An NYRB Classics OriginalRobert Sheckley was an eccentric master of the American short story, and his tales, whether set in dystopic cityscapes, ultramodern advertising agencies, or aboard spaceships lighting out for hostile planets, are among the most startlingly original of the twentieth century. Today, as the new worlds, alternate universes, and synthetic pleasures Sheckley foretold become our reality, his vision begins to look less absurdist and more prophetic. This retrospecti...

A man wakes up after a fatal car accident—in someone else's body—in this ahead-of-its-time Hugo Award–nominated classic.Thomas Blaine remembered the car accident that killed him—and then he woke up in the hospital. A nurse told him where he was. "You'd call it being in the future." A future where bodies are sold to the highest bidder as new homes for the minds of the rich, who are greedy for more life when their own bodies wear out or are damaged. Suddenly, keeping ...

The acclaimed author demonstrates his incredible versatility in this career-spanning story collection that ranges from sci-fi to supernatural horror.Known for science fiction that combined brilliant speculation with sharp satirical wit, Robert Scheckley was also capable of conjuring chills and inventing fantastical new worlds. Uncanny Tales presents sixteen of the beloved author's best stories spanning a range of genres from across his long career. Unforge...

Science fiction tales from "one of the genre's leading humorists" ( The New York Times Book Review).In "Pilgrimage to Earth," on a long-desired trip to the home planet, a young man finds a perfectly developed society and, finally, deep, true love—which, sadly, only lasts for a very limited time before the reset button removes all trace of it.The fourteen other stories in this collection are "All the Things You Are," "Trap," "The Body," "Ear...

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 hapless Earthling must find his way home through a universe of absurdities in this science fiction romp from a Hugo and Nebula Award–nominated master.New York civil servant Thomas Carmody has never been particularly lucky. Imagine his surprise when he discovers he's won the grand prize in an Intergalactic Lottery he had no idea he'd entered.Whisked far away to Galactic Central to claim his award, he has two immediate, equally troubling revelations. Not onl...

In Prospector's Special, the story revolves around a futuristic scenario involving space travel and resource exploitation. The central plot focuses on a group of space prospectors who are on a mission to mine valuable resources from an alien planet or asteroid. These prospectors, equipped with advanced technology and driven by the promise of great wealth, face a series of challenges and unexpected developments.The story often features Sheckley’s trademark humor and satirical observations a...

The Journey of Joenes, also published as Journey Beyond Tomorrow, tells the tale of a picaresque journey through an imagined future taken by a naive and innocent man unprepared for the wonders and oddities he encounters. Sheckley examines the present through the distorting lens of a future wonderfully skewed from, and yet darkly, hilariously similar to, our own world.From the very beginning of his career, Robert Sheckley was recognized by fans, reviewers, and fello...

The story centers on a group of explorers from Earth who encounter an alien intelligence on a distant planet. The alien, a large amorphous creature, has the ability to absorb and merge the consciousness of any living being it touches. As the explorers interact with this entity, they experience a profound merging of thoughts, memories, and personalities, leading to unexpected and often humorous outcomes.Throughout the narrative, Sheckley explores themes of identity, communication, and the c...

Will Barrent had no memory of his crime... but he found himself shipped across space to a brutal prison-planet. On Omega, his only chance to advance himself - and stay alive - is to commit an endless series of violent crimes. The average inmate's life expectancy from time of arrival is three years. Can Barrett survive, escape, and return to Earth to clear his name?

The classic sci-fi story collection features eleven tales of outer space adventure from one of the genre's greatest talents—"a precursor to Douglas Adams" ( The New York Times).In "Fool's Mate," a stalemate in deep space is broken by a crazy man and a set of fake orders. A new longevity drug may lead to an untimely end for its inventor in "Forever." And in "Prospector's Special," a lone explorer searches the deserts of Venus in search of unfathomable treas...

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...