Book picks similar to
Liar! by Isaac Asimov
short-stories
science-fiction
short-story
sci-fi
Future Crime
Ben Bova - 1990
Included with many other stories are the full-length novel City of Darkness and Brillo--the famous collaboration between Bova and Harlan Ellison.
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160 (January 2020)
Neil Clarke - 2020
This was published as a Clarkesworld audiobook podcast in 2020.
The Micro-Age
Liu Cixin - 2008
What will save us?“Your eyes are black as the ocean. So deep with melancholy! Your melancholy shrouds our city. You should make them a museum!”The High Counselor told the Forerunner, the only surviver, when she leapt into the air and onto a truly bizarre flying machine, a large, propeller powered, feather. “Melancholy is only for museums. The micro-age is an age without worries!” Enter Liu Cixin's Micro-Age and take a look at what kind of program China's top sci-fi author has proposed to save the destiny of humankind!
A Gift of Dragons
Anne McCaffrey - 2002
As anyone knows who has been touched by the storytelling magic of Anne McCaffrey, to read of the exotic world of Pern is to inhabit it—and to experience its extraordinary dragons is to soar aloft with them and share their dazzling adventures.Now, A Gift of Dragons brings together three beloved stories and a thrilling new tale of Pern in a single volume illustrated with beautiful artwork by Tom Kidd.In “The Smallest Dragonboy,” -Pern (Publication Order) #4.5- Keevan is the youngest dragonrider candidate, determined to impress a dragon when the next clutch of eggs hatches. But what transpires will surprise everyone—Keevan most of all.In “The Girl Who Heard Dragons,” -Pern (Publication Order) #8.5- a young girl’s rare ability to communicate with dragons puts her family in danger and will bring her face to face with her greatest fears—and with her most secret desire.The “Runner of Pern” -Pern (Publication Order) #15.5- is a girl named Tenna, who follows family tradition by delivering messages—and who will find her destiny on the mossy traces that runners have used for centuries under the dragon-filled sky.And finally, a very special gift: an exciting new Pern adventure, published here for the first time, fresh from the imagination of Anne McCaffrey. “Ever the Twain” -Pern (Publication Order) #16.5-
Vaccine Season
Hannu Rajaniemi
This story appears in the anthology Make Shift: Dispatches from the Post-Pandemic Future, edited by Gideon Lichfield and available for pre-order from The MIT Press.Content advisory: Discussion of pandemics, near-drowning
Eye for Eye
Orson Scott Card - 1987
Nor on purpose; he never meant to hurt anyone. But when Mick gets angry, people die, even the people he loves the most. Now he's on the run from his own terrible talent, and from those who would use his power for their own purposes.
The Demon Trap
Peter F. Hamilton - 2008
A group called the Free Merioneth Forces have claimed responsibility but there had to be an individual at the end of that missile launcher and Paula is determined to find out who it was.This short story is taken from Manhattan in Reverse, the first short story collection in thirteen years from the master of space opera. Peter F. Hamilton takes us on a journey from a murder mystery in an alternative Oxford in the 1800s to a brand new story featuring Paula Mayo, Deputy Director of the Intersolar Commonwealth's Serious Crimes Directorate. Dealing with intricate themes and topical subjects this top ten bestselling author is at the top of his game.The cover image for The Demon Trap was designed by Andrew Parkes as part of a competition run by Pan Macmillan in association with SFX magazine.
The Thing in the Attic
James Blish - 1954
In their exile on the ground they have to adapt to vastly different circumstances, fight monsters resembling dinosaurs, and finally happen upon the godly giants, whose existence they had questioned.
Answer
Fredric Brown - 1954
The eyes of a dozen television cameras watched him and the subether bore throughout the universe a dozen pictures of what he was doing. He straightened and nodded to Dwar Reyn, then moved to a position beside the switch that would complete the contact when he threw it. The switch that would connect, all at once, all of the monster computing machines of all the populated planets in the universe -- ninety-six billion planets -- into the supercircuit that would connect them all into one supercalculator, one cybernetics machine that would combine all the knowledge of all the galaxies."
The Battles of Dune
Felix Salten - 1994
Read by Frank Herbert.A spoken word album read by the author. On the Caedmon label no. TC 1601. Run time approx. 60 minutes.
The Repairman
Harry Harrison - 1958
Ever. Therefore I have a little job I know you-ll enjoy. Repair job. The Centauri beacon has shut down. It-s a Mark III beacon.-- What kind of beacon? Mark III - The Old Man repeated, practically chortling. - ...This was the earliest type of beacon ever built-by Earth, no less. Considering its location on one of the Proxima Centauri planets, it might very well be the first beacon.
