1968
First Published
3.96
Average Rating
224
Number of Pages
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 Necessary Thing,” “Redfern’s Labyrinth,” “Proof of the Pudding,” “The Laxian Key,” “The Last Weapon,” “Fishing Season,” “Dreamworld,” and “Ghost V.” From the very beginning of his career, Robert Sheckley was recognized by fans, reviewers, and fellow authors as a master storyteller and the wittiest satirist working in the science fiction field. Open Road is proud to republish his acclaimed body of work, with nearly thirty volumes of full-length fiction and short story collections. Rediscover, or discover for the first time, a master of science fiction who, according to the New York Times, was “a precursor to Douglas Adams.”
Avg Rating
3.96
Number of Ratings
375
5 STARS
28%
4 STARS
45%
3 STARS
23%
2 STARS
4%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads
Author
Robert Sheckley
Author · 78 books
One of science fiction's great humorists, Sheckley was a prolific short story writer beginning in 1952 with titles including "Specialist", "Pilgrimage to Earth", "Warm", "The Prize of Peril", and "Seventh Victim", collected in volumes from Untouched by Human Hands (1954) to Is That What People Do? (1984) and a five-volume set of Collected Stories (1991). His first novel, Immortality, Inc. (1958), was followed by The Status Civilization (1960), Journey Beyond Tomorrow (1962), Mindswap (1966), and several others. Sheckley served as fiction editor for Omni magazine from January 1980 through September 1981, and was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001.
