The Masque of Mañana

by Robert Sheckley, Bob Eggleton (Illustrator), Sharon L. Sbarsky (Editor)

This volume contains the major short science fiction of Robert Sheckley.

Introduction by David G. Hartwell

Contains:
Leech --
Demons --
Fool's mate --
Monsters --
Seventh victim --
Shape --
Untouched by human hands --
Something for nothing --
Accountant --
Thief in time --
Battle --
Milk run --
Ghost V --
Laxian key --
Skulking permit --
Squirrel cage --
Lifeboat mutiny --
Necessary thing --
Citizen in space --
Ticket to Tranai --
Skag castle --
All the things you are --
Bad medicine --
Early model --
Pilgrimage to earth --
Native problem --
Language of love --
Deaths of Ben Baxter --
Wind is rising --
Gray flannel armor --
Holdout --
Prize of peril --
Minimum man --
Sweeper of Loray --
Triplication --
Store of the worlds --
Prospector's special --
Shall we have a little talk? --
Sarkanger --
Dukakis and the aliens.

Genres: Science Fiction, Humor, Short Stories, Fiction

569 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My entire feeling after reading this book (not once, but several times) can be summed up as: if only the recent lot (of authors) can dream of writing like this!. These stories are funny, poignant, serious, action-packed, tight, and under all circumstances highly readable. NESFA has done us, the lovers of science-fiction (the field has got really swamped by guys who are heavy on character-building & moods, at the expense of taut narratives and clean stories) a huge favour by bringing out these neglected jewels collected between two handsome covers. Highly recommended.

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the 41 stories collected here, at least half represent the crème-de-la-crème of vintage SF satire of the 1950s and early '60s, boisterous philosophical hi-jinks with a scorpion strike of cynical glee.

Just be forewarned that potential new Sheckleyans will have to filter his dry, flaky, cliché-parched prose (the original markets for these tales were mostly drug-store pulps like Galaxy and Astounding, though five of these stories initially appeared in Playboy).

That being said, those of you who've acquired this hefty omnibus and want to economize on time may benefit from my recommendations:

ESSENTIAL

Skulking Permit, Pilgrimage to Earth, Triplication, Bad Medicine, Citizen in Space, The Minimum Man, The Native Problem, Seventh Victim, A Ticket to Tranai

ALSO QUITE GOOD

All the Things You Are, The Battle, The Deaths of Ben Baxter, Early Model, Ghost V, Gray Flannel Armor, The Language of Love, The Laxian Key, The Lifeboat Mutiny, The Monsters, Sarkanger, Shall We Have a Little Talk?, Something for Nothing, The Store of the Worlds, A Thief in Time, Untouched By Human Hands, What is Life?

NOT BAD

The Accountant, Fool's Mate, Holdout, Milk Run, The Necessary Thing, The Prize of Peril, Shape, Squirrel Cage, The Skag Castle

MEH

The Leech, A Wind is Rising, The Demons, Dukakis and the Aliens, Prospector's Special, The Sweeper of Loray

P.S. It's come to my attention that NYRB Classics are releasing their own selection of Sheckley's short fiction, The Store of the Worlds, edited by Jonathem Lethem and Alex Abramovich, to be released in April 2012, and clocking in at 408 pages (about 150 pages slimmer than the NESFA anthology). Table of Contents currently unavailable.

[John Bruni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection from a great SF writer! Only a couple of stinkers in this one, which is remarkable considering how many stories are in here. My favorites involve the AAA Ace guys, Arnold and Gregor. Someone please tell me that Sheckley did a series of novels about them. I could watch them in action all day long. But there were a lot of other interesting stories in here, too. If the STAR TREK writers weren't fans of Sheckley, I'll eat this book page by page. A lot of stuff in here was clearly lifted for that show, some 10 years before the first episode aired. There are even Tribbles in this book. They're called something else, but that's what they are. (There's even a moment when a ship's doctor says, "I'm a doctor, not a physician." If only he'd been talking to someone named Jim!) And if Stephen King never read "The Prize of Peril," which has A LOT in common with THE RUNNING MAN, then I'll eat this whole computer. There's a society in one of these stories in which it's customary to kill your wife after a certain period of time. There's a story about a man with the most peculiar racist view you'll ever come across. There's a group of future scientists who choose which time lines history will follow. And of course there are a few first contact stories that are amazing. There's a story about what might have happened if Dukakis won in '88 (which is a question I've never asked myself, by the way). But my favorite is probably "Prospector's Special," which is a maddening story of how exploration is constantly held up by red tape. If you love old SF from the 'Fifties, and you don't have this book, you need to fix that.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

only two science fiction story writers have been able to surprise me on a regular basis. The great Isaac Asimov was one. Scheckley is the other, His stories display exceptional cleverness in both setting up and resolving the central conflicts, all with a twist that left me consistently wowed.

