Guided Tour

by Gordon R. Dickson

A selection of short works by the noted science fiction writer includes "The Monkey Wrench," "Last Voyage," "Rehabilitated," "Lulungomeena," and "Time Grabber"

Genres: Science Fiction

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 15, 1988

About the author

Gordon Rupert Dickson was an American science fiction author. He was born in Canada, then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota as a teenager. He is probably most famous for his Childe Cycle and the Dragon Knight series. He won three Hugo awards and one Nebula award.

Reviews

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories:

Guided Tour (poem)
The Monkey Wrench - overconfident man uses computer
The Star-Fool - anti-intellectual pioneers ask geologist for help, who despite having the exact wrong qualifications, gives it his all
Hilifter - hijacker gets on passenger spaceship
Counter-Irritant - young firebrand politician tells the "old guard" he wants to start a war with Vega
Last Voyage - old, slow passenger spaceship encounters thieves in deep space.
An Ounce of Emotion - man who hates his boss has to present human-made machine to two alien species in the hopes of preventing war
Rehabilitated - Alcoholic is given a second shot at life, and a new dream to pursue
Lulungomeena - peaceful, boring space outpost life made miserable by young gambler needling old gambler
Time Grabber - Selfish scientist tries to pull a fast one on a colleague
I've Been Trying to Tell You - reporter presents strange insects to an entomologist
Flat Tiger - alien visits Earth and offers an invitation to the galactic community
The Rebels - archaeologists learn telekinesis
The Mousetrap - man wakes up somewhere he doesn't remember. All he remembers is lying, cheating, and stealing to try to get someplace else.

Lulungomeena was my favourite. These are all stories about human ingenuity, usually saving the day, but not always.

[SciFiOne]

Short stories.