I've lost count just how many times I paused so I can add more titles to my to-read list, and not just in this video. You're doing great work here and I appreciate you introducing me to so many new works.
@Yesica1993 Exactly. There is so much fake enthusiasm on UA-cam it is refreshing to watch someone who just seems genuine (either that or she's a great actress).
I'm a great fan of short stories, so I'm really love to see that you cover them in your channel! I highly recommend to everyone the 'Best of the Best' and 'The Very Best of the Best' anthologies from Gardner Dozois (these are special editions of the long running series 'The Year's Best Science Fiction'). Unfortunately in my country there is a downfall of translated SF short stories but I had the opportunity to read Jonathan Strahan's latest anthology 'New Adventures in Space Opera' and it was awesome. And of course there are the Love, Death + Robots collections with the stories form the Netflix series.
Good topic. You picked out some real classics to highlight and the books on your list of collections are all well worth reading. I'd like to add that I've long thought that one of the virtues of science fiction is that it's provided a home for writers whose main, if not entire, output consists of short stories. So here's a list of favorites whose careers might never have existed if it wasn't for the science fiction magazines and anthologies: R.A. Lafferty, Cordwainer Smith, Eileen Gunn, James Tiptree, Jr., Theodore Sturgeon, Harlan Ellison, Kelly Link, Paul Di Filippo, Zenna Henderson. That's a good start. Thanks for highlighting the wealth of great short stories in science fiction, and I look forward to hearing more.
Great video. Short stories deserve more love! I also intend to read more PKD short stories this year. I've got a couple of his collections to get through on my bookshelf. His story 'Faith of Our Fathers' is, by the way, in my opinion by far the best story in Dangerous Visions. Also, it's worth checking out 'The Ones Who Stay and Fight' by N. K. Jemisin as a follow-up to the Le Guin story. Sometimes, walking away isn't enough.
Another interesting aspect of short stories is that sometimes (quite often in the early days) the story was either later expanded to novel length or each "short story" was sort of an installment in a much longer narrative (and published later as a novel). A good example of the former...and one of my favorite short stories...is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes which was first a short story that was later expanded to novel length.
Great video Whitney. I'm not sure I'll ever read a short story that affects me like Blood Child. So many things to think about. Simply amazing. Thank you Whitney
Science Fiction 101 compiled by Robert Silverberg is an anthology of shorts by the who’s who in SF. Also has a great intro on how R Silverberg started. The Best of Cordwainer Smith is considered by some to be the best short story collection.
I recently finished a wonderful anthology -Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction, edited by Leigh Grossman. The ebook version clocks in at 5,645 pages. It took me a couple of years to finish, but its scope it pretty amazing. Designed as a text book, it includes a number survey essays. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if the ebook edition is still available. There is a paperback edition, but it is much abridged, with less than 20% of the content of the ebook.
@ I bet you have read a quarter of it already. It includes many familiar stories and short novels, including Wells’ Time Machine and Burroughs Princess of Mars.
As always, great video! And stop to add more books to my TBR, please! 😅. I used to read a lot of short stories many years ago (more than 20) but this year I've decided to read more short stories again. Mostly I've read PKD, Bradbury and Asimov's short stories collections. And a few years ago I came across Bloodchild and it was so good that I bought 5 books from the author straight away. I've also bought The carpet makers because of Jonathan. Both of you would send me to bankruptcy 🤣.
Love short fiction! Clarkesworld in particular has been a great free resource to find all sorts of great stories and authors new to me. Reading some of Ken Liu's fiction there and on Lightspeed is what got me interested in reading the Dandelion Dynasty.
In my early years, I read primarily short stories (mostly sci-fi). I just love it when an author can capture me immediately, express intriguing concepts and characters, and leave me with a "that was so cool" feeling, all in under 30 pages or so. It's also a way to explore various authors without having to invest a week of reading. I recall one of my favorites...more magic realism than sci-fi...where the whole story took place from a person's perspective falling (or did they jump?) from near the top of a skyscraper. It sounds morbid but it was humorous and insightful too.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft The Falling Girl by Dino Buzzati (translated by Lawrence Venuti) roykealing.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/4/1/13418884/the_falling_girl.pdf
@@secretsauceofstorycraft "The Falling Girl" by Dino Bertuzzi. I read it in Sudden Fiction International: 60 Short-Short Stories Paperback - October 17, 1989.
As a fan of short story collections...or anthologies, this was a refreshing video to watch. Some interesting stuff on here. As for foreign sci-fi anthologies...I suggest Invisible Planets, a Chinese collection...you may find some of the stories interesting if you're a fan of Cixin Lui.
Wow, that looks like a new reissue of Dangerous Visions? I've been on the hunt for a copy to replace my original, but they're pretty expensive used. One of the best things about reading SF anthologies for me has always been reading the commentary by the editor. If you get a good editor, the commentary can be really fascinating. For years, my sister would get a copy of The Year's Best Science Fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois. An author in his own right, his commentary is great to read. I have several anthologies, a few collections. I do have Exhalations by Chiang, I haven't delved into it yet. SF short fiction can be really very very good. And, of course, you don't have to read a whole book of them in one sitting. Good topic!
