Hmm. Favorites, stories reread just because you like them? There are 3 on this list that would go into my top 10, as well. 1. Black Destroyer - A. E. Van Vogt 2. The Weapons Shop A. E. Van Vogt 3. Cultural Exchange - Keith Laumer 4. Victory Unintentional - Isaac Asimov 5. The Last Command - Keith Laumer 6. The Proud Robot - Henry Kuttner 7. The Blue Giraffe - L. Sprague Decamp 8. Pate De Foie Gras - Isaac Asimov 9. The Cosmic Expense Account - C. M. Kornbluth 10. The Holes Around Mars - Jerome Bixby. My Honorable mentions could go interminably... It took me an hour to whittle down 10 "favorite" short stories. Cabin Boy - Damon Knight - almost beat out The Holes around Mars. Maybe it did🙂
Steve's List, for people searching for the stories... Honourable Mentions: And I Awoke and Found Me Here on on the Cold Hill’s Side - James Tiptree Jr. (1972) Covenant - Elizabeth Bear (2014) Sandkings - George R.R. Martin (1979) 10. The Nine Billion Names of God - Arthur C. Clarke (1953) 9. Souls - Joanna Russ (1982) 8. The Long Chase - Geoffrey A. Landis (2002) 7. Fire Watch - Connie Willis (1982) 6. The Women Men Don't See - James Tiptree Jr. (1973) 5. The Man Who Bridged the Mist - Kij Johnson (2011) 4. My English Name - R.S. Benedict (2017) 3. Scanners Live in Vain - Cordwainer Smith (1950) 2. Our Lady of Chernobyl - Greg Egan (1994) 1. The Ugly Chickens - Howard Waldrop (1980)
Your Faces, Oh My Sisters, You’re Faces Filled of Light - will never forget it. Such a powerful James Tiptree story. I first learned about her on your channel a few years ago. Her stories definitely stick with you.
I humbly present my list of favorite SF short stories at this moment in time (but always in a constant state of flux). 1. The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges - though it does not have a conventional plot, it is a description of a bizarre alternative universe. 2. And He Built a Crooked House by Robert A. Heinlein - an adventure in a 4D house in California. 3. The Ethics of Madness by Larry Niven - a burned out indicator light leads to a man’s insanity and a multi-millennium chase. 4. The Last Question by Isaac Asimov 5. The Tunnel Under the World by Frederik Pohl 6. Cloak of Anarchy by Larry Niven 7. It’s a Good Life by Jerome Bixby 8. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison 9. The Marching Morons by C.M. Kornbluth 10. The Dead Past by Isaac Asimov Honorable mentions: A Pail of Air by Fritz Lieber Tumithak of the Corridors by Charles R. Tanner
Cloak Of Anarchy is great work by Niven. I have read it many times over 50? years now. It was on his website. The Bixby is pretty terrifying. Bixby's The Holes Around Mars is very fun.
My top 10 list as of 2022 (It will definitely change in the coming months as I read more anthologies) 1 Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (this will work on almost everyone, for sure) 2 Ishmael in Love, by Robert Silverberg (a thinking dolphin falling in love with a human, what else do you need?) 3 The Carthesian Theater, by Robert Charles Wilson (philosophy and sf almost always go hand in hand -this one adds a little horror to it) 4 How I Take their measure, by Barry N. Malzberg ("employee of the welfare system has contempt for the welfare recipients and enjoys pushing them around psychologically. ") Political satire at its best. 5 Mortal Gods, by Orson Scott Card (aliens take interest in humans' peculiar characteristic of dying, for they can't really die) 6 The Earth Doth Like Snake Renew (I'd chosen the Women men don't see as well, but just for choosing another: this one about a woman falling in love with father/mother Earth, literally) 7 Rider of the Purple Wage, by Philip José Farmer (definitely not for everyone, at least not for people who dislike experimental prose and some puns, but the sheer boldness of this left me awestruck) 8 For a Breath I Tarry, by Roger Zelazny (Two machines after Armageddon talking, -so fun and eye-opening commentary on the human condition) 9 The Man Who Came Early, by Poul Anderson (an honorable man tries to change the past in the Viking Age; surprisingly emotional) 10 The Moon Moth, by Jack Vance (the worldbuilding crammed in so short a space is astounding, and he even throws in a mystery)
My two favorite Tiptree stories are The Man Who Walked Home and Forever to a Hudson Bay Blanket. Yes, I could fill a list with Cordwainer Smith stories.
