Bio: Scott has been an avid reader of science fiction since the mid-seventies, after reading Arthur C. Clarke's "Dolphin Island". He lives in small town Idaho with his wife and two children, and works as a control engineer for a manufacturing plant. He writes a monthly column on audiobooks for SF Site called ?Vox: SF for Your Ears?, and is an aspiring author himself. He loves a good hard-SF story, but enjoys most other kinds of speculative fiction as well. Favorite writers: Ted Chiang, Connie Willis, Isaac Asimov, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card.

Legendary robopsychologist Susan Calvin questions robot LVX-1 about his unique ability to dream, and opens a frightening window into the hidden underlayers of his positronic brain. 1986 Locus Poll Award Winner, Nebula Award(R) Nominee, Asimov's Reader's Choice Award Winner, Hugo Award Nominee

Words: 2026 - Reading Time: 5-8 min.
Category: Science Fiction

For those of you unfamiliar with the robot stories of Isaac Asimov, this is a fine place to take a taste. The story features one of his most famous characters, Susan Calvin, a robotics expert. She?s faced with a puzzle -- a robot that claims to experience dreams. Read as she interviews the robot and unravels the puzzle. This is classic Asimov, complete with his Three Laws of Robotics; to me like a visit from an old and dear friend.

In the far future, time is considered so precious that it's a criminal offense to waste it. The dreaded Ticktockman (he hates it when people call him that) enforces the law. But then the man known only as The Harlequin came into the picture. One of Ellison's most acclaimed works, this story won both the Hugo and Nebula when it was published. It's part satire, part allegory, part warning, and all Ellison. 1965 Nebula Award(R) Winner, Hugo Award Winner

Words: 4433 - Reading Time: 12-17 min.
Category: Science Fiction

Harlan Ellison is the finest short story writer on the planet. No one I've read can pack such emotion in such a short space. He's a master of the form. And "Repent" is one of his masterpieces. The Ticktockman of the title is a timekeeper -- a person who keeps society rolling along on it's ridiculously tight schedule. The Harlequin is a clown -- one of the folks who can't conform to such schedules. It is a parable of our of worship of the clock, more relevent now as it was when it was first published in 1965.

When Simon Kress returned to his home planet of Baldur from an offworld business trip, he was amused to find that his tank of Earth piranhas had cannibalized themselves into extinction, and of the two exotic animals that roamed his estate, only one remained. Now, in search of some new pets to satisfy his cruel pursuit of amusement, Simon finds a new shop in the city where he is intrigued by a new lifeform he has never heard of before ... a collection of multi-colored sandkings. The curator expla... more info>> 1979 Hugo Award Winner, Locus Poll Award Winner, Nebula Award(R) Winner

Words: 15471 - Reading Time: 44-61 min.
Category: Science Fiction

Recently, I received an e-mail stating that this story has broken a record at Fictionwise. At the time, it had received twenty "great" ratings in a row without a single lower rating. My vote made that total twenty-one. Simon Kress is a man who likes exotic pets. He likes to impress his friends with animals that are "unusual, entertaining, and expensive". After exhausting his usual resources for these kinds of animals, he discovers a new shop -- one that sells him some sandkings. Sandkings are insect-like creatures who live in a terrarium and are semi-sentient. Kress enjoys watching them build castles (yes, castles) and forage for food. Mostly, however, he enjoys watching them make war. I personally know of nothing with which to compare this story. George R.R. Martin, with his recent work, has stepped into a small group of elite genre authors; this story from 1979 proves that he's had the talent all along. Enjoy this one! I sure did.

Jehan nervously awaits the dawn in a dark alley, watching for the boy she knows will assault her, unsure if she will use the dagger in her sleeve ... this decision will determine which of the many futures from her visions will come to pass. Life on the streets as a defiled woman ... beheading in the public square ... or assistant to the German physicist who buys her life from the executioner's sword. 1988 Hugo Award Winner, Sturgeon Award Winner, Nebula Award(R) Winner

Words: 9727 - Reading Time: 27-38 min.
Category: Science Fiction

Here is a story of possibilities. Jehan can see her future, or, more accurately, her possible future. Can she change that future? Her decision this night is whether or not to wield her dagger against a boy whom she knows will assault her, and on this decision rests... everything. I read, rapt, as Jehan struggled, then made her decision.

