Books — hermiene.net

Books — hermiene.net

Site	Index & News	Archive	Full Archive	About Me	Colophon	Contact
Main	Quotes	Games	Gaming Glossary	Links
Readings	Books	Essays
Puzzles	Nonogram	Net
Desultory	Anime	Random
Off-site	Llamaphobia	YouTube

Listing books in short stories

Full title	The Abominable Earthman ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Frederik Pohl (author)
Publisher	Ballantine Books
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1963
Pages	159
Synopsis	The Abominable Earthman contains five short stories, and one long-ish one (taking up the bulk of the book). The Abominable Earthman, the titular story, is about what happens when green-skinned aliens conquer Earth in a short span of time, and the adventures of a small group of people who are trying to overthrow them. We Never Mention Aunt Nora is about a most curious pregnancy and an aunt who we don't talk about... A Life and a Half is about a very bleak future which runs very efficiently, alright, but about which something else is off. Punch is a strange little story about benevolent aliens. The Martian Star-Gazers reads like an anthropology report on the previous inhabitants of Mars. Whatever Counts, the longest of the stories, is about a group of colonists and the crew who are hauling them to Aleph Four, a satellite of a Jupiter-like planet a long way off (the journey takes eighteen years). There's also a rhinoceroid alien race of graceful and fast creatures who lack any kind of subconscious who feature prominently (to say more would spoil). Three Portraits and a Prayer is a very short story about a dying scientist, his doctor, and an evil millionaire.
Review	Unfortunately, almost all the short stories fell rather flat for me. It's all very well written, but some of the stories left me wondering what the point was. The Martian Star-Gazers stood out for me. There's not a whole lot of action in it, but the way it's written made it very interesting to read. It's written almost as thought it were a piece of anthropology, describing Martian mythology and the stars in their skies and what it meant to them. Whatever Counts, the longest story in the collection, also stood out. There aren't too many main characters and Pohl develops them in style: In the end, one really does care about them and their motives, and the aliens, the Gormen, are enigmatic and fit the story very well. I can't recommend this one unless you really want those two stories. However, you're probably better off buying another Pohl collection with those two in them.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] The Abominable Earthman We Never Mention Aunt Nora A Life and a Half Punch The Martian Star-Gazers Whatever Counts Three Portraits and a Prayer

Full title	The Alternate Asimovs ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1986
Pages	320
Synopsis	Contains Grow Old Along with Me (which became Pebble in the Sky), The End of Eternity (which became a novel with the same name), and two versions of Belief (the unpublished and the published versions). Grow Old Along with Me takes place in the Galactic Era (when humans have colonized millions of worlds) and deals with an Earth plot to take revenge at the rest of the Galaxy for its poor treatment of the Earth, and to establish the Earth as the ruling world. (As a side-note, no one in the Galaxy really knows if humanity originated on a single planet, or if they originated on several worlds more or less simultaneously and, when each planet became space-faring, met and interbred to form the humanity that is the Galactic Empire. Most adhere to the latter, which they call the Merger Theory. The former is called the Radiation Theory and is believed by a small sect on Earth calling themselves the Ancients.) The End of Eternity is a time travel short story about the so-called Eternals who live in Eternity and alter the realities of different centuries by making quantum changes. Belief is a story about Roger Toomey who one morning discovers that he can levitate, and centers around his attempts at getting his fellow physicists to believe him. The two versions (the unpublished and the published) differ only in the endings. My favorite of these is by far the published version of Belief (Asimov preferred the unpublished one), because it tells a beautiful story in a beautiful way. My least favorite is The End of Eternity, because time travel is full of paradoxes (and I really dislike paradoxes).

Full title	The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1986
Pages	249
Synopsis	Perhaps The best non-robot non-Foundation science fiction of Isaac Asimov would be a more fitting, if longer, title for the book. This is an anthology of stories chosen by Asimov himself, with commentary preceding each story.