A couple things to note: One is that Vandermeer said that when he was putting these anthologies together he didn't want to do the most famous stories because everyone already knew them, so he was picking lesser known stories by famous authors. So if you want the ones the authors are best known for, you'd be better off picking up earlier famous anthologies like Adventures in Time and Space (the first anthology), The Science Fiction Hall of Fame (novellas, but still shorter than novels), The Ascent of Wonder (Hard SF), The Best of The Best (Best of the Year's Best SF 20 collections). The other thing, you mentioned that Dangerous Visions is gaining in popularity. It's the most well known anthology ever put together. It changed the face of sf in the 60s, making the New Wave a solidified thing. There are 2 sequels, Again, Dangerous Visions, from 1972 I think, which was almost but not quite as good, and The Last Dangerous Visions that came out posthumously last year. The story behind the last volume is told is a sad but illuminating essay in the final book. I've always loved the punch of short stories. To me they're closer to poetry than a novel, because they distill the essence of a them into a few short pages that will, if done well, illuminate their theme in a flash of brilliance. People who master them are geniuses.
Ooh good to know about vandermeer. Yes, i had vaguely heard of dangerous visions before which is why I own the first volume- i am sooo excited to read some…
That’s quite a lot of collections and anthologies so I hope you have time to tackle them and keep up your regular novel reading! When first getting into SF I kind of didn’t know where to start with long form stuff and really dived into a collection on my dad’s shelf… the Norton book of Science Fiction. It was published in 1990 and was coedited by Ursula K Le Guin! Nearly all the well regarded classic and modern sf authors are sampled in that anthology (it collects works from 1960-1990) and it seeded a lot of my original novel TBR. I still haven’t read full lengths yet of some of the authors in that collection, such as Octavia Butler.
I watched most of the mainstream series you talked about and love Love, Death and Robots. Was great to see Reynold's story in there. Also read some of his short stories and novellas and they can be quite dark. There was one in particular involving body horror, it was great! Will have to check some or the other series, I discovered Secret Level the other day. Will have to check out some of your other mentions. I got The Time Traveller's Almanac by the Vandermeers and I'm trying to read the stories more regularly. Also have the definitive collection of Arthur C Clarke shorts, but it'll take a while to get through those 1000 pages 😂 Also read the Robot short stories by Asimov in my teens. I wanted to make a habit out of reading a couple short stories per week but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Also lot checking the online magazines regularly, which I really should.
Two of the short stories I most distinctly remember that I read as a young adult were Nightfall by Isaac Asimov and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison. I remember them because they were so well written and horrifying and haunting in their own ways.
I read 'The Carpet Makers' not thinking that it was a short story collection. It's so well done that its seamless. If it is a short story collection, I couldn't tell. Two collections I can recommend without reservation include 'The Science Fiction Century' (1997, David Hartwell, ed.) and 'The Ascent of Wonder (The Evolution of Hard SF)' (1997, Hartwell and Cramer, eds.) Thanks, Whitney!
Any discussion of SF short stories ought to include a mention of Ray Bradbury, one of the masters of the form. Many of his best and best-known books are collections of short stories, such as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man.
I have lived under that 🪨 you mentioned when it comes to “Black Mirror’’… I’ve never watched any of it! I know 🫢 But I’m sat here with you on my big tellybox in front of me while I’m chasing your links to podcasts and the like through my iPad. Oh man, so many pods… Escape Pod are on 977 episodes as I type this to you now 😯 You are a font of suggestions and recommendations! Likewise I am not really a short story reader either, but I do have a few in my Library though perhaps not as extensive a collection as yours 🤗
Wow a black mirror virgin!!! Okay u have to watch season 1 epi 2. Just that one. Its harrowing!!!!! It has stayed with me- Also u Must watch love death robots. And yes escape pod is so prolific! As are many of the others! Im so glad u found something (free!!) that might work for you!
@@bartsbookspace I agree Bart. There was so much to think about in Bloodchild. Such a disturbing story that stirred so many feelings in me. I have wondered if this story was somehow related to something that happened in her life. Simply amazing
Funny mirroring of our reality in Omelas, where a few kids that have everything they could ever want are looking at the suffering hordes of humanity and find that they're OK with it.
I randomly picked up a short story collection by PKD called The Eyes Have It and Other Stories because it was free on prime reading for my Kindle. I read it last year, and while I've been mostly lukewarm on PKD, I thought this collection was great. I don't think any of the stories were duds (you usually get one or two stinkers in most short story collections) and there's still all the classic, paranoid, psychedelic mania you'd expect out of PKD.
