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...

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...

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 ...

A collection of witty science fiction including a Nebula Award–nominated story.In "Diplomatic Immunity," what happens when an alien ambassador arrives, telling the residents of Earth that they will be joining a galactic union whether they like it or not—and the ambassador is unkillable?The thirteen other stories in this collection are "The People Trap," "The Victim from Space," "Shall We Have a Little Talk?", "Restricted Area," "The Odor of Thought," "The Nec...

More than three dozen of the best and most popular stories by the acknowledged master of the short science fiction story. The thirty-nine works contained in this volume—twenty-six from the author's ten other Open Road collections, plus thirteen additional pieces unique to this volume—include these vintage Sheckley stories: "The Eye of Reality," "The Language of Love," "The Accountant," "A Wind Is Rising," "The Robot Who Looked Like Me," "The Mnemone," "Warm," "The Native Problem," "Fishing...

"If the Marx Brothers had been literary fantasists, they would have been Robert Sheckley." —Harlan EllisonIn "The Robot Who Looked Like Me," a busy man and a busy woman find a way to carve out time to romance each other—by having look-alike robots made to do the job—who then run away together.The twelve other stories in this collection are "Slaves of Time," "Voices," "A Supplicant in Space," "Sneak Previews," "Zirn Left Unguarded, the Jenghik Palace in Flame...

All secret agents need to look out for William Nye, now known as Agent X. His recruitment was simple and his legend is brilliant but unearned. Somehow, he thinks he's the best there is, and we all know how pride goeth before a fall. The master of SF hilarity and biting social satire creates a spy world that has gathered praise from the greats of the genre.From the very beginning of his career, Robert Sheckley was recognized by fans, reviewers, and fellow authors as a master storyte...

In "The Prize of Peril," everyone lives on . . . because when someone is about to die, the emergency squad is always there to bring that person back—whether he or she wants it or not.The seven other stories in this collection are "The Humours," "Triplication," "The Minimum Man," "If the Red Slayer," "The Store of the Worlds," "The Gun Without a Bang," and "The Deaths of Ben Baxter."From the very beginning of his career, Robert Sheckley was recognized by fans, reviewers, and f...

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...

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...

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...

A treasury of fiction from " one of SF's all-time masters of the humorous or satirical short story" ( Booklist).In "The Cruel Equations," a planetary explorer finds out how lethal it can be when a robot guard has been designed to do too perfect a job.The fifteen other stories in this collection are "Can You Feel Anything When I Do This?", "Cordle to Onion to Carrot," "The Petrified World," "Game: First Schematic," "Doctor Zombie and...