Full title	The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Arthur C. Clarke (author)
Publisher	Victor Gollancz Ltd
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	2001
ISBN	978-1-85798-323-4 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	966
Synopsis	A collection of virtually every short story of Arthur C. Clarke. See Structure for links to some of them.
Review	The stories are of varying quality, although most are very good (and some are truly excellent). As this is a compilation, it's hard to give a verdict, but I definitely recommend it to you if you're a Clarke fan.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Travel by Wire! How We Went to Mars Retreat from Earth Reverie The Awakening Whacky Loophole Rescue Party Technical Error Castaway The Fires Within Inheritance Nightfall History Lesson Transience The Wall of Darkness The Lion of Comarre The Forgotten Enemy Hide-and-Seek Breaking Strain Nemesis Guardian Angel Time's Arrow A Walk in the Dark Silence Please Trouble with the Natives The Road to the Sea The Sentinel Holiday On the Moon Earthlight Second Dawn Superiority 'If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth...' All the Time in the World The Nine Billion Names of God The Possessed The Parasite Jupiter Five Encounter In the Dawn The Other Tiger Publicity Campaign Armaments Race The Deep Range No Morning After Big Game Hunt Patent Pending Refugee The Star What Goes Up Venture to the Moon The Pacifist The Reluctant Orchid Moving Spirit The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch The Ultimate Melody The Next Tenants Cold War Sleeping Beauty Security Check The Man Who Ploughed the Sea Critical Mass The Other Side of the Sky Let There Be Light Out of the Sun Cosmic Casanova The Songs of Distant Earth A Slight Case of Sunstroke Who's There? Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Orbiting... I Remember Babylon Trouble With Time Into the Comet Summertime on Icarus Saturn Rising Death and the Senator Before Eden Hate Love That Universe Dog Star Maelstrom II An Ape About the House The Shining Ones The Secret Dial F for Frankenstein The Wind from the Sun The Food of the Gods The Last Command The Light of Darkness The Longest Science-Fiction Story Ever Told Playback The Cruel Sky Herbert George Morley Roberts Wells, Esq. Crusade Neutron Tide Reunion Transit of Earth A Meeting With Medusa Quarantine siseneG The Steam-Powered Word Processor On Golden Seas The Hammer of God The Wire Continuum (with Stephen Baxter) Improving the Neighbourhood

Full title	The Complete Robot ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1982
Pages	680
Synopsis	This is a collection of robot stories that he wrote between 1940 and 1976. They're not grouped chronologically, but by theme (and this works really well). The stories, of course, revolve around robots; non-humanoid, immobile, metallic, and humanoid (there's even an android in the last story, but I've already spoiled too much).
Review	Some of these stories are amazing, and you should go pick up this anthology now. My favorites are A Boy's Best Friend, Victory Unintentional, Segregationist, Evidence, Feminine Intuition, and The Bicentennial Man.