Darnit, I have been wanting to read that Ted Chiang story that was the foundation for Arrival. I loved that crazy movie. I guess I'm not alone because every time I look for that collection in the library, it's not available! I've never been one to buy collections/anthologies because it's usually hit or miss. I end up liking some and not others and it just feels like a waste of money.
That makes sense. You have to do everything in a shortened way: introduce/flesh out the characters, develop the setting, work out the plot, get the pacing right, etc. It's so easy for things to feel rushed and incomplete. You don't have the luxury of many chapters to fix anything. It's one and done. You get it right, or you don't. I imagine it's a fun challenge for those who enjoy working in that style. But it must be stressful too!
@@bobkeane7966 Yep! I mean, they are two different styles of writing. They require different types of skills. I'm not sure if there are writers who do both at a level of excellence. That would be an interesting topic to examine.
Of yes my favorite by Electtical Dreams is the episode We Are Human.... 🙀 You have TALES FROM THE LOOP artbook-short story mix! Have you seen the tv show? It really is great how they made one story out of scatered books stories! Must watch! Sadly an original so I can't have the bluray.
Nightfall is a good story. I read the novel co authored with Silverberg adapted from the 1941 short published in 1990. That planet has six suns and the population has never experienced nightfall before. They even have lights inside their houses for when the big suns set because they fear total darkness. I want to say in the novel version that there is a rare eclipse that happens that the scientists have discovered will happen when the bright suns set and only the red dwarf is visible in the sky. Naturally chaos ensues...I also want to say that there was a movie made of the story...
I had all forgotten about nightfall, great story. But that is the problem i have with ots of short stories, i think they are great, then i forget them. I'm interested to find out what harlan allison did put together from other writers, i hope i'll be able to put my hands on a copy.
Novels are really an enormous time investment, 10-20 hours or more. I always check the reading time on the kobo site. It's like the season of a tv show. Maybe short stories are like one episode of a tv show or like a movie, depending on the length. I read about 30 pages an hour, so a 45 page story is like a 90 minute movie to me, but how do you discover good ones? I'm amazed at the patience of people that read book series, even though the first one or two books might not be that great. I think you mean Peter F. Hamilton not Peter Watts, whose story was in the premiere episode of Love Death + Robots, Sonny's Edge (set in the Night's Dawn universe). Marko Kloos had two stories too, Lucky Thirteen (milsf) and Shape-Shifters.
I also read Ted Chiang's first collection of short stories before I saw the movie Arrival. I was very disappointed by the movie. It borrowed some of the props and color from the story, but completely rewrote the story eliminating everything that made it so special and unique. The movie came off as a remake of some Hollywood sci-fi flick from the '50 like The Day the Earth Stood Still with some Changian props and glitz. The major salient difference is that in the story the aliens never actually land on Earth. TV screens (essentially) pop up at many places on Earth through which the aliens communicate, while they presumably remain in orbit someplace. In the story there is no possibility of any physical contact with the aliens. No gravity tunnels. No fool attacking them. None of the main conflict in the movie was ever part of or even possible in the story. The story of the daughter's death is different. But the main difference is that the point that is explored in Chiang's story, the difference between the aliens' perception of time and our own. Their understanding of physics is conceptualized in terms of variational principles rather than the arrow of time. This is completely glossed over in Arrival, whereas it is the central dilemma in Chiang's story, reflected in its very structure. I suppose having a story line unstuck in time won't get produced in Hollywood because it won't make as much at the box office. But Arrival did not tell Ted Chiang's story or remotely do it justice.
I have had Ursula Le Guins ‘The Unreal and the Real’ on my shelves for years. I really want to get round to it in 2025. Also eager to read The Best of World SF volume 1. It will be interesting to read SF stories told from different perspectives.
A word of warning: although Dangerous Visions was a lot of fun, Again Dangerous Visions was awful. Except for The Word for the World is Forest, the stories were painfully bad, even those by well-known authors. Now I understand why the third volume was not published.
EUMENIDES IN THE FOURTH FLOOR LAVATORY (Orson Scott Card). Strangest short story I've ever read. (Horror) Wounds: collection of stories by Nathan Ballingrud. The Atlas of Hell: And Other Stories. #1 short story for me. (Horror) The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories: The Window (Bob Leman). Wildest short story (Sc Fi).
I used to read quite a lot of sf short stories in the 20th century: in anthologies, magazines, and collections. And there were some really good short stories out there; I have a list of my favourites, and I reread them. But to find them I had to wade through so many stories that were a waste of time, and I became weary of it. These days, I occasionally buy collections by a known author, or themed anthologies, but random anthologies are such a lucky dip… In 2023 I bought a big themed anthology edited by the VanderMeers, “The Time Traveller’s Almanac”, and it was very disappointing. There have been so many good stories about time travel, and they got none of them. The whole collection is thoroughly mediocre, and some of them are incompetent stories that should have been rejected. The best story in the book is an old one that I’d read before, “The Waitabits” by Eric Frank Russell, but guess what, it’s not about time travel.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I have tried twice to give a link to my list of favourites, but both comments seem to have disappeared; I don’t know what’s going on.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft It seems that UA-cam is discarding any comment containing a link, and it’s rather good at spotting disguised links. Can I slip one past it? This one starts with three w letters, then the word thurb, then the word com, then a slash, then the word shorts, then the acronym htm.
