The Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak: Volume One. 2015.
In 1977, Clifford D Simak was only the third person to ever be named Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. He had been writing short science fiction for over 40 years. This book is the first of a 14-volume project by Simak’s estate to collect all of his short fiction.
This collection contains stories originally published between 1943 and 1969, plus one short first published in this 2015 book.
I find this to be a very strong collection, filled with invention, golden age excitement, and better-than-Golden-Age character development. I will definitely read and review more of Simak’s work. I’m also tempted to pick up his two most famous novels City and Way Station.
The Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak is rated 80%.
7 good / 2 average / 1 poor.
How do I arrive at a rating?
Installment Plan
Good. A business man and his robot team find difficulty on a trade mission to a semi-primitive planet.
I Had No Head and My Eyes Were Floating Way Up in the Air
Good. Original written for the Harlan Ellison collection “Last, Dangerous Visions.” A man comes to exploit a planet, but finds himself the victim of a horrible vengeful forced transformation. A great story full of violent energy.
Small Deer
Good. A man invents a time machine and discovers the real reason the dinosaurs went extinct.
Ogre
Good. Earth audiences are enraptured by the music created by alien singing trees. A group of men try to capitalize on this situation, but find that the alien trees might have plans of their own.
Gleaners
Good. A time-travel company grabbed artifacts from the past for profit. This story details an unusual day in the life of one of the executives that manage this program.
Madness from Mars
Good. A beautiful and haunting story of a spaceship that returns from Mars with a crew that went mad an killed themselves. The reason why and the solution will break your heart.
Gunsmoke Interlude
Poor. A non-scifi western story about a stranger that would give up his gun.
I Am Crying All Inside
Average. Robots and rednecks make moonshine.
The Call from Beyond
Average. A fun little action story of a man who arrives on Mars to discover that people he thought we dead are actually alive. And they are up to no good.
All the Traps of Earth
Good. Wonderful tale of a robot who has been illegally allowed to keep his memories for 600 years, instead of the normal human lifespan. He flees earth and discovers a new purpose and mission to his life.