Full title	Dangerous Visions ^[permalink]
Language	English
Authors	Harlan Ellison (editor), Diane Dillon (illustrator), Leo Dillon (illustrator), Isaac Asimov (foreword), Brian W. Aldiss, Carol Emshwiller, Damon Knight, David R. Bunch, Frederik Pohl, Fritz Leiber, Henry Slesar, Howard Rodman, J. G. Ballard, James Cross, Joe L. Hensley, John Brunner, John Sladek, Jonathan Brand, Keith Laumer, Kris Neville, Larry Eisenberg, Larry Niven, Lester del Rey, Miriam Allen deFord, Norman Spinrad, Philip José Farmer, Philip K. Dick, Poul Anderson, R. A. Lafferty, Robert Bloch, Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, Samuel R. Delany, Sonya Dorman and Theodore Sturgeon
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1975
Pages	544
Synopsis	An anthology with short stories which each presents a "dangerous vision" (although I would call them "visions for thought").
Review	These thirty-two stories are all excellent in their own ways, but some stand out as superbly excellent. They are Shall the Dust Praise Thee?, Evensong, The Malley System, Carcinoma Angels, and A Toy For Juliette. Go buy this book.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Foreword 1: The Second Revolution Isaac Asimov Foreword 2: Harlan and I Isaac Asimov Introduction: Thirty-Two Soothsayers Harlan Ellison EVENSONG Lester del Rey FLIES Robert Silverberg THE DAY AFTER THE DAY THE MARTIANS CAME Frederik Pohl RIDERS OF THE PURPLE WAGE Philip José Farmer THE MALLEY SYSTEM Miriam Allen deFord A TOY FOR JULIETTE Robert Bloch THE PROWLER IN THE CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Harlan Ellison THE NIGHT THAT ALL TIME BROKE OUT Brian W. Aldiss THE MAN WHO WENT TO THE MOON—TWICE Howard Rodman FAITH OF OUR FATHERS Philip K. Dick THE JIGSAW MAN Larry Niven GONNA ROLL THE BONES Fritz Leiber LORD RANDY, MY SON Joe L. Hensley EUTOPIA Poul Anderson "A Pair of Bunch" INCIDENT IN MODERAN David R. Bunch THE ESCAPING David R. Bunch THE DOLL-HOUSE Jame Cross SEX AND/OR MR. MORRISON Carol Emschwiller SHALL THE DUST PRAISE THEE? Damon Knight IF ALL MEN WERE BROTHERS, WOULD YOU LET ONE MARRY YOUR SISTER? Theodore Sturgeon WHAT HAPPENED TO AUGUSTE CLAROT? Larry Eisenberg ERSATZ Henry Slesar GO, GO, Go, SAID THE BIRD Sonya Dorman THE HAPPY BREED John T. Sladek ENCOUNTER WITH A HICK Jonathan Brand FROM THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Kris Neville LAND OF THE GREAT HORSES R. A. Lafferty THE RECOGNITION J. G. Ballard JUDAS John Brunner TEST TO DESTRUCTION Keith Laumer CARCINOMA ANGELS Norman Spinrad AUTO-DA-FÉ Roger Zelazny AYE, AND GOMORRAH... Samyel R. Delany

Full title	Discoveries ^[permalink]
Language	English
Authors	Alan Lothian (introduction), Arthur C. Clarke, Bob Shaw, Greg Bear, Ian McDonald, Ian Watson, Mike McQuay, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Holdstock and Tricia Sullivan
Publisher	Victor Gollancz Ltd
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1995
ISBN	0-575-06258-4 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	190
Synopsis	I can't remember where I got this book, but I reckon it's pretty rare to come across as it's not normally sold, but was given away free with the October 1995 issue of BBC Focus. It's an anthology of short science fiction stories from budding British authors.
Review	A few of the stories fell flat, but some are good (I really enjoyed Blood Music). If you happen to come across it, you might want to buy it, if only for its rarity.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Introduction Prison Dreams Paul J. McAuley Blood Music Greg Bear The Charisma Trees Robert Holdstock Dark Night in Toyland Bob Shaw Virtually Lucid Lucy Ian Watson Morpheus Tricia Sullivan Winning Ian McDonald extract from Richter 10 Arthur C. Clarke and Mike McQuay