Omelas - What a depressing story! Okay, I am confused. I found a copy online that was 5 pages. Is that the full story? Or was that something abridged? I'm lost as to how/why the suffering of the child = the "utopia" of the rest. Did I miss something? This was way too disturbing.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Okay, at least I read the correct thing. It would have worked better for me and been more thought provoking if they had explained why the child had to suffer for the utopia to exist. I thought maybe aliens were holding him hostage as a moral test to see what the humans would do. That would have at least made logical sense for the mechanics of the story. To me, this just felt like a huge plot hole. Either way, I'm snatching up that baby and running!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I figured it out. I found a list of channels I did not have turned on. I read the Omelas story. Seems like the citizens of Omaha don't have a choice but to keep a kid in the hole. Makes me wonder if they tried putting an adult in the hole and maybe using a lottery system to choose that adult.
I also decry the disappearance of the good old sci-fi anthology series, like Amazing Stories, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone which had a lot of good content by power of the many episodes they had. I've tried to find this in book format, but I am afraid I got severely disappointed. Besides being just a few per book, their choice is more political nowadays than qualitative.
I read this comment and thought... I don't know anything of this genre. I've never read any. Then I realized, I've watched Stargate, Babylon 5 (doing a rewatch of both now), as well as Battlestar Galactica. (And Caprica.) DUH! I may not have read any but I've sure watched it. I probably would like reading it. Thanks for the epiphany!
@@rpmfla I guess it would be my favorite sub genre. I like the space battles, the camaraderie of the crews, the strategy, everyone working towards a single goal, the usual respect for the captain, the defeats and the wins. The Lost Fleet Series is SOOO good.
I've lost count just how many times I paused so I can add more titles to my to-read list, and not just in this video. You're doing great work here and I appreciate you introducing me to so many new works.
I’m so glad you are finding good stuff!!! there is more to come!
You are so vivacious in your videos. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Great job!
Thank you! I'm just excited to talk about science fiction!
I appreciate that it seems genuine!
@Yesica1993 Exactly. There is so much fake enthusiasm on UA-cam it is refreshing to watch someone who just seems genuine (either that or she's a great actress).
That’s also why I like your videos so much. That and the interesting, well-researched content and how well your videos are made.
I'm a great fan of short stories, so I'm really love to see that you cover them in your channel! I highly recommend to everyone the 'Best of the Best' and 'The Very Best of the Best' anthologies from Gardner Dozois (these are special editions of the long running series 'The Year's Best Science Fiction'). Unfortunately in my country there is a downfall of translated SF short stories but I had the opportunity to read Jonathan Strahan's latest anthology 'New Adventures in Space Opera' and it was awesome. And of course there are the Love, Death + Robots collections with the stories form the Netflix series.
When I saw the title I was coming here to write the exact same response lol
🔥 so glad u can read some and watched others! Check out the other shows or podcasts if it helps!
I really enjoy short stories, and I'm really glad you're shining a spotlight on this format!
I'm so glad! 😌 I do think it is a forgotten world 🌍 be sure to tell me some of your favorites!!
Good topic. You picked out some real classics to highlight and the books on your list of collections are all well worth reading.
I'd like to add that I've long thought that one of the virtues of science fiction is that it's provided a home for writers whose main, if not entire, output consists of short stories. So here's a list of favorites whose careers might never have existed if it wasn't for the science fiction magazines and anthologies:
R.A. Lafferty, Cordwainer Smith, Eileen Gunn, James Tiptree, Jr., Theodore Sturgeon, Harlan Ellison, Kelly Link, Paul Di Filippo, Zenna Henderson.
That's a good start. Thanks for highlighting the wealth of great short stories in science fiction, and I look forward to hearing more.
Those are some good ones, not heard of a few in your list but really hope to getting around to knowing more by end of year
Great video. Short stories deserve more love! I also intend to read more PKD short stories this year. I've got a couple of his collections to get through on my bookshelf. His story 'Faith of Our Fathers' is, by the way, in my opinion by far the best story in Dangerous Visions.
Also, it's worth checking out 'The Ones Who Stay and Fight' by N. K. Jemisin as a follow-up to the Le Guin story. Sometimes, walking away isn't enough.
!!!! Awesome! 🤩 thank you
Another interesting aspect of short stories is that sometimes (quite often in the early days) the story was either later expanded to novel length or each "short story" was sort of an installment in a much longer narrative (and published later as a novel). A good example of the former...and one of my favorite short stories...is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes which was first a short story that was later expanded to novel length.
Yes… enders game is another!! I should have brought that up..