Netflix are adapting 'Sandkings' into a feature. Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) to direct and Dennis Kelly (Utopia - original UK C4 version) to write. Expecting something suitably dark from that combination!
Interesting list! I’ve been compiling mine for a while….and I was going to do general fiction but Mike from Fit2BRead persuaded me to stick to SF so I’ll be posting that soon, once I’ve made my final decisions….as you say there are so many possibilities….
I love Top 10 lists that countdown and I agree that the best way to complete a list of this nature is to do it by "favorite" instead of "best," especially since it captures your opinion and not intend to make it sound like you are the highest and mightiest. I am not as concerned with overlap, for common interest can be quite interesting. I would have "A Sound of Thunder" in my favorites list and am enthralled by the idea that if you change one little thing, it is going to have an impact on the entire world and its future. The only name I recognize from your list, Steve, is Arthur C. Clarke, though I would like to look into the other writers and their stories. I heard of Kij Johnson, but did not look into any of their works. I would like to read more science fiction, though, because it is very thought-provoking in its subject matter. I had been subscribed to Fantasy and Science Fiction, Analog, and Asimov, and have been introduced to some newer (to me) writers. I am not subscribing to as many magazines at the moment, though, but maybe in the future. Thank you for sharing! -Josh
Hmm. Favorites, stories reread just because you like them? There are 3 on this list that would go into my top 10, as well.
1. Black Destroyer - A. E. Van Vogt
2. The Weapons Shop A. E. Van Vogt
3. Cultural Exchange - Keith Laumer
4. Victory Unintentional - Isaac Asimov
5. The Last Command - Keith Laumer
6. The Proud Robot - Henry Kuttner
7. The Blue Giraffe - L. Sprague Decamp
8. Pate De Foie Gras - Isaac Asimov
9. The Cosmic Expense Account - C. M. Kornbluth
10. The Holes Around Mars - Jerome Bixby.
My Honorable mentions could go interminably... It took me an hour to whittle down 10 "favorite" short stories.
Cabin Boy - Damon Knight - almost beat out The Holes around Mars. Maybe it did🙂
Steve's List, for people searching for the stories...
Honourable Mentions:
And I Awoke and Found Me Here on on the Cold Hill’s Side - James Tiptree Jr. (1972)
Covenant - Elizabeth Bear (2014)
Sandkings - George R.R. Martin (1979)
10. The Nine Billion Names of God - Arthur C. Clarke (1953)
9. Souls - Joanna Russ (1982)
8. The Long Chase - Geoffrey A. Landis (2002)
7. Fire Watch - Connie Willis (1982)
6. The Women Men Don't See - James Tiptree Jr. (1973)
5. The Man Who Bridged the Mist - Kij Johnson (2011)
4. My English Name - R.S. Benedict (2017)
3. Scanners Live in Vain - Cordwainer Smith (1950)
2. Our Lady of Chernobyl - Greg Egan (1994)
1. The Ugly Chickens - Howard Waldrop (1980)
Thank you!
Hero! 🙏🏻
thank you
Your Faces, Oh My Sisters, You’re Faces Filled of Light - will never forget it. Such a powerful James Tiptree story. I first learned about her on your channel a few years ago. Her stories definitely stick with you.
Howard Waldrop won a World Fantasy lifetime achievement award last year, so some people still love him
I humbly present my list of favorite SF short stories at this moment in time (but always in a constant state of flux).
1. The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges - though it does not have a conventional plot, it is a description of a bizarre alternative universe.
2. And He Built a Crooked House by Robert A. Heinlein - an adventure in a 4D house in California.
3. The Ethics of Madness by Larry Niven - a burned out indicator light leads to a man’s insanity and a multi-millennium chase.
4. The Last Question by Isaac Asimov
5. The Tunnel Under the World by Frederik Pohl
6. Cloak of Anarchy by Larry Niven
7. It’s a Good Life by Jerome Bixby
8. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
9. The Marching Morons by C.M. Kornbluth
10. The Dead Past by Isaac Asimov
Honorable mentions:
A Pail of Air by Fritz Lieber
Tumithak of the Corridors by Charles R. Tanner
Great list! Lots of cross over with me!
