Robert Sheckley (1928–2005)
Author of Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming
About the Author
Image credit: Robert Sheckley, mid-1990s [source: John Henley]
Series
Works by Robert Sheckley
Strangers No More: Tales of Alien Life by Science Fiction Masters Isaac Asimov, Philip José Farmer, Marion Zimmer Bradley and More! (2017) 9 copies
The Status Civilization / Mind Swap 9 copies
Prospector's Special 8 copies
The Laxian Key [short story] 6 copies
Something for Nothing (short story) 6 copies
Maszyna Szeherezada 6 copies
The Battle 5 copies
galaxy 14 Auswahl der besten Stories aus dem Science Fiction Magazine Galaxy (1970) — Contributor — 5 copies
Galaxy, Teil 5: Eine Auswahl der besten Stories aus dem amerikanischen Science Fiction Magazin Galaxy (1966) — Contributor — 5 copies
Galaxy, Nr. 10: Eine Auswahl der besten Stories aus dem Science Fiction Magazine Galaxy (1968) — Contributor — 5 copies
The Accountant [short story] 5 copies
Galaxy 9 - Eine Auswahl der besten Stories aus dem Schience Fiction Magazine Galaxy (1967) — Contributor — 4 copies
Hunting Problem 4 copies
Giardiniere di uomini 4 copies
Ma che pianeta mi hai fatto? 4 copies
Starting from Scratch [short story] 4 copies
Galaxy 12 ; Eine Auswahl der besten Stories aus dem amerikanischen Science Fiction Magazin Galaxy / [Herausgegeben und übersetzt von Walter Ernsting und Thomas Schlück] (1969) — Contributor — 4 copies
A Thief in Time 4 copies
Citizen in Space [short story] 4 copies
Triplication [short story] 4 copies
The Necessary Thing [short story] 4 copies
Rare Robert Sheckley / CAN YOU FEEL ANYTHING WHEN I DO THIS? And Other Stories 1971 [Hardcover] Sheckley, Robert (1971) 4 copies
Proof of the Pudding [short fiction] 4 copies
Galaxy 4 ; Eine Auswahl der besten Stories aus dem Science Fiction Magazin GALAXY (1965) — Contributor — 4 copies
Fishing Season [short fiction] 3 copies
the odor of thought 3 copies
The Skag Castle [short story] 3 copies
The Demons [short story] 3 copies
The Minimum Man [novelette] 3 copies
The Deaths of Ben Baxter [novelette] 3 copies
Worlds of Robert Sheckley / Volume 2 2 copies
Slaves of time 2 copies
Short Science Fiction Collection 058 2 copies
Sarkanger (short story) 2 copies
Dukakis and the Aliens (short story) 2 copies
"Voyage To Eternity" 2 copies
Computer grand-guignol 2 copies
Squirrel cage 2 copies
Записки о Лангранаке 2 copies
Down The Digestive Tract 2 copies
LE ARMI DI MORTE 2 copies
Five Minutes Early [short story] 2 copies
Shoes 2 copies
Sielų mainai 2 copies
Hands Off 2 copies
The Luckiest Man in the World 2 copies
The Mountain Without a Name 2 copies
Budget Planet {short story} 2 copies
Redfern's Labyrinth [short fiction] 2 copies
Allarme! Chiamate Stephen Dain 2 copies
Van aardse smetten vrij. 2 copies
Magic Maples and Maryanne 2 copies
The Eryx 2 copies
Death of the Dreammaster 2 copies
The Joker's War 2 copies
The Mnemone [short story] 2 copies
The Petrified World 2 copies
From The "S" File 1 copy
Kenny 1 copy
Охотник 1 copy
A Trick Worth Two of That 1 copy
Mirror Games 1 copy
The Quijote Robot 1 copy
Sightseeing 2179 1 copy
Кое-что задаром 1 copy
Специалист 1 copy
Legend of Conquistadors 1 copy
The Refuge Elsewhere 1 copy
Събрани разкази, том 1 1 copy
Myryx 1 copy
The Other Mars 1 copy
ЛАБИРИНТ МИНОТАВРА 1 copy
Где не ступала нога человека 1 copy
Kozmikus fnyeremny 1 copy
The Forest on the Asteroid 1 copy
Writing Class 1 copy
The Tales of Zanthias 1 copy
Accept no substitutes 1 copy
Agamemnon's Run 1 copy
Off-limits Planet 1 copy
Reborn Again 1 copy
Пиявка 1 copy
Билет на планету Транай 1 copy
Бесконечный вестерн 1 copy
The Homecoming 1 copy
In a land of clear colors 1 copy
Ciudadano del espacio 1 copy
La dimension des miracles 1 copy
Mayhem Party 1 copy