Great video Whitney. I'm not sure I'll ever read a short story that affects me like Blood Child. So many things to think about. Simply amazing. Thank you Whitney
Challenge accepted
Science Fiction 101 compiled by Robert Silverberg is an anthology of shorts by the who’s who in SF. Also has a great intro on how R Silverberg started.
The Best of Cordwainer Smith is considered by some to be the best short story collection.
This!!! I keep hearing cordwainer’s name mentioned but habent found any of his work in the wild. I hope itll be in some of these books! 📚
I recently finished a wonderful anthology -Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction, edited by Leigh Grossman. The ebook version clocks in at 5,645 pages. It took me a couple of years to finish, but its scope it pretty amazing. Designed as a text book, it includes a number survey essays. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if the ebook edition is still available. There is a paperback edition, but it is much abridged, with less than 20% of the content of the ebook.
Woah sounds huge!!! I’d never be able to finish that
@ I bet you have read a quarter of it already. It includes many familiar stories and short novels, including Wells’ Time Machine and Burroughs Princess of Mars.
As always, great video! And stop to add more books to my TBR, please! 😅.
I used to read a lot of short stories many years ago (more than 20) but this year I've decided to read more short stories again. Mostly I've read PKD, Bradbury and Asimov's short stories collections. And a few years ago I came across Bloodchild and it was so good that I bought 5 books from the author straight away.
I've also bought The carpet makers because of Jonathan. Both of you would send me to bankruptcy 🤣.
Hahaha 😆 short stories seem more do-able tho right???
Love short fiction! Clarkesworld in particular has been a great free resource to find all sorts of great stories and authors new to me. Reading some of Ken Liu's fiction there and on Lightspeed is what got me interested in reading the Dandelion Dynasty.
You are ahead of me! I just found Clarkesworld! They have some really amazing stories.
In my early years, I read primarily short stories (mostly sci-fi). I just love it when an author can capture me immediately, express intriguing concepts and characters, and leave me with a "that was so cool" feeling, all in under 30 pages or so. It's also a way to explore various authors without having to invest a week of reading.
I recall one of my favorites...more magic realism than sci-fi...where the whole story took place from a person's perspective falling (or did they jump?) from near the top of a skyscraper. It sounds morbid but it was humorous and insightful too.
Do u remember name or author??? I will try to find it!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft The Falling Girl by Dino Buzzati (translated by Lawrence Venuti)
roykealing.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/4/1/13418884/the_falling_girl.pdf
@@secretsauceofstorycraft "The Falling Girl" by Dino Bertuzzi. I read it in Sudden Fiction International: 60 Short-Short Stories Paperback - October 17, 1989.
As a fan of short story collections...or anthologies, this was a refreshing video to watch. Some interesting stuff on here. As for foreign sci-fi anthologies...I suggest Invisible Planets, a Chinese collection...you may find some of the stories interesting if you're a fan of Cixin Lui.
Ooh wonderful reccomendation!!
Wow, that looks like a new reissue of Dangerous Visions? I've been on the hunt for a copy to replace my original, but they're pretty expensive used.
One of the best things about reading SF anthologies for me has always been reading the commentary by the editor. If you get a good editor, the commentary can be really fascinating. For years, my sister would get a copy of The Year's Best Science Fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois. An author in his own right, his commentary is great to read.
I have several anthologies, a few collections. I do have Exhalations by Chiang, I haven't delved into it yet.
SF short fiction can be really very very good. And, of course, you don't have to read a whole book of them in one sitting.
Good topic!
That's a great point about the commentary - I agree!! 🤩 But yes all 3 of dangerous visions books have been reprinted!! Would recommend
A couple things to note: One is that Vandermeer said that when he was putting these anthologies together he didn't want to do the most famous stories because everyone already knew them, so he was picking lesser known stories by famous authors. So if you want the ones the authors are best known for, you'd be better off picking up earlier famous anthologies like Adventures in Time and Space (the first anthology), The Science Fiction Hall of Fame (novellas, but still shorter than novels), The Ascent of Wonder (Hard SF), The Best of The Best (Best of the Year's Best SF 20 collections).
The other thing, you mentioned that Dangerous Visions is gaining in popularity. It's the most well known anthology ever put together. It changed the face of sf in the 60s, making the New Wave a solidified thing. There are 2 sequels, Again, Dangerous Visions, from 1972 I think, which was almost but not quite as good, and The Last Dangerous Visions that came out posthumously last year. The story behind the last volume is told is a sad but illuminating essay in the final book.
I've always loved the punch of short stories. To me they're closer to poetry than a novel, because they distill the essence of a them into a few short pages that will, if done well, illuminate their theme in a flash of brilliance. People who master them are geniuses.
Ooh good to know about vandermeer. Yes, i had vaguely heard of dangerous visions before which is why I own the first volume- i am sooo excited to read some…
That’s quite a lot of collections and anthologies so I hope you have time to tackle them and keep up your regular novel reading! When first getting into SF I kind of didn’t know where to start with long form stuff and really dived into a collection on my dad’s shelf… the Norton book of Science Fiction. It was published in 1990 and was coedited by Ursula K Le Guin! Nearly all the well regarded classic and modern sf authors are sampled in that anthology (it collects works from 1960-1990) and it seeded a lot of my original novel TBR. I still haven’t read full lengths yet of some of the authors in that collection, such as Octavia Butler.