Full title	Edgar Allan Poe Collected Stories and Poems ^[permalink]
Language	English
Authors	Edgar Allan Poe (author), Aubrey Beardsley (illustrator), Édouard Manet (illustrator), Gustave Doré (illustrator), Harry Clarke (illustrator) and John Tenniel (illustrator)
Publisher	CRW Publishing
Categories	Anthology, novel and short stories
Publication year	2008
Original publication year	2006
ISBN	978-1904919773 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	374
Synopsis	This is a collection of Poe's works. It's a big and beautifully-bound book, with illustrations for all the stories and poems.
Review	If you've never read anything by Edgar Allan Poe before, you're in for a major treat. I can highly recommend some stories: The Pit and the Pendulum (about a man being kept captive during the Spanish Inquisition), The Gold Bug (about a man discovering an ancient treasure map), The Premature Burial (about exactly what the title says), The Cask of Amontillado (about a drunk man meeting a horrifying death), The Tell-Tale Heart (about a murderer who hallucinates his victim's heart beat), and Shadow — A Parable (about whispers in the night, not to spoil it). I can heartily recommend this book, or any other Poe collection, for that matter.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Tales of Mystery and Imagination The Gold Bug The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar MS Found in a Bottle A Descent into the Maelström The Murders in the Rue Morgue The Mystery of Marie Rogêt The Purloined Letter The Fall of the House of Usher The Pit and the Pendulum The Premature Burial The Black Cat The Masque of the Red Death The Cask of Amontillado The Oval Portrait The Oblong Box The Tell-Tale Heart Ligeia Loss of Breath Shadow — A Parable Silence — A Fable The Man of the Crows Some Words with a Mummy Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque Metzengerstein The Visionary (The Assignation) Morella King Pest The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall Berenice Mystification How to Write a Blackwood Article A Predicament The Man that was Used Up William Wilson Eleonara The Island of the Fay The Balloon Hoax The System of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether Mesmeric Revelation A Tale of the Ragged Mountains The Spectacle The Imp of the Perverse The Sphinx The Domain of Arnheim or the Landscape Garden Von Kempelen and His Discovery X-ing a Paragraph Poems The Raven The Valley of Unrest Bridal Ballad The Sleeper The Coliseum Lenore Hymn Israfel Dream-Land To Zante The City in the Sea To One in Paradise Eulalie To F—S S. O—D To F— Silence The Conquerer Worm The Haunted Palace Scenes from "Politian" Later Poems The Bells To M. L. S.— To— ("Not long ago, the writer of these lines") An Enigma To Helen A Valentine For Annie To My Mother Eldorado Annabel Lee Ulalume Poems Written in Youth Tamerlane Sonnet — To Science Al Aaraaf Romance Song Dreams Spirits of the Dead Evening Star A Dream within a Dream Stanzas A Dream 'The Happiest Day, The Happiest Hour' The Lake To— ("The bowers whereat, in dreams, I see") To the River To— ("I heed not that my earthly lot") Fairyland To Helen Alone Poems Now First Collected Spiritual Song Elizabeth From an Album To Sarah The Great Man Gratitude To— An Enigma Impromptu Additional Poems Attributed to Poe Song of Triumph Latin Hymn The Skeleton-Hand The Magician Translation: Hymn to Aristogeiton and Harmodius The Mammoth Squash Oh, Tempora! Oh, Mores!

Full title	Expanded Universe ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Robert A. Heinlein (author)
Publisher	Baen Publishing Enterprises
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	2007
Original publication year	1980
ISBN	978-0-7434-9915-6 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	705
Synopsis	A collection of short stories and essays, the essays focusing for the most part on WWII and the atomic bomb.
Review	A really nice read. I especially liked How to Be a Survivor, Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon, and Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Life-Line Successful Operation Blowups Happen Solution Unsatisfactory The Last Days of the United States How to Be a Survivor Pie from the Sky They Do It with Mirrors Free Men No Bands Playing, No Flags Flying— A Bathroom of Her Own On the Slopes of Vesuvius Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon Pandora's Box Where To? Cliff and the Calories Ray Guns and Rocket Ships The Third Millennium Opens Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry? "Pravda" Means "Truth" Inside Intourist Searchlight The Pragmatics of Patriotism Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You Larger than Life Spinoff The Happy Days Ahead

Full title	Expedition to Earth ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Arthur C. Clarke (author)
Publisher	Ballantine Books
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1982
Original publication year	1953
ISBN	0-345-31057-8 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	165
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Second Dawn "If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth..." Breaking Strain History Lesson Superiority Exile of the Eons Hide and Seek Expedition to Earth Loophole Inheritance The Sentinel

