|
Yeah, the dude was a short story machine in the 50s. I've managed to read over 200 of them over the last couple of weeks.
After my disappointing experience with the Hugo nominated stories, I was pleasantly surprised by Sheckley's stuff. My previous encounter with his work was execrable DS9 novel The Laertian Gamble, but after hearing a few of his shows adapted for Mindwebs I decided to do a little digging.
He does not excel in a longer format, though a couple of his novels are interesting enough to check out. Immortality Inc. is pretty fun, and Dimension of Miracles is sort of a proto- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Sheckley does know how to write a short story though. You know how Rod Serling seemed to have an inimitable knack for producing memorable episodes in an anthology format? Well, Sheckley had a similar skill. He just gets how to write a short story.
Now, I'm not saying his stories are brilliant life changing tales or anything, but they are entertaining and imaginative. They have an ineffable quality like some of the short stories I read as a kid that have always stuck with me like The Most Dangerous Game or Leinigen vs the Ants.
If anyone is interested in entertaining 50s sci-fi written with tongue planted firmly in cheek, try some Robert Sheckley. I also think that his stories would make an excellent introduction to sci-fi for younger readers.
"The Store of the Worlds" is the best compilation of his stuff that I've found.
P.S. I'm working on a compilation of his short stories. It will consist of about 30 of my favorite stories. I'm not very tech savvy so it's going to take a while, but when it's done I'd be happy to share.
P.P.S. If anyone can find a copy of the two stories I mentioned in the previous post, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'd like to check out Spacemen in the Dark before I finish my compilation, but I don't suppose it really matters.
|