Havent heard of this but that is a great way to start… i started with the hugo lists when I was first starting. I will keep my eye out for this one!
I watched most of the mainstream series you talked about and love Love, Death and Robots. Was great to see Reynold's story in there. Also read some of his short stories and novellas and they can be quite dark. There was one in particular involving body horror, it was great!
Will have to check some or the other series, I discovered Secret Level the other day. Will have to check out some of your other mentions.
I got The Time Traveller's Almanac by the Vandermeers and I'm trying to read the stories more regularly. Also have the definitive collection of Arthur C Clarke shorts, but it'll take a while to get through those 1000 pages 😂 Also read the Robot short stories by Asimov in my teens.
I wanted to make a habit out of reading a couple short stories per week but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Also lot checking the online magazines regularly, which I really should.
Hahaha i feel you- i need to get around to it but havent yet. So glad you foubd secret level!!!
You got some good picks here. I'm going to have to check these out.
(Love your nails)
Glad you enjoyed the picks! 😊 thanks!
Two of the short stories I most distinctly remember that I read as a young adult were Nightfall by Isaac Asimov and I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison. I remember them because they were so well written and horrifying and haunting in their own ways.
Agreed!!!
I read 'The Carpet Makers' not thinking that it was a short story collection. It's so well done that its seamless. If it is a short story collection, I couldn't tell. Two collections I can recommend without reservation include 'The Science Fiction Century' (1997, David Hartwell, ed.) and 'The Ascent of Wonder (The Evolution of Hard SF)' (1997, Hartwell and Cramer, eds.) Thanks, Whitney!
I cant wait to get to that one!! I am sooo overwhelmed with the number of books im wanting to read
Any discussion of SF short stories ought to include a mention of Ray Bradbury, one of the masters of the form. Many of his best and best-known books are collections of short stories, such as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man.
Very true! I have two of his stories posted on discord. I think my favorite is All Summer In A Day. It makes me cry….
N.K Jemisin has a short story called Those Who Stay and Fight. It’s an answer to Omelas, it’s really interesting and I agree with that pov.
Someone else just mentioned this. I am trying to find a copy of it. I didnt know it exsisted! Thank you!
Love Dead and Robots is Sss-Tier!!! Wow I love every book from a get go as I have seen most of them.
🔥
I have lived under that 🪨 you mentioned when it comes to “Black Mirror’’… I’ve never watched any of it! I know 🫢
But I’m sat here with you on my big tellybox in front of me while I’m chasing your links to podcasts and the like through my iPad. Oh man, so many pods… Escape Pod are on 977 episodes as I type this to you now 😯
You are a font of suggestions and recommendations!
Likewise I am not really a short story reader either, but I do have a few in my Library though perhaps not as extensive a collection as yours 🤗
Wow a black mirror virgin!!! Okay u have to watch season 1 epi 2. Just that one. Its harrowing!!!!! It has stayed with me-
Also u Must watch love death robots.
And yes escape pod is so prolific! As are many of the others! Im so glad u found something (free!!) that might work for you!
Ted Chiang is an amazing writer, I really enjoyed both collections!
I cant wait to pick them up!!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft He once refused an award for one of his stories because he did not think it was good enough lol
@@glenchapman3899 Wow!
I think you’re going to really enjoy those anthologies and collections. Plenty of good stuff in there.
🔥 I’m planning to!
The Dangerous Visions books were fun reads. Nightfall is science fiction that people who don't particularly like Sci fi can get into great story.
Yes!!! That is true!!!
I also need to read more short stories; Bloodchild (story) was fabulous!
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@@bartsbookspace I agree Bart. There was so much to think about in Bloodchild. Such a disturbing story that stirred so many feelings in me. I have wondered if this story was somehow related to something that happened in her life. Simply amazing
@@dalejones4322 I’m not sure, let’s hope it was just a figment of Octavia’s imagination; as disturbing as it was thought provoking.
Stories of Your Life and Others was a 5 star for me. 🏅 And I just added some recent individual stories I really liked to discord. 👍
🔥 I’m gonna check out your additions to discord!
Trouble is you read that, you will be spoiled for life. Ted Chang has written only like 20 stories, and 19 of them have won awards lol
Funny mirroring of our reality in Omelas, where a few kids that have everything they could ever want are looking at the suffering hordes of humanity and find that they're OK with it.
Exactly why this tale is just sooo good!!
X Minus One - one of my favorites.
Ooh i thought that was a whole novel!
I love the Oats Studio stuff and watch a lot of Dust.