Full title	Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales ^[permalink]
Language	English
Authors	Groff Conklin (editor), Isaac Asimov (editor), A. E. van Vogt, Alan Bloch, Alan E. Nourse, Alan Nelson, Albert Hernhuter, Anthony Boucher, Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Feldman, Arthur Porges, Avro Manhattan, C. M. Kornbluth, Cleve Cartmill, Damon Knight, David Grinnell, Edward G. Robles, Edward Grendon, Eric Frank Russell, Evelyn E. Smith, Frank M. Robinson, Fredric Brown, Fritz Leiber, H. B. Hickey, Howard Schoenfeld, Idris Seabright, Jack Finney, James Causey, James H. Schmitz, John D. MacDonald, John Lewis, John P. McKnight, Karen Anderson, Lion Miller, Mack Reynolds, Marion Gross, Mildred Clingerman, Peter Cartur, Poul Anderson, Ralph Williams, Robert A. Heinlein, Robert Sheckley, Roger Dee, S. Fowler Wright, Stuart Friedman, T. P. Caravan, Theodore Sturgeon, W. Hilton-Young, Walt Sheldon, Will Stanton, William Tenn and Winston K. Marks
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1963
ISBN	0-684-84296-3 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	287
Synopsis	Fifty short-short stories from fifty different authors are collected here.
Review	Almost all of the stories are truly excellent, and I have transcribed some of the best ones and put them on my Short Stories page (Men Are Different, Texas Week, The Haunted Space Suit, and Counter Charm). Go there for a sample before you buy the book. (You will buy it, remember.)
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Prelude: Ballade of an Artificial Satellite — Poul Anderson The Fun They Had — Isaac Asimov Men Are Different — Alan Block The Ambassadors — Anthony Boucher The Weapon — Fredric Brown Random Sample — T. P. Caravan Oscar — Cleve Cartmill The Mist — Peter Cartur Teething Ring — James Causey The Haunted Space Suit — Arthur C. Clarke Stair Trick — Mildred Clingerman Unwelcome Tenant — Roger Dee The Mathematicians — Arthur Feldman The Third Level — Jack Finney Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! — Stuart Friedman The Figure — Edward Grendon The Rag Thing — David Grinnell The Good Provider — Marion Gross Columbus Was a Dope — Robert A. Heinlein Texas Week — Albert Hernhuter Hilda — H. B. Hickey The Choice — W. Hilton-Young Not with a Bang — Damon Knight The Altar at Midnight — C. M. Kornbluth A Bad Day for Sales — Fritz Leiber Who's Cribbing? — Jack Lewis Spectator Sport — John D. MacDonald The Cricket Ball — Avro Manhattan Double-Take — Winston K. Marks Prolog — John P. McKnight The Available Data on the Worp Reaction — Lion Miller Narapoia — Alan Nelson Tiger by the Tail — Alan E. Nourse Counter Charm — Peter Phillips The Fly — Arthur Porges The Business, As Usual — Mack Reynolds Two Weeks in August — Frank M. Robinson See? — Edward G. Robles, Jr. Appointment at Noon — Eric Frank Russell We Don't Want Any Trouble — James H. Schmitz Built Down Logically — Howard Schoenfeld An Egg a Month from All Over — Idris Seabright The Perfect Woman — Robert Sheckley The Hunters — Walt Sheldon The Martian and the Magician — Evelyn E. Smith Barney — Will Stanton Talent — Theodore Sturgeon Project Hush — William Tenn The Great Judge — A. E. Van Vogt Emergency Landing — Ralph Williams Obviously Suicide — S. Fowler Wright Postlude: Six Haiku — Karen Anderson

Full title	Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Isaac Asimov (author)
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1990
Pages	416
Synopsis	The first part is an anthology of short stories, while the two last parts are non-fiction dealing with concepts in science fiction and on writing science fiction, respectively.

