Short Stories

Categorized by year of publication.
Each post will include basic story background, including publication date and the place I read it (so you can make sense of any parenthetical citations). I will then give a fairly detailed plot summary, relative to the length of the story and the importance of details. Following that I will attempt a thematic analysis. Lastly I will include some links that may help readers with the story or to show the relevance of the story’s themes to our world.

1947
Stability

1952
Beyond Lies the Wub
The Gun
The Skull
The Little Movement

1953
The Defenders
Mr. Spaceship
The Eyes Have It
Piper in the Woods
Roog
The World She Wanted
The Infinites
Second Variety
The Preserving Machine
Paycheck
Colony
Martians Come in Clouds
The Cookie Lady
Impostor
Tony and the Beetle
Expendable
The Variable Man
The Indefatigable Frog
The Cosmic Poachers
Out in the Garden
The Commuter
The Great C
The King of the Elves
The Trouble with Bubbles
The Impossible Planet
Planet for Transients
Some Kinds of Life
Project: Earth
The Hanging Stranger

1954
Present for Pat
The Crystal Crypt
The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford
The Builder
Jon’s World
The Golden Man
Beyond the Door
James P. Crow
Small Town
Survey Team
Prominent Author
Sales Pitch
Breakfast at Twilight
Of Withered Apples
Crawlers
Exhibit Piece
Adjustment Team
Meddler
Prize Ship
A World of Talent
Souvenir
Upon the Dull Earth
Shell Game
Last of the Masters
Progeny
The Turning Wheel
The Father-Thing
Strange Eden

1955
War Veteran
Foster, You’re Dead
Nanny
Captive Market
The Hood Maker
Service Call
Psi-Man Heal My Child
A Surface Raid
The Chromium Fence
Mold of Yancy
Human Is
Autofac

1956
The Minority Report
To Serve the Master
Pay for the Printer

1957
The Unreconstructed M
Misadjustment

1958
Null-O

1959
Explorers We
Recall Mechanism
Fair Game
War Game

1963
Days of Perky Pat
Stand-By
What’ll We Do With Ragland Park
If There Were No Benny Cemoli

1964
Waterspider
Novelty Act
Orpheus with Clay Feet
Oh, To Be a Blobel
War with the Fnools
What the Dead Men Say
A Game of Unchance
The Little Black Box
Precious Artifact

1965
Retreat Syndrome

1966
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale
Holy Quarrel
Your Appointment Will be Yesterday

1967
Return Match
Faith of Our Fathers

1968
Not By Its Cover
The Story to End All Stories for Harlan Ellison’s Anthology Dangerous Visions

1969
The Electric Ant

1971
Cadbury, the Beaver Who Lacked

1974
A Little Something for Our Tempunauts
The Pre-Persons

1975
Eye of the Sybil

1977
The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out of Its Tree

1979
Exit Door Leads In

1980
Strange Memories of Death
I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
Rautavaara’s Case

1981
The Alien Mind