If you like stories from the golden age of science fiction
353034
If you like stories from the golden age of science fiction from authors like Heinlein, Van Vogt and Philip K. Dick, you owe it to yourself to read this book.  If you enjoy vivid imagery, a fast paced plot, interesting characters who become people you feel you know, and science and fiction and a bit of the occult blended into a story with unexpected twists and turns that demands your complete and full attention from beginning to end, you should read this book.  The plot detail is incredible and I found I had suspended my disbelief somewhere in the first chapter and never looked back.  Just one word of warning....Don't start reading this book just anywhere.  You may not be able to put it down!!!
3919592
These are 50s era stories, many somewhat unusual as the author was also a sports writer. There are, for example, stories about robot boxers. I found all the stories entertaining and well written. The editor has listed the original publication date with each story, something I find very useful when reading vintage SF.
2877699
An excellent collection of short stories that became famous (or infamous) science fiction movies. Nicely illustrated with stills & publicity shots from the films. Almost all the stories are worth a read, and there are some real gems including "A Boy and His Dog", "Farewell to the Master", "The Foghorn", and "Who Goes There?".
383809
Great set of short stories that takes me back to the ones I read when I was a kid. If you like old school sci-fi with a modern twist, this is the book to read. Some really well thought out stories that kept you engaged.
4220866
"Cybernetics. Neuroscience. Nanotechnology. Genetic engineering. Hacktivism. Transhumanism. The world of tomorrow is already here, and the technological changes we all face have inspired a new wave of stories to address our fears, hopes, dreams, and desires as Homo sapiens evolveor notinto their next incarnation. Cyber World presents diverse tales of humanitys tomorrow, as told by some of todays most gripping science fiction visionaries."

 As a whole I enjoyed the collection. The bad thing about a collectin is that if you love a story it just ends and it leaves you with a want for more. The good thing about a collection of short stories is that if you don't like what you are reading you can just skip forward a few pages and have a whole new story to read. Individually, there were a few stories that really bombed it. And they took my  four star rating down to a three star rating.
2592127
Good old-fashioned SF by the Dean of British SF and one of the top triad of greats from the '40s, '50s, and '60s (Asimov and Heinlein being the other two, though others' opinions may vary). These are amusing tales set in a hard-to-find pub nestled just off the Thames. They are very well written, catchy little stories. If you enjoy them, you could go on to read "Tales from Gavagan's Bar" by deCamp & Pratt and Spider Robinson's Callahan's Saloon series (e.g., "Time Traveler's Strictly Cash").
1776117
These are vintage short stories reprinted from the Science Fiction Magazines of the 50s - Just plain fun. Don't look for depth of narrative, it's pure nostalgic escapism.
527622
Vintage Kilgore Trout ! A fun little story ftom the golden age of sci fi. Xxxx cxcc dddd dddd  Really!
2893271
To talk about the short story anthology Skyline Worlds, I must first mention an older anthology, Tomorrows Children. This collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories was published in 1966, edited by Isaac Asimov and contains stories by Bradbury, Heinlein, St. Clair, Dick, Asimov and others who went on to acclaim later in their careers. The book is long out of print. Copies, when found, are treasured by science fiction readers who were growing up at the time. (I had a bookseller in NYC locate one for me about 20 years ago as it was my wifes favorite book as a child; the seller could not believe how hard it was to find and apologized profusely when he could only find an old withdrawn library copy from Zelienople, Pennsylvania!)

In a similar vein to Asimovs edited work, we have the collected stories in Skyline Worlds. This collection of science fiction was edited by Sci-Fi author and College Professor Billy Tooma and contains stories by fourteen exciting authors from the New York City area, including Tooma. The stories practically run the gamut of science fiction genre: cryosleep and time travel, zombies and viruses, ghosts and aliens, post-apocalyptic futures and pseudo-historical steampunk pasts. Against these backdrops we meet some intriguing characters. The Copavids, Little Sam, Suzy Potter, President Jeffrey Garwood, Mel the chimney sweep. The writing is highly descriptive across-the-board, bringing the reader quickly into each story and keeping them focused. As each story ends, your brain begins to wander and starts a continuation of the narrative, imagining what might have happened if the plotlines were to continue. (Personally, after listening to Glen Mitchell in Dead Air, I will never hear National Public Radio the same way again!)

