Status
Available
Call number
Library's review
Indeholder "The mountain without a name", "The accountant", "Hunting problem", "A thief in time", "The luckiest man in the world", "Hands off", "Something for nothing", "A ticket to Tranal", "The battle", "Skulking permit", "Citizen in space", "Ask a foolish question".
"The mountain without a name"
"The accountant" handler om en troldmandssøn der hellere vil være revisor.
"Hunting problem" handler om en jagthistorie hvor byttet er tre mænd eller mirash.
"A thief in time" handler om en tidsrejsehistorie.
"The luckiest man in the world" handler om held i uheld.
"Hands off" handler om at hugge et rumskib med ukendt opbygning.
"Something for nothing" handler om en ønskeopfyldende maskine.
"A ticket to Tranal" handler om en planet med en løs styreform hvor jobbet som præsident er nemt at få tilbudt.
"The battle" handler om Armageddon som moderne krig.
"Skulking Permit" handler om en genopdaget koloniplanet der gerne vil være som jorden men har glemt en del.
"Citizen in space" handler om en spionstat.
"Ask a foolish question" handler om en svarmaskine som er svær at få et svar ud af.
Alle historierne er interessante og/eller morsomme.
"The mountain without a name"
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handler om planetbygning med vanskeligheder."The accountant" handler om en troldmandssøn der hellere vil være revisor.
"Hunting problem" handler om en jagthistorie hvor byttet er tre mænd eller mirash.
"A thief in time" handler om en tidsrejsehistorie.
"The luckiest man in the world" handler om held i uheld.
"Hands off" handler om at hugge et rumskib med ukendt opbygning.
"Something for nothing" handler om en ønskeopfyldende maskine.
"A ticket to Tranal" handler om en planet med en løs styreform hvor jobbet som præsident er nemt at få tilbudt.
"The battle" handler om Armageddon som moderne krig.
"Skulking Permit" handler om en genopdaget koloniplanet der gerne vil være som jorden men har glemt en del.
"Citizen in space" handler om en spionstat.
"Ask a foolish question" handler om en svarmaskine som er svær at få et svar ud af.
Alle historierne er interessante og/eller morsomme.
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Collection
Publication
New York: Ballantine Books, c1955 200 p. ; 18 cm.
Description
Marvin Goodman thinks he has discovered an unknown paradise and buys "A Ticket to Tranai." What starts as Utopia ends up becoming a death trap. The eleven other stories included in this collection are "The Mountain Without a Name," "The Accountant," "Hunting Problem," "A Thief in Time," "The Luckiest Man in the World," "Hands Off," "Something for Nothing," "The Battle," "Skulking Permit," "Citizen in Space," and "Ask a Foolish Question." 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."… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member karamazow
Humor and SF tend to have difficult marriages, but if there is one writer who succeeds in pairing these, it's Sheckley.
Some of the plots in these stories are downright hilarious, without getting trite, no mean feat. Sheckley's heroes are anti-heroes mostly, harvesting easily the sympathy of the
Scientific facts from the future are not explained, this is no hard SF anywhere. The emphasis lies on human behaviour, depicted in a recognizable way throughout. Especially interesting are the mores of Sheckley's aliens, always at odds with human understanding. Mostly the humans are unable to adapt to alien ways of thinking, which results in some very unlucky human mistakes indeed.
Time paradoxes are handled hilariously in ''A Thief in Time'', but pride of place goes to ''Hands Off'', where human greed is shown to lead to catastrophe, just because of its singular purpose, the increase of material wealth. The tenor is light, the style deceptively simple, but, nothwithstanding, the points are driven home with conviction. An easy read with unexpected layers.
Some of the plots in these stories are downright hilarious, without getting trite, no mean feat. Sheckley's heroes are anti-heroes mostly, harvesting easily the sympathy of the
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reader. Scientific facts from the future are not explained, this is no hard SF anywhere. The emphasis lies on human behaviour, depicted in a recognizable way throughout. Especially interesting are the mores of Sheckley's aliens, always at odds with human understanding. Mostly the humans are unable to adapt to alien ways of thinking, which results in some very unlucky human mistakes indeed.
Time paradoxes are handled hilariously in ''A Thief in Time'', but pride of place goes to ''Hands Off'', where human greed is shown to lead to catastrophe, just because of its singular purpose, the increase of material wealth. The tenor is light, the style deceptively simple, but, nothwithstanding, the points are driven home with conviction. An easy read with unexpected layers.
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LibraryThing member kevinashley
I've enjoyed Robert Sheckley's wry take on science fiction ever since I first read "Dimension of Miracles" over 40 years ago. I am surprised not to have come across this collection, or any of the stories within it, before now. It's his second story collection published in 1955, quite early on in
Short notes on each story follow.
The mountain without a name
A work gang are terra-forming yet another world ready for colonists, and not taking much account of the objections of the locals. But everything starts going wrong for them.
The Accountant
In a world of wizards, it's shocking when your son wants to be an accountant. It turns out it's not as dull as it sounds.
Hunting problem
Advanced life-forms are hunting our party of treasure-seeking humans. It doesn't end up the way anyone expects.
