Showing results by author "Robert Sheckley" in All Categories

Take a look at a dark, deadly future where the game is hunting and the results are killing - human to human - with status, money, power, and sex as the prizes. The operation runs underground and Frank Blackwell is a new recruit who is destined to change the game and turn it into legitimate popular entertainment for the masses.

Learn the truth behind the mask of Hollywood in these 10 bizarre tales of dreams and dream weavers, movies and movie-makers, by some of the most respected fantasy writers of our time.

A space explorer wearing a force shield encounters a little problem when he makes first contact. Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on July 11, 1957.

As the winds howl, two men stationed on an alien world ignore the natives' advice - and head into danger. Based on a story by Robert Schekley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on October 3, 1957.

Elwood is a homicidal maniac with a gun who seeks help from a robot psychiatrist. Only problem is, this one is designed to treat...Martians. Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on July 10, 1956.

Here are 10 stories from the May and June 2003 issues of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, including a tribute to SF great Barry M. Malzberg.

Salvatore commands the battleship Endymion. He's seen his share of battles and fought them bravely, too. So he doesn't hesitate when beautiful Princess Hatari pleads for his help. She wants to regain her throne, but it may be more than Salvatore can accomplish, for the deadly race known as the Balderdash has taken over the planet Melchior--and now, even his own men have turned against him!

On a distant planet, a marooned man is joyous to see a ship landing. But what does the crew make of him? Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on September 26, 1957.

A lonely man accepts a free offer from a matchmaking service: success guaranteed. Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on January 9, 1958.

The colonists on New Delaware are told they need to be "civilized". That means they must have jails. The only problem is, they have no criminals. Based on a story by Robert Sheckley, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on February 15, 1956.

Professor Carver and his assistant Fred are investigating the culture of the primitive Lorayan community. The snobbish professor is ready to dismiss the Lorayans as uneducated savages until he witnesses the healing power of the locally produced sersee juice. He is very keen to accumulate a store of this remarkable restorative in order to learn how to manufacture it on Earth and become extremely wealthy. However, he soon discovers that the application of the juice can produce unexpected effects.

The Leech was waiting for food. For millennia it had been drifting, without consciousness, across the vast emptiness of space. A planet claimed it, with other stellar debris, and the leech fell, still dead—seeming within its tough spore case. One speck of dust among many, fell to the Earth. Nourishment soaked in, permeating the spore case. It grew—and began to feed.

Introducing "The Monsters" by Robert Sheckley, a thrilling sci-fi audiobook that explores the fascinating and bizarre world of a distant planet inhabited by sentient aliens who refer to themselves as "humans." On this strange planet, the aliens may look nothing like us, but their society is both intriguing and terrifying. While they pride themselves on being rational and ethical beings, their tendencies towards violence and argumentation make them truly monstrous. Witness their struggles with truth and deception.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the poem "Brahma" in 1856, synthesizing the essence of spirituality and Hinduism; exploring the mysteries of life and death. Robert Sheckley in his short story, "If The Red Slayer", a line taken from Emerson's poem takes us to a battlefield of the future where dead men can be brought back to life seen from the eyes of a soldier who has been killed three times and brought back to life three times.

"The Special Exhibit" by Robert Sheckley is a short story narrated by Mike Vendetti that provides a fascinating and sure solution to a problem marriage.

First, the stars in the Milkey Way go dark. Then everyone on earth hears in their minds a very real voice speaking in their own language, dialect, and gender at the precise same time: ''Judgment of the inhabitants of the planet Earth will be held in five days. Please prepare yourselves for the final examination and departure. That is all". Humanity prepares for the rapture. But wait, fate takes a turn.

Man was leaving Earth. Man--but not woman. Light-years from Earth were little worlds without women - and men were not happy about it. Since real women could not go to them, scientists on Earth developed substitutes. Android females were developed, the surrogates, and shipped to the colonies. Everything seemed to go well - for a while. Ralph Garvey is about to find that the package containing the promise of extreme sexual delight is not quite what he had expected.

Are you a fan of science fiction and suspenseful short stories? Look no further than Robert Sheckley's Wild Talents, Inc. This audiobook takes you into a unique talent agency that deals with individuals possessing psychic abilities - some of whom are quite peculiar and on the fringe of lunacy.

Sheckley's satirical humor shines through as Edward Moran Archer previews the different levels of hell, from the mundane to the outrageous. Each punishment is tailored to fit the individual's sins, and Archer quickly realizes the gravity of his choices. As he reflects on his life and the impact of his actions, Archer must come to terms with his own beliefs and face the consequences of his decisions. As time passes, he is forced to confront the reality of his existence and the choices that led him to this moment.

Follow Charles Dennison, an inventor with a groundbreaking creation that could change the world. With so much at stake, Dennison must stay vigilant and protect his invention at all costs. But, are there larger forces at play here?