Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Anthologies & Short Stories

In this P. K. Dick short story read by award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti almost everyone had a bomb shelter, but if they didn't have the latest model, chances where they wouldn't survive a nuclear attack. Mike Foster's dad wouldn't be bullied into buying a shelter until finally one Christmas he signed up for the easy payment plan and....

When a group of men crash on the surface of an alien planet, they are hemmed in on every side by a deadly, impenetrable bog and attacked by an unknown, unseen enemy.

Rena Arblest was, perhaps, no better than she should be. But she was no worse, either. And therefore deserved less than she received.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen...so pliant...so yeilding..so all-enfolding....

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (1922-2007) was a prolific and genre-bending American novelist known for works blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973).

These two short works, "The Big Trip Up Yonder" and "2BR02B", are science fiction tales originally published in the magazines Galaxy Science Fiction and If: Worlds of Science Fiction in 1959 and 1962.

Seven Tales by Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) is a collection of science fiction short stories written by the Hugo and Nebula award-winning author and published by the pulp science fiction magazines of the 1950s. This anthology includes "Sales Pitch", a tale of future consumerism and robot salesmen; "The Crawlers", a story of mutant children born of radiation; "Meddler", a stern warning on the dangers of time travel: "Prominent Author", the tale of a transportation device that travels through the fourth dimension, and more.

How many dimensions are there? In The Other Now, Murray Leinster takes us to a place where more than one Now may exist. At least that is what Jimmy and Jane believe. Haynes, Jimmy's lawyer friend, believes Jimmy suffers from post-traumatic shock after a tragic auto accident. That is, before a revelation.

Denton Cassal is a sales engineer on a sales trip to Tunney 21. His mission is to recruit an engineer for his company, Neuronics Inc., with the aid of an electronic implant called Dimanche. On the way, Cassal has a transfer point on the planet of Godolph. Unfortunately, his transfer doesn't go as smoothly as he wants, and he now seems stranded on Godolph. There is something strange about travelers on Godolph, as Cassal quickly learns.

What if...a machine could murder one person while implicating another for the crime? An alien being looked like livestock but spoke like a philosopher? Earth was ruined by war, and Mars was humanity's only hope? Robots were created to wage an unending war on the ravaged surface of Earth while man hid underground? Peeking into the future showed a worse result with each look?

The telepathic beings on Mars know that Earth is sending a probe to their planet and anxiously await its arrival. For you see, only 900 of them are left, and Earth is their only means of survival. They have much to offer Earth in return. But will the connection be made? Listen and find out.

The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed (metamorphosed) into a large, monstrous insect-like creature. The cause of Gregor's transformation is never revealed, and Kafka himself never gave an explanation. The rest of Kafka's novella deals with Gregor's attempts to adjust to his new condition as he deals with being burdensome to his parents and sister, who are repulsed by the horrible, verminous creature Gregor has become.

If, after a great struggle, the East were to prevail over the world, what sort of civilization would be imposed by the victors? Would it be an oriental version of the societies we know - or might the great old culture be superimposed upon what was left of Western technology? The story is set in a post-apocalyptic future where global civilization is governed by a hierarchical, religious society centered around belief in karmic-based reincarnation metaphorically viewed as moving forward or backward on a turning wheel.

A group of pilgrims venture to a new planet, leaving Earth to escape the persecution they endured there only to find naked heathens inhabiting their new planet. The heathens worship a spaceship embedded in the hillside. The heathens speak English, but the pilgrims cannot abide their ways, so they decide to destroy them tomorrow because today is the Sabbath. A big surprise awaits them.

As curator of the Twentieth Century Exhibit, George Miller felt that to do a good job, he had to live his work. Then, one day, somebody got into his exhibit, and he went to investigate.

For Eveline, it was a nearly transforming experience to be in love. Frank had booked passage for the two to leave Ireland for Buenos Aires as husband and wife. As Eveline looks forward to the day of her leaving, she begins to think of her dead mother and the family she would be leaving behind. This short story allows us to consider the thoughts that are in conflict for the young lady. How will she respond and what will she decide? A classic story narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Here is a story of a miser who is also afflicted with an advanced case of envy. He never had enough. When a magical dwarf takes the challenge to deceive the miser he succeeds in a greater way than even he could have anticipated. Living a life that views generosity as important is the key takeaway in this greedy fairy tale by Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing.

In this comedy by the legendary Piers Anthony, the six-year-old son of a wealthy man wants a pet for his birthday. So, he promises his son to get him whatever he wants. Well - the boy wants a Pegasus! The father, knowing such an animal does not exist, proves it to the boy by grabbing the encyclopedic edition for that very entry. Not only do they find the Pegasus doesn't exist, but the animals they know exist in fact - do not!

An intriguing short story by acclaimed writer Bram Stoker focusing on what a patient might experience in the midst of an intense illness. For both the patient and the caregiver the result bears a remarkable look at something that may seem familiar, disturbing, and sometimes humorous. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

W. F. Harvey (1885-1937) was a prolific writer of short tales of the macabre and the strange, best known for the classic horror tale "The Beast With Five Fingers". "The Clock" also sees Harvey exploring the supernatural, with an eerie tale of an unexpected and unwelcome tenant in a deserted house.

Herbert George Wells was one of the most prolific and visionary British writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. H. G. Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels, although he wrote across many genres, including nonfiction. His fiction embraces history, science fiction, horror, satire, fantasy, and social commentary. Wells was also a futurist, foreseeing air travel, tanks (as in “The Land Ironclads” - part of this anthology) space travel, nuclear weapons, and even satellite television.