Examples: In "Ghost V," two intrepid planet explorers have run up against monsters borne out of their childhood imaginations, finding the only way to deal with them is to revert back to their childhood defenses.

In "The Language of Love," a smitten young man travels far to study with a guru on expressing the true depth of his feeling, only to find that precision would have unexpected results...

In "The Robot Who Looked Like Me," Sheckley subtly suggests that in delegating to machines the most basic of human activities, we lose a little of our humanity ourselves.

These stories are excellent reads for that 20-30 minutes of in-between time you might have in between appointments or on the train. It will leave you with a sense of wonderment carried over long after you're done with the story.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

41 stories:

The Leech (1952)
The Demons (1953)
Fool's Mate (1953)
The Monsters (1953)
Seventh Victim (1953)
Shape (1953)
Untouched by Human Hands (1953)
Something for Nothing (1954)
The Accountant (1954)
A Thief in Time (1954)
The Battle (1954)
Milk Run (1954)
Ghost V (1954)
The Laxian Key (1954)
Skulking Permit (1954)
Squirrel Cage (1955)
The Lifeboat Mutiny (1955)
The Necessary Thing (1955)
Citizen in Space (1955)
A Ticket to Tranai (1955)
The Skag Castle (1956)
All the Things You Are (1956)
Bad Medicine (1956)
Early Model (1956)
Pilgrimage to Earth (1956)
The Native Problem (1956)
The Language of Love (1957)
The Deaths of Ben Baxter (1957)
A Wind Is Rising (1957)
Gray Flannel Armor (1957)
Holdout (1957)
The Prize of Peril (1958)
The Minimum Man (1958)
The Sweeper of Loray (1959)
Triplication (1959)
The Store of the Worlds (1959)
Prospector's Special (1959)
Shall We Have a Little Talk? (1965)
What Is Life? (1976)
Sarkanger (1986)
Dukakis and the Aliens (1992)

[Ushan · Rating 5 out of 5]

45 short stories by the brilliant satirist, famous in Russia but almost completely forgotten in his native country. Unfortunately, my favorite story of his, "Watchbird", is not there. I once stepped into a discussion in the Russophone blogosphere about whether the indigenous population of Kosovo are the Serbs or the Albanians. I noted that no anatomically modern humans are indigenous to Europe since we all came from Africa. The story "Sarkanger" makes it clear that wild cabbage predates both the Albanians and the Serbs.

[RavenNoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mix of short stories in this. Some disturbing, some funny, some just odd, mostly good reads. This was a good book for reading over a long period of time, a few stories at a time, which is what I did.

7/27/2024 donating
BCID 768-17296881

[Des · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic SF humor.

[Chuck McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful hardback collection of some of Sheckley's greatest tales. This is a must-have for any fan of Robert Sheckley, or of humorous science fiction and fantasy in general.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a Sheckley fan since I was a kid getting into SF and I was thriled to be one of the people suggesting which of his short stories ought to be in this volume. This really is a collection of his very best, including -- to my knowledge -- the only place to have all of his "AAA Ace Interplanetary Decontamination" stories. If you love humorous SF and don't know Sheckley, this is the place to start.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of sci-fi stories that take place in galaxies far, far away. Many are hilarious, and others force you to question humanity - "is this really what we're like?" I highly recommend it for everyone, but you should note that some of the stories seem a little repetitive (many of the characters are reoccurring), but this is easily fixed by reading one story, switching to something else for a day or two, and then going back to it.

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of Sheckley's short stories. Excellent read.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful, quirky collection of short stories. Got me hooked to Sheckley, so I am collecting his other books. Love his sense of humor which adds a nice twist to the endings of his short stories.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of short stories by Robert Sheckley. However, they omitted my favorite Sheckley story of all time, "Hands Off" Still, most of the stories are awesome, so no complaints.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book. I found many of the stories dated, but still a good read.

[Haralambi Markov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheckley in interested in a lot of themes. Some less interesting than others, but generally I thought the bulk of his work to be rather entertaining.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to "Sarkanger".

[Napalmlolita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bad Medicine is a psychological masterpiece. Everything else ranges from poor to mediocre. I guess short story is not my format.