Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley (New York Review Books Classics) Paperback – May 1, 2012

Sheckley was one of the masters of mainstream science fiction n the 1960s and '60s, his stories touched with humor, irony and a wry comment on the all-too-human present. This anthology presents some of his best short stories. Boldly go back to the future ...

If you grew up watching Twilight Zone or the re-runs, this is a good collection for you. Stories are ironic, sardonic, and deal with sci-fi themes and ideas from the 1950's and 1960's. Content is alternately humorous and sometimes spooky, about half of the stories in this collection linger after you read them.

Robert Scheckley is a master of the short story. These stories are witty, often funny and make you think. I prefer his writing to Ray Bradbury by quite a bit even though there are similarities in theme.

See how the reviews below say that this is a collection of short stories? I'm sure it is. But what Amazon sells you when you select Kindle is one story. Only. And you can't return it because you've read it.

I read this collection many years ago and was excited by the freshness of the stories. Returning to it about thirty years later was a refreshing experience. Sheckley's work is highly enjoyable and still fresh today.

It's a pleasure to see anything by Sheckley being republished. In "New Maps of Hell", when Kingsley Amis called Sheckley "...science fiction's premier gadfly....", he meant it as a sincere compliment. Sheckley is not someone you read for memorable characters. His prose is not luminous, merely passable. But his off-kilter ideas stick with you.My only complaint is that the collection doesn't include more stories. And it's a shame that "The Lifeboat Mutiny" was left out. It has the hallmarks of a 1950's science fiction pulp story. But you won't find a funnier send-up of nanny-state thinking.The first story in this collection, "The Monsters" is as good an introduction to the writer as I can think of--subversive, smart, and funny. If you don't like it, chances are the other offerings won't appeal to you, either. But you owe it to yourself to try at least a couple more.

While some may find it puzzling that NYRB Books decided to publish this collection of science fiction stories, a closer look reveals the reasons. Not only did Sheckley adroitly translate contemporary issues of the 1950s into rollicking tales set in space, he did so with an intellectual's methodical approach. On the one hand, he tackled racism, the threat of nuclear war, the rise of mass consumerism, and sexism in a way that was ahead of his time. Yet, he also had a cerebral side fascinated with clashes between competing approaches to language, philosophy, and even love. Now that he has deservedly escaped the pigeonhole of "sci-fi writer," a broader audience will be able to discover his subtly subversive stories.

If you like sci fi short stories this is the book for you. Sheckley always brings well thought out tales with an entertaining twist.

Don’t know why this guy isn’t better known. He is hilarious, has an incredible imagination and writes with precise fluidity that can describe a trip across the galaxy in a single paragraph.

More a review of Better Books I bought it from as I've only read the first 2 stories which are very though provoking and classic in that SF short story style (Seventh Victim MUST have inspired Series Seven film though?). The condition was marked as 'Very Good' but I can't see the difference between this and new!Amazing...well worth checking out the Used tab for music and books, as quite often the quality is better than stated. Yes I've had the odd scratched CD, but I've sent them back with no fuss, unlike other places, it's rare though.

Forse a questa raccolta manca qualcuno dei racconti più interessanti di Sheckley, comunque quelli scelti da Lethem vanno dal notevole al curioso al geniale allo sbalorditivo. Per chi ignora questo grande narratore americano, che ha avuto l'unico torto di essersi dedicato alla fantascienza, guadagnandosi così l'indifferenza e il disinteresse della critica paludata, è un'ottima antologia, che consente di fare la conoscenza con un talento notevole, colto nel suo periodo più felice.

SF（だけでもない）ショートショートとして、日本でもかなり有名だった、らしい。ものによってはピンと来ないけれど、善意と皮肉が微妙に入り交じって、面白いものが多いと思いました。The Account（会計士、）魔術師の家系の子なのに会計士になりたい少年が、父親が言って聞かせても、言うことを聞かない子供専用？の精霊が脅しても屈せず、帳簿の精？の唱える呪文（会計用語ね）に助けられて、初志貫徹する話。「おはなし」が読みたい人に、おすすめ。

Just received the book. Is going to be a present. I expect it to be great, I really like Sheckley. (The stars are for the book).However, the delivery was not so great. I was home but the courier didn't even knock, just forced the parcel in the letterbox, broke the internal lid and run away (literally just disappeared).I'm super disappointed in this delivery.