Crooked House... (1941)They (1941)The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag (1942)Our Fair City (1949)The Man Who Traveled in Elephants (1957)...All You Zombies... (1959)

    Robert Sheckley says it's like that tiny pebble that sends ripples to the edge of the lake.And since Sheckley figures absolutely anything can happen, the possible futures he envisions romp buoyantly all the way from wretched to raucous.If you balk and boggle at some of these predictions, think of it this way: The future won't just happen - it will sneak up on you a little at a time!Contents:The Prize of Peril • (1958) • shortstoryThe Humours • (1958) • novella (aka Join Now)Triplication • (1960) • essayThe Minimum Man • (1958) • noveletteIf the Red Slayer • (1959) • shortstoryThe Store of the Worlds • (1959) • shortstoryThe Gun Without a Bang • (1958) • shortstoryThe Deaths of Ben Baxter • (1957) • novelette

    As festering violence threatens to explode in the opulent and magical city of Malacia, Renaissance man Perian de Chirolo finds himself at the center of the maelstrom.

    Johnny Mnemonic (1981)The Gernsback Continuum (1981)Fragments of a Hologram Rose (1977)The Belonging Kind (1981) with John ShirleyHinterlands (1981)Red Star, Winter Orbit (1983) with Bruce SterlingNew Rose Hotel (1984)The Winter Market (1985)Dogfight (1985) with Michael SwanwickBurning Chrome (1982)

    Ranging from the prophetic to the surreal, these stories demonstrate Stanislaw Lem's vast talent and remarkable ability to blend meaning and magic into a wholly entertaining and captivating work.

    Fans and critics call their world cyberpunk. Here is the definitive "cyberpunk" short fiction collection.Contents:The Gernsback Continuum (1981) by William GibsonSnake-Eyes (1986) by Tom MaddoxRock On (1984) by Pat CadiganTales of Houdini (1981) by Rudy Rucker400 Boys (1983) by Marc LaidlawSolstice (1985) by James Patrick KellyPetra (1982) by Greg BearTill Human Voices Wake Us (1984) by Lewis ShinerFreezone (1985) by John ShirleyStone Lives (1985) by Paul Di FilippoRed Star, Winter Orbit (1983) by William Gibson and Bruce SterlingMozart in Mirrorshades (1984) by Bruce Sterling and Lewis Shiner

    Contents:A Martian Odyssey (1934)Valley of Dreams (1934)The Adaptive Ultimate (1935)Parasite Planet (1935)Pygmalion's Spectacles (1935)Shifting Seas (1937)The Worlds of If (1935)The Mad Moon (1935)Redemption Cairn (1936)The Ideal (1935)The Lotus Eaters (1935)Proteus Island (1936)

    Pull up a chair, grab a glass of your favorite, and listen to the stories spun by time travelers, cybernetic aliens, telepaths...and a bunch of regular folks on a mission to save the world, one customer at a time.Callahan's Crosstime Saloon contains the following stories, virtually all of which were published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact: * "The Guy With the Eyes" * "The Time-Traveler" * "The Centipede's Dilemma" * "Two Heads Are Better Than One" * "The Law Of Conservation of Pain" * "Just Dessert" * "A Voice is Heard in Ramah..." * "Unnatural Causes" * "The Wonderful Conspiracy"

    Whether based in sf or fantasy, Shea's short fiction is not for the squeamish.Contents:Polyphemus (1981)The Angel of Death (1979)Uncle Tuggs (1986)The Pearls of the Vampire Queen (1982)The Horror on the #33 (1982)The Extra (1987)The Autopsy (1980)

    An old-fashioned barbershop is the site of a medieval ritual of bloody terror.... During a post-apocalyptic Christmas celebration, a messenger from the South brings tidings of great horror.... From a ghostly Civil War battlefield to a combat theme park in Vietnam, from the omnipotent brain of an autistic boy to a shocking story of psychic vampires, journey into a world of fear and mystery, a chilling twilight zone of the mind.

    Enter a world of mystics and unicorns, angels and kings -- all realized with the same dazzling style and imagination that has made Stephen R. Donaldson a modern master of the fantasy genre.Daughter of Regals is a fantasy novella concerning a unique royal line and an unusual conception of magic.The Conqueror Worm is a deliciously creepy "horror" piece in which havoc is wreaked by one lowly centipede.Ser Visal's Tale begins as a simple story told over several flagons of wine at the local inn, this novella ends with a surprising twist.Gilden-Fire is the famous chapter about Korik of the Bloodguard and his mission to Seareach that was part of the original manuscript of The Illearth War, but omitted from the published version.

    The Man Who Had No Idea (1978)The Black Cat (1976)The Santa Claus Compromise (1974)The Vengeance of Hera or, Monogamy Triumphant (1980)Concepts (1978)The Apartment Next to the War (1975)The Foetus (1980)The Fire Began to Burn the Stick, the Stick Began to Beat the Dog (1976)At the Pleasure Centre (1974)The Grown-Up (1981)How to Fly (1977)Planet of the Rapes (1977)The Revelation (1980)Pyramids for Minnesota (1974)Josie and the Elevator: A Cautionary Tale (1980)An Italian Lesson (1982)Understanding Human Behavior (1982)

    It's interesting to compare the original short story version to the Rod Serling screenplay. 1951 Retro Hugo Award Winner

    — Contents: — 1955: 13th Convention, Cleveland — 1- The Darfsteller by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (novelette) — 2- Allamagoosa by Eric Frank Russel (short story)— 1956: 14th Convention, New York — 3- Exploration Team by Murray Leinster (novelette) — 4- The Star by Arthur C. Clarke (short story)— 1958: 16th Convention, Los Angeles — 5- Or All the Seas With Oysters by Avram Davidson (short story)- 1959: 17th Convention, Detroit - 6- The Big Front Yard by Clifford D. Simak (novelette) - 7- The Hell-Bound Train by Robert Bloch (short story)- 1960: 18th convention, Pittsburgh - 8- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (novelette)- 1961: 19th Convention, Seattle - 9- The Longest Voyage by Poul Anderson(novelette)