Координаты чудес.Десятая жертва.Билет на планету Транай.Обмен Разумов: Роман,повести и рассказы (1998) 1 copy
Чумной район 1 copy
Пушка, которая не бабахает 1 copy
Корпорация "Бессмертие" Цивилизация статуса; Рассказы / Роберт Шекли; [Пер. с англ. И. Почиталина и… (1999) 1 copy
Scambio mentale 1 copy
"Pokhmel'e" 1 copy
Предел желаний 1 copy
Бухгалтер 1 copy
Поединок разумов 1 copy
Битва 1 copy
Рейс молочного фургона 1 copy
Тело 1 copy
Паломничество на Землю 1 copy
Служба ликвидации 1 copy
Поднимается ветер 1 copy
Премия за риск 1 copy
Особый Старательский 1 copy
Застывший мир 1 copy
Наконец-то один 1 copy
Спецраздел выставки 1 copy
Мусорщик на Лорее 1 copy
Лаксианский ключ 1 copy
Необходимая вещь 1 copy
Ловушка на человека 1 copy
Запах мысли 1 copy
Заповедная зона 1 copy
Жертва из космоса 1 copy
The Humours 1 copy
Biglietto per Trenai 1 copy
Arnold & Gregor 1 copy
Sheckley Robert 1 copy
Double Indemnity [novelette] 1 copy
Первая жертва 1 copy
Hunger (short story) 1 copy
Tripout [short story] 1 copy
Alone at Last [short story] 1 copy
Plague Circuit [short story] 1 copy
THE STATUS CIVILIZATION - The Original Classic Sci-Fi Stories Science Fiction (Annotated) By ROBERT SHECKLEY (2011) 1 copy
Tvekamp i kosmos 1 copy
Trampa svesti 1 copy
NV Onsterfelijkheid 1 copy
Šis tas par velti 1 copy
A Imortalidade e Cª 1 copy
Chauds, les secrets 1 copy
2000x: The Watchbird 1 copy
Short Fiction Collection 1 copy
Babylon 5 1 copy
Dreamworld [short fiction] 1 copy
هیولاها 1 copy
The Swamp [short story] 1 copy
Das 10. Opfer 1 copy
Urania 0689 - OPZIONI 1 copy
Ritual [short story] 1 copy
Associated Works
The Norton Book of Science Fiction: North American Science Fiction, 1960-1990 (1993) — Contributor — 348 copies, 6 reviews
Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction (1974) — Contributor — 341 copies, 6 reviews
Devils & Demons: A Treasury of Fiendish Tales Old & New (1991) — Contributor — 289 copies, 2 reviews
The Vintage Book of Amnesia: An Anthology of Writing on the Subject of Memory Loss (2000) — Contributor — 228 copies, 2 reviews
The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural (1981) — Contributor — 220 copies, 3 reviews
Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny (1998) — Contributor — 176 copies, 1 review
Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction, Volume 9: Robots (1989) — Contributor — 121 copies, 2 reviews
The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Volume 2 (2014) — Contributor, some editions — 114 copies, 7 reviews
The Prentice Hall Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy (2000) — Contributor — 101 copies, 2 reviews
Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction, Volume 2: The Science Fictional Olympics (1984) — Contributor — 97 copies, 1 review
Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy, Volume 7: Magical Wishes (1891) — Contributor — 96 copies, 1 review
They Came From Outer Space: 12 Classic Science Fiction Tales That Became Major Motion Pictures (1980) — Contributor — 91 copies, 1 review
SF: The Year's Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy: 4th Annual Volume (1959) — Contributor — 78 copies, 1 review
The Best Fantasy Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1985) — Contributor — 77 copies, 2 reviews
Lovers & Other Monsters: A Collection of Amorous Tales of Fantasy, Old and New (1993) — Contributor — 64 copies, 1 review
A Century of Science Fiction 1950-1959 : The Greatest Stories of the Decade (1996) — Contributor — 63 copies, 2 reviews
Twenty Houses of the Zodiac: Anthology of International Science Fiction (1979) — Contributor — 47 copies, 1 review
Visions of Tomorrow: Science Fiction Predictions that Came True (2010) — Contributor — 40 copies, 1 review
The Wild Years 1946-1955 (Amazing Science Fiction Anthology Series) (1987) — Contributor — 27 copies