Full title	The Martian Chronicles ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Ray Bradbury (author)
Publisher	William Morrow
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	2006
Original publication year	1950
ISBN	978-0-380-97383-5 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	268
Synopsis	A collection of short stories woven together into a coherent whole. The stories concern Mars, and humanity's efforts to colonize it.
Review	I really enjoyed all the "chapters" (short stories), but "Usher II" really stood out, being an homage to E. A. Poe. Definitely recommended.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] January 2030: Rocket Summer February 2030: Ylla August 2030: The Summer Night August 2030: The Earth Men March 2031: The Taxpayer April 2031: The Third Expedition June 2032: —And The Moon Be Still As Bright August 2032: The Settlers December 2032: The Green Morning February 2033: The Locusts August 2033: Night Meeting October 2033: The Shore November 2033: The Fire Balloons February 2034: Interim April 2034: The Musicians May 2034: The Wilderness 2035-2036: The Naming of Names April 2036: Usher II August 2036: The Old Ones September 2036: The Martian November 2036: The Luggage Store November 2036: The Off Season November 2036: The Watchers December 2036: The Silent Towns April 2057: The Long Years August 2057: There Will Come Soft Rains October 2057: The Million-Year Picnic

Full title	Robot Dreams ^[permalink]
Language	English
Authors	Isaac Asimov (author) and Ralph McQuarrie (illustrator)
Publisher	Ace Books
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	2004
Original publication year	1986
ISBN	0-441-01183-7 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	333
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Introduction Little Lost Robot Robot Dreams "Breeds There a Man...?" Hostess Sally Strikebreaker The Machine That Won the War Eyes Do More Than See The Martian Way Franchise Jokester The Last Question Does a Bee Care? Light Verse The Feeling of Power Spell My Name With an S The Ugly Little Boy The Billiard Ball True Love The Last Answer Lest We Remember

Full title	Robot Visions ^[permalink]
Language	English
Authors	Isaac Asimov (author) and Ralph McQuarrie (illustrator)
Publisher	Roc Books
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	1991
Original publication year	1990
ISBN	0-451-45064-7 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	482
Synopsis	This is an anthology of a few stories that are (perhaps paradoxically) not found in The Complete Robot, and a few essays about robots and computers in general.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Introduction: The Robot Chronicles Stories Robot Visions Too Bad! Robbie Reason Liar! Runaround Evidence Little Lost Robot The Evitable Conflict Feminine Intuition The Bicentennial Man Someday Think! Segregationist Mirror Image Lenny Galley Slave Christmas Without Rodney Essays Robots I Have Known The New Teachers Whatever You Wish The Friends We Make Our Intelligent Tools The Laws of Robotics Future Fantastic The Machine and the Robot The New Profession The Robot As Enemy? Intelligences Together My Robots The Laws of Humanics Cybernetic Organism The Sense of Humor Robots in Combination

Full title	Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Arthur Conan Doyle (author)
Publisher	Chancellor Press
Categories	Anthology, crime and short stories
Publication year	2006
Original publication year	1985
ISBN	978-07537-0912-2 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	992
Synopsis	A collection of all of the Sherlock Holmes short stories in one neat volume.
Review	What struck me while reading the short stories is how ingenious Sherlock Holmes is. It's a very fun exercise to try to second-guess what Holmes' solution to each case turns out to be.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes A Scandal in Bohemia The Red-Headed League The Case of Identity The Boscombe Valley Mystery The Five Orange Pips The Man with the Twisted Lip The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle The Adventure of the Speckled Band The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet The Adventure of the Copper Beeches The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of Silver Blaze The Adventure of the Cardboard Box The Adventure of the Yellow Face The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk The Adventure of the 'Gloria Scott' The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual The Adventure of the Reigate Squire The Adventure of the Crooked Man The Adventure of the Resident Patient The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter The Adventure of the Naval Treaty The Adventure of the Final Problem The Return of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of the Empty House The Adventure of the Norwood Builder The Adventure of the Dancing Men The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist The Adventure of the Priory School The Adventure of Black Peter The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton The Adventure of the Six Napoleons The Adventure of the Three Students The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter The Adventure of the Abbey Grange The Adventure of the Second Stain His Last Bow Wistaria Lodge The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans The Adventure of the Devil's Foot The Adventure of the Red Circle The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax The Adventure of the Dying Detective His Last Bow: The War Service of Sherlock Holmes The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone The Problem of Thor Bridge The Adventure of the Creeping Man The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire The Adventure of the Three Garridebs The Adventure of the Illustrious Client The Adventure of the Three Gables The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier The Adventure of the Lion's Mane The Adventure of the Retired Colourman The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place

