Fifteen of the best SF short stories many people never have heard of will give a good introduction to the field to the beginner or a solid refresher course for the enthusiast.
Chronologically, these stories are:
01: “The Colour Out of Space” by H.P. Lovecraft originally was published in Amazing Stories magazine in September 1927. HPL most commonly is thought of as a horror writer, but here he tends toward SF. An alien presence devastates a home and surrounding area, causing a horrifying mystery for those who come near.
02: “A Martian Odyssey” by Stanley G. Weinbaum often tops the list of SF short stories. Weinbaum, in 1934, foreshadowed the Golden Age of SF by creating the martian Tweel who is utterly alien, yet not a monster. He’s intelligent and outside the human experience.
03: “Twilight” (1934) is one of the stories written by a changed John W. Campbell Jr. who soon would edit Astounding Stories and father the Golden Age. Known for his universe-spanning space adventures, Campbell—under the name Don A. Stuart—started writing thoughtful pieces about the far future.
04: “Life-Line” (1939) was Robert A. Heinlein’s first published story. It’s about a device that can determine the exact line of life a person has and when that person will die. While he wrote many better stories later, all the elements that would make him the most popular SF writer of his time are here.
05: “Mimsy Were the Borogoves” (1943) by Henry Kuttner and Catherine L. Moore (as Lewis Padgett) is about a set toys by which children evolve to the next level of humanity.
06: “Nightfall” (1941) by Isaac Asimov often competes with “A Martian Odyssey” top “best-of” lists. It’s about a planet where people never have known night because their planet has several suns. Nightfall only happens every several thousand years.
07: “Scanners Live in Vain” (1950) by Paul Linebarger as Cordwainer Smith, truly was a new look at the reality of space.
08: “The Marching Morons” (1951) by C.M. Kornbluth is relevant now. The concept is that intelligent people have fewer children than stupid people, so the latter out-number the former and the former try to make society work.
09: “The Nine Billion Names of God” (1953) is one of Arthur C. Clarke’s best. Computers are used to compile the names of god for a religious sect that believes this will bring god to earth.
10: “The Cold Equations” (1954) by Tom Godwin is science versus humanity, but very touching.
11: “The Star” (1955) is another by Clarke with religious overtones and again one of his best.
12: “The Inconstant Moon” (1971) is an end-of-the-world story that is a prelude to Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s novel Lucifer’s Hammer.
13: “The New York Review of Bird,” (1975) by Harlan Ellison is one of his funniest stories and more of a comment on publishing than SF. It’s worth reading, especially if the reader knows some of Ellison’s history.
14: “Paladin of the Lost Hour” (1984) by Ellison is about a man who keeps the universe from coming apart with a pocket watch. It’s touching, sad and brilliant.
15: “Fermi and Frost” by Frederik Pohl (1985) is an end-of-the-world story that is believable and sad; truly an unsung masterpiece.
Shawn M. Tomlinson - I have been a writer/columnist/designer/editor/photographer/writing coach for more than a quarter-century working in newspapers, ...