A Thief In Time
A novel take on the time-travel paradox story, with scenes and an ending that foreshadow one of Sheckley's finest novels, "Dimension of Miracles."
The Luckiest Man in The World
A short-short. An isolated weatherman has technology and instructional manuals enough to allow him to master anything. He's been a surgeon, plumber and painter and he's very pleased with it all. But the ending brings poignancy.
Hands Off
An unpleasant bunch of space bandits think they've gained control of a valuable alien spaceship on an uncharted planet, It turns out our alien is more different than they planned for. It isn't easy for any of them.
Something for Nothing
A staple of 1950s SF - the machine that can produce anything on demand - appears without warning. There are instructions & warnings, but who reads those? There's a catch, of course. There always is.
A Ticket to Tranai
Somewhere on the edge of the galaxy is a utopian paradise, says the old spacer. Our protagonist finds it. It turns out utopias involve a lot of difficult compromises. This is the tale of him finding them out.
Classic Sheckley, and unusual to see a hero in 1950s SF so pro for female equality.
The Battle
A short-short. Armageddon is here, the military are ready to take on Satan with their robot armies. What could go wrong? Not what you think.
Skulking Permit
The colony has been cut off from Earth for over 200 years. Now an inspector is on the way, and everyone is desperate to prove things are still OK.
A good idea and an amusing telling.
Citiizen In Space
Our hero wishes to find himself in deepest deep space, and scrapes together the money to buy a ship to do it. Naturally, the government needs to keep spying on him and naturally he wants to help them do it. It doesn't go to plan.
Ask A Foolish Question
Someone's already built the machine that was imagined in "The Question." The Answerer knows all the answers, and the creatures that built it are long gone, who knows where. The trouble is we don't know all the questions. Yet again it seems Sheckley is giving Douglas Adams ideas.
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his career. The stories all date from 1953-1955 and although they are typical of US SF of that era many also contain the elements that mark out Sheckley as a distinctive voice. He tackles some themes that were common in SF at the time and brings a unique and amusing vision to them. Enjoyable, and showing the promise to come.Short notes on each story follow.
The mountain without a name
A work gang are terra-forming yet another world ready for colonists, and not taking much account of the objections of the locals. But everything starts going wrong for them.
The Accountant
In a world of wizards, it's shocking when your son wants to be an accountant. It turns out it's not as dull as it sounds.
Hunting problem
Advanced life-forms are hunting our party of treasure-seeking humans. It doesn't end up the way anyone expects.
A Thief In Time
A novel take on the time-travel paradox story, with scenes and an ending that foreshadow one of Sheckley's finest novels, "Dimension of Miracles."
The Luckiest Man in The World
A short-short. An isolated weatherman has technology and instructional manuals enough to allow him to master anything. He's been a surgeon, plumber and painter and he's very pleased with it all. But the ending brings poignancy.
Hands Off
An unpleasant bunch of space bandits think they've gained control of a valuable alien spaceship on an uncharted planet, It turns out our alien is more different than they planned for. It isn't easy for any of them.
Something for Nothing
A staple of 1950s SF - the machine that can produce anything on demand - appears without warning. There are instructions & warnings, but who reads those? There's a catch, of course. There always is.
A Ticket to Tranai
Somewhere on the edge of the galaxy is a utopian paradise, says the old spacer. Our protagonist finds it. It turns out utopias involve a lot of difficult compromises. This is the tale of him finding them out.
Classic Sheckley, and unusual to see a hero in 1950s SF so pro for female equality.
The Battle
A short-short. Armageddon is here, the military are ready to take on Satan with their robot armies. What could go wrong? Not what you think.
Skulking Permit
The colony has been cut off from Earth for over 200 years. Now an inspector is on the way, and everyone is desperate to prove things are still OK.
A good idea and an amusing telling.
Citiizen In Space
Our hero wishes to find himself in deepest deep space, and scrapes together the money to buy a ship to do it. Naturally, the government needs to keep spying on him and naturally he wants to help them do it. It doesn't go to plan.
Ask A Foolish Question
Someone's already built the machine that was imagined in "The Question." The Answerer knows all the answers, and the creatures that built it are long gone, who knows where. The trouble is we don't know all the questions. Yet again it seems Sheckley is giving Douglas Adams ideas.
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
An anthology of magazine pieces like this is a treat when the author is Robert Sheckley. The jewel being "A thief Out of Time", a comedy of mis-conceptions with both humans and an alien using the same space for an encounter that leads to a shaggy dog ending. It's still funny, and the whole book
The book was originally gathered in 1955, and I've read it twice.
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remains a solid entertainment.The book was originally gathered in 1955, and I've read it twice.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1955-12
Physical description
200 p.; 18 cm
Local notes
Omslag: Ikke angivet
Omslaget viser en bygning med nogle mennesker omkring. Bagved dem er himlen som et abstrakt maleri med skræmmende røde og gule farver
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Page 46: "Time Travelers are not allowed in the Readery", the librarian said sternly
Omslaget viser en bygning med nogle mennesker omkring. Bagved dem er himlen som et abstrakt maleri med skræmmende røde og gule farver
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Page 46: "Time Travelers are not allowed in the Readery", the librarian said sternly
Similar in this library
Pages
200
DDC/MDS
| 823.91 |