Full title	We'll Always Have Paris ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Ray Bradbury (author)
Publisher	Voyager
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	2009
ISBN	978-0-00-730364-9 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	210
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Introduction: Watching and Writing Massinello Pietro The Visit The Twilight Greens The Murder When the Bough Breaks We'll Always Have Paris Ma Perkins Comes to Stay Doubles Pater Caninus Arrival and Departure Last Laughs Pietà Summer Fly Away Home Un-pillow Talk Come Away with Me Apple-core Baltimore The Reincarnate Remembrance, Ohio If Paths Must Cross Again Miss Appletree and I A Literary Encounter America

Full title	Zima Blue and Other Stories ^[permalink]
Language	English
Authors	Alastair Reynolds (author) and Paul J. McAuley (introduction)
Publisher	Victor Gollancz Ltd
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	2010
ISBN	978-0-575-08455-1 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	455
Synopsis	A short story (and novella-length) anthology from Alastair Reynolds. The Real Story is about a journalist's quest to unravel the real story behind the first Mars landing. Beyond the Aquila Rift is about what it means to be lost. Really lost. Enola is about a little nomad girl's affinity for a machine (and mutatis mutandis for the machine), and what that implies. Signal to Noise and Cardiff Afterlife are two connected stories about what happens when you make contact with parallel universes. The next three stories, Hideaway, Minla's Flowers, and Merlin's Gun, are the longest in the anthology and form a chronological trilogy (despite being written out of order). The first one is about a so-called swallowship (huge spaceship) on the run from an alien enemy known as the Huskers. The other two are a continuation of the first, but I won't say anything about them except that all three concern the same protagonist, Merlin, and his quest for his Gun. Angels of Ashes is a weird piece about religion and statistics (ehr, more or less) Spirey and the Queen is about a faux war over a planetary accretion disk. Understanding Space and Time is about one man's quest to, well, understand space and time. Digital to Analogue is a conspiracy/thriller tale set on Earth in the nineties, and is the least science fictional (not to mention the least space operatic) one in the collection, and is about a memetic virus spreading through the club scene. Everlasting is about the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum physics. Specifically, one man's (pretty weird) take on it. And finally, the eponymous Zima Blue is about a pretty eccentric and long-lived artist's quest to connect with his roots.
Review	I enjoyed almost all the stories in this collection, and before I praise this collection any further, I have to get it out of the way: Angels of Ashes and Digital to Analogue fell entirely flat for me! The ones that stood out, however, more than made up for it. In particular I immensely enjoyed the Merlin trilogy (Hideaway, Minla's Flowers, and Merlin's Gun). They are truly epic in scale, and brilliantly captures the sense of the lone ranger on a quest. Understanding Space and Time, another wonderful story, is also epic, but in its own way. I hope I'm not spoiling anything by saying that it reminded me of Asimov's The Last Question, both in form and content. (Read them both and you'll understand.) The last two items, Everlasting and Zima Blue, also had me hooked, the former for its weird speculations (and the experimental testing of said speculation...), the latter for its musings on time and memory, and the sympathy you get for the protagonist, the eccentric artist Zima. All in all, if you enjoy pointed SF vignettes or space opera novellas, go buy this book!
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Introduction by Paul J. McAuley The Real Story Beyond the Aquila Rift Enola Signal to Noise Cardiff Afterlife Hideaway Minla's Flowers Merlin's Gun Angels of Ashes Spirey and the Queen Understanding Space and Time Digital to Analogue Everlasting Zima Blue