Maailma mielen mukaan : yksitoista tieteisnovellia kolmeltatoista sci-fi -sarjan kirjailijalta (1986) — Contributor — 24 copies, 1 review
The Ultimate Super-Villains: New Stories Featuring Marvel's Deadliest Villains (1996) — Contributor — 23 copies
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction September 2000, Vol. 99, No. 3 (2000) — Contributor — 19 copies
Van Jules Verne tot Isaac Asimov de vijftig beste science fiction verhalen (1981) — Contributor — 17 copies, 1 review
Fremde aus dem All. Lübbes Auswahlband. Science Fiction-Geschichten. (1982) — Contributor, some editions — 15 copies
Galaxy Science Fiction 1973 November, Vol. 34, No. 2 (1973) — Contributor, some editions — 12 copies
Die Fußangeln der Zeit. Die schönsten Zeitreise- Geschichten I. (1984) — Contributor, some editions — 11 copies
Tider skal komme : 15 langtidsvarsler : en science fiction-antologi — Contributor — 5 copies
Times 4: Four Science Fiction Tales — Contributor — 4 copies
Fantastrenna — Contributor — 3 copies
Short Science Fiction Collection 072 — Contributor — 2 copies
Short Science Fiction Collection 047 — Contributor — 2 copies
Fantastic Universe October 1954 — Contributor — 2 copies
Μεγάλη Ανθολογία Ε.Φ. 1. (1934 - 1950) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Barbee, Phillips
O'Donnevan, Finn
Lang, Ned - Birthdate
- 1928-07-16
- Date of death
- 2005-12-09
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Columbia High School
New York University (BA|1951) - Occupations
- science fiction writer
- Organizations
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
- Awards and honors
- Guest of Honour, Eastercon, UK (1978)
SFWA Author Emeritus (2001) - Relationships
- Kwitney, Alisa (daughter)
- Short biography
- Robert Sheckley (1928–2005) was born in New York City and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey. He joined the army shortly after high school and served in Korea from 1946 to 1948. Returning to New York, Sheckley completed a BA degree at New York University and later took a job in an aircraft factory, leaving as soon as he was able to support himself by selling short stories. In the 1950s and '60s his stories appeared regularly in science-fiction magazines, especially Galaxy, as well as in Playboy and Esquire. In addition to the science fiction for which he is best known, Sheckley also wrote suspense and mystery stories and television screenplays; from 1979 to 1982 he was the fiction editor of Omni magazine. Sheckley traveled widely, settling for stretches of time in Greenwich Village, Ibiza, London, and Portland, Oregon. Many of Sheckley's more than fifteen novels and roughly four hundred short stories have been translated and four have been adapted for film. In 2001 he was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
- Cause of death
- brain aneurysm
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Maplewood, New Jersey, USA
Ibiza, Spain
Red Hook, New York, USA - Place of death
- Poughkeepsie, New York, USA
- Map Location
- New York, USA
Members
Discussions
Citizen of space in Good Show Sir! — bad science fiction and fantasy covers (July 2025)
Robert Sheckley--Will his work survive? in Science Fiction Fans (March 2013)
Reviews
The people trap and other pitfalls, snares, devices and delusions, as well as two sniggles and a contrivance by Robert Sheckley
This is vintage Sheckley, and I personally find his work from the 50s and 60s to be consistently fun and entertaining (something I can't always say of his later work). These are stories that are well written and often full of witty, dry humor delivered with a wink--but don't expect characters to leap off the pages at you, or any probing of the profound. Aliens tend to look like, act like, and be capable of having relations with people from Earth.