The Rediscovery of Man
Cordwainer Smith - 1975
This brilliant collection, often cited as the first of its kind, explores fundamental questions about ourselves and our treatment of the universe (and other beings) around us and ultimately what it means to be human.Contents: * Cordwainer Smith: The Shaper of Myths (1975) • essay by John J. Pierce [as by J. J. Pierce] * The Instrumentality of Mankind (timeline) (1975) • essay by John J. Pierce * Scanners Live in Vain [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1950) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith: meet Martel, a human altered to be part machine-a scanner-to be able withstand the trauma space travel has on the body. Despite the stigma placed on him and his kind, he is able to regrasp his humanity to save another; Fantasy Book #6 ’50 * The Lady Who Sailed The Soul [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1960) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith, Genevieve Linebarger; Galaxy Apr ’60 * The Game of Rat and Dragon [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1955) / short story by Cordwainer Smith; Galaxy Oct ’55 * The Burning of the Brain [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1958) / short story by Cordwainer Smith; If Oct ’58 * Golden the Ship Was - Oh! Oh! Oh! [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1959) / short story by Cordwainer Smith, Genevieve Linebarger; Amazing Apr ’59 * The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1964) / short story by Cordwainer Smith; Amazing May ’64 * The Dead Lady of Clown Town [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1964) / novella by Cordwainer Smith: get to know the underpeople-animals genetically altered to exist in human form, to better serve their human owners-and meet D'Joan, a dog-woman who will make readers question who is more human: the animals who simply want to be recognized as having the same right to life, or the people who created them to be inferior; Galaxy Aug ’64 * Under Old Earth [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1966) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith; Galaxy Feb ’66 * Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1961) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith; Galaxy Jun ’61 * Alpha Ralpha Boulevard [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1961) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith; Galaxy Jun ’61 * The Ballad of Lost C'mell [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1962) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith: the notion of love being the most important equalizer there is, is put into action when an underperson, C'mell, falls in love with Lord Jestocost. Who is to say her love for him is not as valid as any true-born human? She might be of cat descent, but she is all woman!; Galaxy Oct ’62 * A Planet Named Shayol [The Instrumentality of Mankind] (1961) / novelette by Cordwainer Smith: it is an underperson of bull descent, and beings so mutilated and deformed from their original human condition to be now considered demons of a hellish land, who retain and display the most humanity when Mankind commits the most inhumane action of all; Galaxy Oct ’61aka: Paul M. A. Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, Paul Linebarger, Felix C. Forrest, Carmichael Smith, Kordvejner Smit..
Promises of London
Hugh Howey - 2014
It can be read in ten minutes. Please don't purchase this expecting a novel for your dollar.This story was written in a small cafe on the corner of Bleeker and Grove in New York City on Tuesday, May 27th. The idea came to me yesterday while walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. I saw the locks on several of the small cables on the bridge. I remembered my time in both London and Paris, taking pictures of all the love locks on bridges there. And I thought about all the couples those locks represent. I wondered how many are still together.Maybe this story isn't worth your dollar. If I could price a work on Amazon for less, I would. It is what it is. I hope this will be the first of many short pieces that I write and publish in a single day while recording what I'm thinking and where I am when I write them. For those who take the plunge, I hope you get your money's worth. Thank you for all of your support.-Hugh
Robot Uprisings
Daniel H. WilsonSeanan McGuire - 2014
As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our lives. With contributions from a mix of bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming writers, and including a rare story by “the father of artificial intelligence,” Dr. John McCarthy, Robot Uprisings meticulously describes the exhilarating and terrifying near-future in which humans can only survive by being cleverer than the rebellious machines they have created.
Bears Discover Fire
Terry Bisson - 1990
It brings together nineteen of Bisson's finest works for the first time in one volume, among them the darkly comic title story, which garnered the field's highest honors, including the Hugo, Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon, and Locus awards.Contents:Bears Discover Fire (1990)The Two Janets (1990)They're Made Out of Meat (1991)Over Flat Mountain (1990)Press Ann (1991)The Coon Suit (1991)George (1993)Next (1992)Necronauts (1993)Are There Any Questions? (1992)Two Guys from the Future (1992)The Toxic Donut (1993)Canción Autentica de Old Earth (1992)Partial People (1993)Carl's Lawn & Garden (1992)The Message (1993)England Underway (1993)By Permit Only (1993)The Shadow Knows (1993)