A handwriting expert is called in to a case with national security implications, and as he falls in love with the unknown person whose writing he is analyzing, he finds that the case is the most unusual he will ever encounter. 1987 Hugo Award Nominee, Nebula Award(R) Winner

Words: 5286 - Reading Time: 15-21 min.
Category: Science Fiction

This Nebula-award winner is a fascinating mystery. Gordon Sills, a handwriting expert, is given an enigma to solve. Who is Anna? He knows her only from nine letters, written in her hand. And from those letters he learns quite a bit. Perhaps he learns too much. This story has a nice whodunit feel to it, and at the same time it explores the origins of some of our deepest feelings.

One of Silverberg's most recent short works, this sweeping story has received widespread critical acclaim. It tells the tale of a boy who grew up to challenge The Entities, a group of alien invaders who took over the earth in a single day. The story is rich in detail and background, and tells a drama both of human failings and courage under extreme adversity. 1997 Year's Best Science Fiction Selection

Words: 15405 - Reading Time: 44-61 min.
Category: Science Fiction

This story is a powerful one that not only includes the exploration of issues involving alien contact and conquest, but also delves into the deeply personal troubles of a human. In it we meet Khalid, a character faced with difficulty since birth, the circumstances of which are shown to us in the story. Khalid has never known a world with the Entities, an alien race who conquered Earth in a single day. The story takes place in England, where Khalid, "a child of uncertain parentage and dim prospects", grows up under the tyranny of the Entities, and also the tyranny of others. Silverberg gives us an intense and at times graphic story of Khalid?s struggle for physical and emotional survival.

This story takes the concept of "road rage" to a new level. A man traveling on a freeway is threatened by another car, and now they are locked in a duel (fully sanctioned by the State) using all the gizmos that technology can provide. 1969

Words: 3688 - Reading Time: 10-14 min.
Category: Science Fiction

Again, Ellison touches on the struggles of our every day lives in an extraordinary way. His target this time? The commute! George drives his Chevy Piranha on the highways of America when he's suddenly cut off by a "blood-red Mercury with twin-mounted 7.6mm Spandaus". A duel ensues...

A child's perfect world is interrupted when he learns his body died and his brainscan is just a computer program ... and his family is using an AI interface to pretend everything is normal. 1999 Nebula Award(R) Winner, Sturgeon Award Nominee

Words: 10327 - Reading Time: 29-41 min.
Category: Science Fiction

Here is a story with many levels. On the surface, it is a story of death and a family's efforts to deal with it. From a different angle, it's a story of growing through adolescence. The main character is a boy who lives in a perfect boy's world. Mr. Jeepers waves hello as he passes, the sky is pumpkin orange, and his home is full of toys. But, as the boy grows, he starts to realize that things are not as they seem, and he isn't where he thought he was. This is a fine piece of work - the first one I've read by Walter Jon Williams. I'll certainly be looking for more.

In a future where humans engage in galactic commerce with a multitude of unscrupulous aliens, Earth's mega-corporations are held to strict alien laws, and relatives of corporate executives are often abducted as cruel alien revenge for the slightest business infraction. The only chance for a target to hide ... is to Disappear--erasure of all personal records, genetic alteration, and a new life with a new name in a new place. For an exorbitant fee under non-negotiable terms of employment, private ... more info>> 2000 Locus Poll Award Nominee, Hugo Award Nominee, AnLab Award Nominee

Words: 18270 - Reading Time: 52-73 min.
Category: Science Fiction

A good mystery story is difficult to write well, and a good science fiction story is difficult to write well ... Rusch does both here. I'm insanely jealous. This is an excellent futuristic story about a private investigator who finds missing people--a retrieval artist. It's very well written, and I'm very excited to find that she's going to write more of them.