Like Tomorrows Children, Skyline Worlds is a wonderful collection of work by some very talented writers who show great future promise. However, it also will probably have a limited number of copies published (Sci-Fi anthologies tend to be that way). I highly recommend picking up a copy for anyone you know who is a fan of good fiction and/or short stories, science fiction or otherwise.
1918323
I received "The Dive Bomber" by L. Ron Hubbard from Library Thing early reviewers and member giveaways. The Dive Bomber is about daredevil test pilot Lucky Martin. He has perfected the design for a new bomber plain the Navy is sure to buy. Unfortunately for Lucky, hostile foreign powers are determined to see him fail so they can scoop up the planes design for their own use.

The Dive Bomber is an audio book from the golden age stories series by Galaxy Press. Actually it is much more than just a plain old audio book. The Dive Bomber is more like an audio play, a multicast performance with music and sound effects. Very much like the radio shows back in the 1930's This story and other stories are part of the pulp fiction golden age. I enjoy hearing these audio books and love reading them. I enjoy the writings of the master story teller L. Ron Hubbard. If you want action and adventure, read stories from the golden age and join the pulp revival!
4602824
These are some very old, very dated and very Golden Age stories. Not every comic fan is going to enjoy this, but if you like second-tier characters, you will like this book. This has some Vigilante chapters by Mort Meskin, and features the Crimson Avenger, the very first masked hero DC ever had, predating the Batman by a few years. Green Arrow and Speedy also feature prominently, but don't expect the psycho from Arrow. These are some great stories for those in the right mind set!
4643018
Science Fiction, like many other genres, have die-hard supporters as well as vociferous critics. The critics too often criticise the stories for having wooden characters, absurd science, and excessive fascination with spaceships & stars (is it co-incidental that these two components make up the logo of the Galactic Empire conceived by Isaac Asimov, in his "Foundation"-saga?). The supporters, with equal vehemence, emphasise the action-driven plots, the sense of wonder conveyed by the scenario where often the lone warrior (again, mostly man, and hence criticised by feminists) fights for the destiny of mankind. In the tussle between these two, we have often had compromises where good old story-telling had to be severely compromised through super-slow character building and heady philosophy, perfected by Robert Silverberg and Kim Stanley Robinson, but mostly mediocre works like those being endorsed by even respected editors like Gardner Dozois. Otherwise, there were editors who were not ready to go beyond the ABC (Asimov-Bradbury-Clarke) regime and denounced everything else as pulp-era throwbacks. There were exceptions, but too few amidst all the morass.