Cloak Of Anarchy is great work by Niven. I have read it many times over 50? years now. It was on his website. The Bixby is pretty terrifying. Bixby's The Holes Around Mars is very fun.
_Sandkings_ was soooo good!
My top 10 list as of 2022 (It will definitely change in the coming months as I read more anthologies)
1 Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (this will work on almost everyone, for sure)
2 Ishmael in Love, by Robert Silverberg (a thinking dolphin falling in love with a human, what else do you need?)
3 The Carthesian Theater, by Robert Charles Wilson (philosophy and sf almost always go hand in hand -this one adds a little horror to it)
4 How I Take their measure, by Barry N. Malzberg ("employee of the welfare system has contempt for the welfare recipients and enjoys pushing them around psychologically. ") Political satire at its best.
5 Mortal Gods, by Orson Scott Card (aliens take interest in humans' peculiar characteristic of dying, for they can't really die)
6 The Earth Doth Like Snake Renew (I'd chosen the Women men don't see as well, but just for choosing another: this one about a woman falling in love with father/mother Earth, literally)
7 Rider of the Purple Wage, by Philip José Farmer (definitely not for everyone, at least not for people who dislike experimental prose and some puns, but the sheer boldness of this left me awestruck)
8 For a Breath I Tarry, by Roger Zelazny (Two machines after Armageddon talking, -so fun and eye-opening commentary on the human condition)
9 The Man Who Came Early, by Poul Anderson (an honorable man tries to change the past in the Viking Age; surprisingly emotional)
10 The Moon Moth, by Jack Vance (the worldbuilding crammed in so short a space is astounding, and he even throws in a mystery)
Flowers for Algernon is probably my top pick as well!
The Man Who Came Early is likely my Favorite Anderson. Good choice!
Great post! appreciated that you went into detail about the stories themselves so the casual listener could glean the main idea
My two favorite Tiptree stories are The Man Who Walked Home and Forever to a Hudson Bay Blanket. Yes, I could fill a list with Cordwainer Smith stories.
Netflix are adapting 'Sandkings' into a feature. Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) to direct and Dennis Kelly (Utopia - original UK C4 version) to write. Expecting something suitably dark from that combination!
Wonderful video, Steve! As usual. *Adds the list of books to the tbr
Now you have to make your top 10 Fantasy short stories!
Interesting list! I’ve been compiling mine for a while….and I was going to do general fiction but Mike from Fit2BRead persuaded me to stick to SF so I’ll be posting that soon, once I’ve made my final decisions….as you say there are so many possibilities….
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by Tiptree; The Cold Equations, don't recall the author.
Never heard of my English Name...will definitely read. Oh and, "oooh look at me I didn't do doubles.. ."
This was delightful. The Ugly Chickens! So clever and moving. Interesting, no Heinlein or Dick…. I’m going to do mine very soon.
I love Top 10 lists that countdown and I agree that the best way to complete a list of this nature is to do it by "favorite" instead of "best," especially since it captures your opinion and not intend to make it sound like you are the highest and mightiest. I am not as concerned with overlap, for common interest can be quite interesting. I would have "A Sound of Thunder" in my favorites list and am enthralled by the idea that if you change one little thing, it is going to have an impact on the entire world and its future. The only name I recognize from your list, Steve, is Arthur C. Clarke, though I would like to look into the other writers and their stories. I heard of Kij Johnson, but did not look into any of their works. I would like to read more science fiction, though, because it is very thought-provoking in its subject matter. I had been subscribed to Fantasy and Science Fiction, Analog, and Asimov, and have been introduced to some newer (to me) writers. I am not subscribing to as many magazines at the moment, though, but maybe in the future. Thank you for sharing! -Josh
The Chase is great.
'Eyes of Amber' by Joan D. Vinge
#s 12 thru 18 on my list are all Greg Egan shorts ;)
Ugly Chickens - easily found on the internet.
"Souls" would definitely be on the list...would you agree "the last question" would be on the "best" list?
Canasta club!