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I randomly picked up a short story collection by PKD called The Eyes Have It and Other Stories because it was free on prime reading for my Kindle. I read it last year, and while I've been mostly lukewarm on PKD, I thought this collection was great. I don't think any of the stories were duds (you usually get one or two stinkers in most short story collections) and there's still all the classic, paranoid, psychedelic mania you'd expect out of PKD.
I’ve heard he is better at short fiction than novels! Im excited to get into it!!
Darnit, I have been wanting to read that Ted Chiang story that was the foundation for Arrival. I loved that crazy movie. I guess I'm not alone because every time I look for that collection in the library, it's not available! I've never been one to buy collections/anthologies because it's usually hit or miss. I end up liking some and not others and it just feels like a waste of money.
🔥 It’s worth it though. (A free copy is on the discord!! Want me to link it for you here?)
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Oh, thanks. but my eyes are fried from screen reading. I'd rather read on paper. Thanks so much!
I have heard several authors say that short stories the hardest way to present a story
That makes sense. You have to do everything in a shortened way: introduce/flesh out the characters, develop the setting, work out the plot, get the pacing right, etc. It's so easy for things to feel rushed and incomplete. You don't have the luxury of many chapters to fix anything. It's one and done. You get it right, or you don't. I imagine it's a fun challenge for those who enjoy working in that style. But it must be stressful too!
@Yesica1993 I read The Way of Kings and it took me 20 pages to get into it most short stories are already done.
@@bobkeane7966 Yep! I mean, they are two different styles of writing. They require different types of skills. I'm not sure if there are writers who do both at a level of excellence. That would be an interesting topic to examine.
I am ashamed i havent really gotten to short stories until now… it is a very different kind of writing. Diff skill set. But just as good!! 😊
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I started on short stories years ago they make great pallet cleanser between bigger books.
Of yes my favorite by Electtical Dreams is the episode We Are Human....
🙀 You have TALES FROM THE LOOP artbook-short story mix! Have you seen the tv show? It really is great how they made one story out of scatered books stories! Must watch! Sadly an original so I can't have the bluray.
Ah… i havent seen all of it - but will have to get back to it
Nightfall is a good story. I read the novel co authored with Silverberg adapted from the 1941 short published in 1990. That planet has six suns and the population has never experienced nightfall before. They even have lights inside their houses for when the big suns set because they fear total darkness. I want to say in the novel version that there is a rare eclipse that happens that the scientists have discovered will happen when the bright suns set and only the red dwarf is visible in the sky. Naturally chaos ensues...I also want to say that there was a movie made of the story...
Sounds good!! I need to read it!
I had all forgotten about nightfall, great story. But that is the problem i have with ots of short stories, i think they are great, then i forget them.
I'm interested to find out what harlan allison did put together from other writers, i hope i'll be able to put my hands on a copy.
Its newly printed…. Should b easy to find!
If short stories were dead I'd be screwed. I'd keep writing them anyway.
They arent!!! And dont stop!! Where do u post ur stuff??
Novels are really an enormous time investment, 10-20 hours or more. I always check the reading time on the kobo site. It's like the season of a tv show. Maybe short stories are like one episode of a tv show or like a movie, depending on the length. I read about 30 pages an hour, so a 45 page story is like a 90 minute movie to me, but how do you discover good ones? I'm amazed at the patience of people that read book series, even though the first one or two books might not be that great. I think you mean Peter F. Hamilton not Peter Watts, whose story was in the premiere episode of Love Death + Robots, Sonny's Edge (set in the Night's Dawn universe). Marko Kloos had two stories too, Lucky Thirteen (milsf) and Shape-Shifters.
Yeah peter watts did secret level…. Peter hamilton did love death robots. 🤖 thanks for correction.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Watching Secret Level - Armored Core - episode 8 now. Oo Keanu Reeves.
I also read Ted Chiang's first collection of short stories before I saw the movie Arrival. I was very disappointed by the movie. It borrowed some of the props and color from the story, but completely rewrote the story eliminating everything that made it so special and unique. The movie came off as a remake of some Hollywood sci-fi flick from the '50 like The Day the Earth Stood Still with some Changian props and glitz.
The major salient difference is that in the story the aliens never actually land on Earth. TV screens (essentially) pop up at many places on Earth through which the aliens communicate, while they presumably remain in orbit someplace. In the story there is no possibility of any physical contact with the aliens. No gravity tunnels. No fool attacking them. None of the main conflict in the movie was ever part of or even possible in the story.
The story of the daughter's death is different.
But the main difference is that the point that is explored in Chiang's story, the difference between the aliens' perception of time and our own. Their understanding of physics is conceptualized in terms of variational principles rather than the arrow of time. This is completely glossed over in Arrival, whereas it is the central dilemma in Chiang's story, reflected in its very structure. I suppose having a story line unstuck in time won't get produced in Hollywood because it won't make as much at the box office. But Arrival did not tell Ted Chiang's story or remotely do it justice.
I need to reread the story… but thanks for pointing this out
All of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine is now at the org that is archive.