Fortunately, Jack McDevitt, who has built up an impressive collection of sci-fi novels, got an opportunity to showcase his story-telling art through shorter works via this beautiful hardback collection brought out by the good people at Subterranean Press. The best thing about these stories are that they compell you to think like the protagonist, and often the others as well. They would drive you up against pretty disturbing notions (although nothing deviant, he is very proper in that sense), and can generate a few nightmares that would stay with you fro quite some time. But the best thing about this collection was that there were hardly any outright clunkers in here, while each story had challenged my notions about several things that we generally take-for-granted. If you prefer your science fiction to be of thoughtful-yet-enjoyable variety, this is the right book for you.
960881
This is a nice collection of wonderful science fiction stories by Asimov. They are very well written: witty, filled with both humor and hints of hidden philosophical speculations (many of them are still topical and very modern, especially political ones). Delightful reading: the book which one will have a occasional desire to reread again.
2704835
It is so cool to read old stories.  Some of the references are to things that have been forgotten by most people.  These stories are generally enjoy so it may not be able as any good story is, it is just that these have another facet that is interesting for me.  I have a paperback edition, so it may not be the same as other editions available.
 'Nightfall' by Isaac Asimov - This is one of the great short stories because it imagined another world with their own lifestyles and culture, etc.  It does not involve a lot of science, just imagination of what another world might be and how the inhabitants would react to the setting of the sun once every couple of thousand years.
 'First Contact' by Murray Leinster - It is amazing that even fifty or sixty years ago they were worried about the first time the human race encounters aliens.  The cool part of this story is that it happens so far away from here or there that both ships feel comfortable trying to figure out how to get away safely without destroying the other first.  Given the time, they figure out a way both crews can go home safely
 'Eternity Lost' by Clifford D. Simak - Humanity has developed life lengthening technology, but it is limited to a chosen fewfor good and obvious reasons.  One of the lucky ones finds he is due to be denied further life.  He gets rather distraught about it.
 'Vault of the Beast' by A. E. van Vogt - A ship has visited Mars and returns to Earth with a magical creature created for one purpose.  The creature does its thing and in the end helps to save the world.  The wonder of this story is the descriptions and the ending math.
 'Invarient' by John Pierce - Homer Green is constantly interviewed because he is a relic.  This is another story of immortality gone wrong.
 'When the Bough Breaks' by Lewis Padgett - New parents of a whiz kid are visited by tutors from the future.  The tutoring backfires.
 'Cold War' by Kris Neville - A story of how Mutually Assured Destruction became the beacon of peace in the world, though of course no one knew it was coming.
 'Over the Top' by Lester del Ray- For me this is the most interesting story because of the reference to "hundred ton electronic slipsticks" (does anyone know what one is?).  A midgit is sent to Mars.  He was chosen for various reasons: sex, intelligence, healthy, etc. and stature.  He was small so he would not need the space a normal man would need, air use would be less, etc, etc.  The challenge is that he crash hands, his savior is a Martian, and humanity also comes to his rescue.  Wild story.
2994586
'On the Case' combines good old fashioned intelligent scifi what ifs, with a hard boiled police detective and his partner. There is a bit of tongue in cheek raunch done  so humorously your grandmother could read it and laugh. The last story, about a person named Frost, is classic scifi; thoughtful examination. I loved this collection of short stories that followed the three major characters so much that I was thinking of them this morning, three days after I read the book. If you like Heinlein, Silverberg, or any of the Elder Authors, you'll enjoy these stories. They are well written and thought provoking. Loved it. Tremendous!
1193179
Poul Anderson was one of the greats of the golden age of Science Fiction. "Call Me Joe" is a short story published in the late 1950's in one of the popular science fiction magazines of the time, where I first read it (I think it was Astounding, but I'm not sure). The basic premise is a scientific mission to Jupiter creates a life form that can survive on the Jovian "surface", remote controlled from a moon station. The controlling scientist is a handicapped man who feels the power of the whole, vibrant creature that he controls. Is this beginning to sound familiar? Did James Cameron read this story and let it percolate for 60 years?

As always, Poul Anderson's prose is a joy to read, and the ending, while not a complete surprise, is very satisfying. Read it to see where "Avatar" came from. And for the pleasure of tasting the Master's work.
168156
I like the way the book starts with a mature man (divorced with two children)  being bullied by his domineering  mother, who seems to reside in his head even after her passing away, haunting him.  The following story is set in Golden Age Retirement and Rehabilitation Center where untoward happenings seem to go on.  There are references to episodes of the Twilight Zone as well as the film Cocoon. With these stories the most unlikely things can happen, imagine a kiss in which your body caves in and your insides are sucked out, as is the case with a victim of the Siren a group of women you would not want to meet.  You encounter all manner of things in  Musings  from a demented mindimagine finding yourself in a town inhabited by aliens. The stories are short and snappy. The book seems a collaboration between Derek Ailes and James Coon. There is quite a variety to the stories, The Dogs is characterized by a hitman, the authors seem to have something against businessmen, corporate types. There are certainly elements of sharp wit in these stories as well as an assembly of interesting charactersTwisted Twins;... Some resonated for me, more than others, but over all I really enjoyed the dark tone of these imaginative stories.