Full title	The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Two ^[permalink]
Language	English
Authors	George Mann (editor), Brenda Cooper, Chris Roberson, Dan Abnett, David Louis Edelman, Dominic Green, Eric Brown, Karl Schroeder, Kay Kenyon, Mary Robinette Kowal, Michael Moorcock, Neal Asher, Paul Di Filippo, Peter Watts and Robert Reed
Publisher	Solaris Books
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Publication year	2008
ISBN	978-1-84416-542-1 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	413
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Introduction (George Mann) iCity (Paul Di Filippo) The Space Crawl Blues (Kay Kenyon) The Line of Dichotomy (Chris Roberson) Fifty Dinosaurs (Robert Reed) Mason's Rats: Black Rat (Neal Asher) Blood Bonds (Brenda Cooper) The Eyes of God (Peter Watts) Sunworld (Eric Brown) Evil Robot Monkey (Mary Robinette Kowal) Shining Armor (Dominic Green) Book, Theatre, and Wheel (Karl Schroeder) Mathralon (David Louis Edelman) Mason's Rats: Autotractor (Neal Asher) Modem Times (Michael Moorcock) Point of Contact (Dan Abnett)

Full title	The State of the Art ^[permalink]
Language	English
Author	Iain M. Banks (author)
Publisher	Orbit Books
Categories	Anthology, science fiction and short stories
Series	Culture (4/10)
Publication year	1991
ISBN	1-85723-030-2 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	216
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] 1. Road of Skulls 2. A Gift from the Culture 3. Odd Attachment 4. Descendant 5. Cleaning Up 6. Piece 7. The State of the Art 8. Scratch

Full title	H. P. Lovecraft Omnibus Vol. 2: Dagon and Other Macabre Tales ^[permalink]
Language	English
Authors	H. P. Lovecraft (author) and August Derleth (introduction)
Publisher	Voyager
Categories	Anthology, horror and short stories
Series	H. P. Lovecraft Omnibus (2/3)
Publication year	2000
Original publication year	1965
ISBN	978-0-586-06324-8 ^{[Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's]}
Pages	512
Synopsis	This collection contains a bunch of short stories, as well as a very interesting essay by August Derleth called Supernatural Horror in Literature. Also in there are some stories under the heading Early Tales and four really small stories under Fragments, stories not really completed (and therefore not that interesting). Most of the stories are first-person accounts of some horrible fate befalling the protagonist (such as Dagon, The Temple, and Imprisoned with the Pharaohs) while a few are third-person narratives over a span of time (like The Doom that came to Sarnath, The Cats of Ulthar, and The Quest of Iranon).
Review	This collection represents my first foray into Lovecraft's literature (except for The Call of Cthulhu, which I read ages ago). As I'm not really well read in horror literature, I don't know how it stacks up against other authors, but I know I like it! Lovecraft has a very peculiar way of writing, and virtually every story manages to draw you in and keep your attention throughout. Also, most of the stories have a twist at the end that's not always easy to predict, which makes them all the more enjoyable. This collection, as opposed to the first and third in this series, is a little bit special in that there are a lot of stories, so if you don't have that much time to read, this book is excellent. The stories are short and almost all are engaging and very fun to read.
Images
Structure	[Toggle visibility] Introduction, by August Derleth Dagon The Tomb Polaris Beyond the Wall of Sleep The Doom that came to Sarnath The White Ship Arthur Jermyn The Cats of Ulthar Celephais From Beyond The Temple The Tree The Moon-bog The Nameless City The Other Gods The Quest of Iranon Herbert West - Reanimator The Hound Hypnos The Festival The Unnamable Imprisoned with the Pharaohs He The Horror at Red Hook The Strange High House in the Mist In the Walls of Eryx The Evil Clergyman Early Tales The Beast in the Cave The Alchemist Poetry and the Gods The Street The Transition of Juan Romero Fragments Azathoth The Descendant The Book The Thing in the Moonlight Supernatural Horror in Literature