Ooh good to know!!
Yeah lot of the old pulp era stuff from Astounding and Amazing stories are there as well
I have had Ursula Le Guins ‘The Unreal and the Real’ on my shelves for years. I really want to get round to it in 2025. Also eager to read The Best of World SF volume 1. It will be interesting to read SF stories told from different perspectives.
Agreed! 👍🏻 will def keep adding to my short story lists on discord
A word of warning: although Dangerous Visions was a lot of fun, Again Dangerous Visions was awful. Except for The Word for the World is Forest, the stories were painfully bad, even those by well-known authors. Now I understand why the third volume was not published.
Wow! 🤯 thanks for telling me. Also the third book is now published…. U shoupd see if its a good mix or not
On a completely different note: Team New Hyperion Cover! Raymond Swanland. Check out the new Broken Binding edition!
Yea i saw it!!!!!! Its goegeous! I signed up for a copy but the wait list is long!! Thanks for mentioning it!
EUMENIDES IN THE FOURTH FLOOR LAVATORY (Orson Scott Card). Strangest short story I've ever read. (Horror)
Wounds: collection of stories by Nathan Ballingrud. The Atlas of Hell: And Other Stories. #1 short story for me. (Horror)
The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories: The Window (Bob Leman). Wildest short story (Sc Fi).
Havent read that one
I used to read quite a lot of sf short stories in the 20th century: in anthologies, magazines, and collections. And there were some really good short stories out there; I have a list of my favourites, and I reread them. But to find them I had to wade through so many stories that were a waste of time, and I became weary of it. These days, I occasionally buy collections by a known author, or themed anthologies, but random anthologies are such a lucky dip…
In 2023 I bought a big themed anthology edited by the VanderMeers, “The Time Traveller’s Almanac”, and it was very disappointing. There have been so many good stories about time travel, and they got none of them. The whole collection is thoroughly mediocre, and some of them are incompetent stories that should have been rejected. The best story in the book is an old one that I’d read before, “The Waitabits” by Eric Frank Russell, but guess what, it’s not about time travel.
Would love a list of your favorites!! If u are willing to share. Even as just a place to start
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I have tried twice to give a link to my list of favourites, but both comments seem to have disappeared; I don’t know what’s going on.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft It seems that UA-cam is discarding any comment containing a link, and it’s rather good at spotting disguised links. Can I slip one past it? This one starts with three w letters, then the word thurb, then the word com, then a slash, then the word shorts, then the acronym htm.
Burning Chrome by William Gibson has some good short stories you might like.
I hope so!!
👍👍👍📚🤖🚀🐲
❤️ 👽 🤖 🚀
Omelas - What a depressing story! Okay, I am confused. I found a copy online that was 5 pages. Is that the full story? Or was that something abridged? I'm lost as to how/why the suffering of the child = the "utopia" of the rest. Did I miss something? This was way too disturbing.
That was it!!! Haunting right!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Okay, at least I read the correct thing. It would have worked better for me and been more thought provoking if they had explained why the child had to suffer for the utopia to exist. I thought maybe aliens were holding him hostage as a moral test to see what the humans would do. That would have at least made logical sense for the mechanics of the story. To me, this just felt like a huge plot hole. Either way, I'm snatching up that baby and running!
♥😵+🤖 season 2+3 is also a book. Reading it right now. Finding the lost in translation between tv and book interesting
Woah 🤯
Not seeing the channel on your Discord. Don't know what I'm doing wrong.
I assume you tried both links in my description… if neither of those work, you should b able to DM me on discord. I will respond with individual libk
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I figured it out. I found a list of channels I did not have turned on.
I read the Omelas story. Seems like the citizens of Omaha don't have a choice but to keep a kid in the hole. Makes me wonder if they tried putting an adult in the hole and maybe using a lottery system to choose that adult.
I also decry the disappearance of the good old sci-fi anthology series, like Amazing Stories, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone which had a lot of good content by power of the many episodes they had. I've tried to find this in book format, but I am afraid I got severely disappointed. Besides being just a few per book, their choice is more political nowadays than qualitative.
Twilight zone!! How could i have forgotten!! Good comment!!!
There are no Bradburys any more☹
I will try to fix!!!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I mean, not many authors that do sci fi anthologies nowadays
What is it about military sci-fi that appeals to you?
I read this comment and thought... I don't know anything of this genre. I've never read any. Then I realized, I've watched Stargate, Babylon 5 (doing a rewatch of both now), as well as Battlestar Galactica. (And Caprica.) DUH! I may not have read any but I've sure watched it. I probably would like reading it. Thanks for the epiphany!
@@rpmfla I guess it would be my favorite sub genre. I like the space battles, the camaraderie of the crews, the strategy, everyone working towards a single goal, the usual respect for the captain, the defeats and the wins. The Lost Fleet Series is SOOO good.
Heinlein's collection The Past Through Tomorrow is a great example of golden age short stories
Ooh thanks for the reccs!!