My favorites were "Proof of the Pudding," a show more story that could have come off as sexist, but was really rather touching instead; "The Odor of Thought," the tale of an insterstellar mailman stranded on a planet populated by telepathic predators; "Fishing Season" which tells of a housing track where people are going mysteriously missing; the haunted planet tale "Ghost V"; "The Victim from Space" about a clueless spacefarer who ingratiates himself with planetary natives with a dark secret; "Shall We Have a Little Talk?" in which a capitalist explorer tries to trick the natives; "The Petrified World" about a man who lives in a world where everything is constantly changing; and "The People Trap" a sort of precursor tale to "The Running Man." In fact, the only tale in this collection that left me disappointed was "Redfern's Labyrinth" a sort of Borgesian excercise in metatext that didn't really work for me. show less
My favorites were "Proof of the Pudding," a show more story that could have come off as sexist, but was really rather touching instead; "The Odor of Thought," the tale of an insterstellar mailman stranded on a planet populated by telepathic predators; "Fishing Season" which tells of a housing track where people are going mysteriously missing; the haunted planet tale "Ghost V"; "The Victim from Space" about a clueless spacefarer who ingratiates himself with planetary natives with a dark secret; "Shall We Have a Little Talk?" in which a capitalist explorer tries to trick the natives; "The Petrified World" about a man who lives in a world where everything is constantly changing; and "The People Trap" a sort of precursor tale to "The Running Man." In fact, the only tale in this collection that left me disappointed was "Redfern's Labyrinth" a sort of Borgesian excercise in metatext that didn't really work for me. show less
A vintage paperback, collecting ten stories (in the UK edition) from the early to mid-1950s. Indeed, reading a slender A-format paperback (only 125 pages) was a pleasure in itself when compared with the somewhat inflated B-format books now so commonplace. I read through this in three sittings in the course of one day.
Sheckley was a master of the short form; I visualised some of these stories as Twilight Zone episodes, and indeed The Altar almost played itself out for me in black-and-white! show more Cost of Living has a timely warning on consumer debt.
A couple of the stories betray their age in their attitudes to women, but even then Sheckley undermines even a modern reader's expectations by giving female characters agency in sometimes surprising ways.
The title story is a classic where two spaceship pilots running short of supplies find themselves stranded in an alien warehouse full of food they cannot eat, with labels like "VIGROOM - FILLS ALL YOUR STOMACHS AND FILLS THEM RIGHT!" and "VORMITASH - AS GOOD AS IT SOUNDS!".
Perhaps the stand-out story for me was Watchbird, where robot birds are deployed to predict murderous intent and prevent the crimes happening (a theme familiar from the "Precrime" in Philip Dick's 1956 novella - and [much] later film - Minority Report). But the robot birds have "learning circuits" and begin to learn human behaviour too well. This story could be almost contemporary - change some of the vocabulary to include the words "AI", "algorithm" and "drone", and a modern reader wouldn't turn a hair.
The collection ends with another classic, The Seventh Victim.
Many of the best of these stories have been reprinted since in other collections. but this is worth acquiring if you see a copy. And frankly, any Robert Sheckley is worth acquiring. show less
Sheckley was a master of the short form; I visualised some of these stories as Twilight Zone episodes, and indeed The Altar almost played itself out for me in black-and-white! show more Cost of Living has a timely warning on consumer debt.
A couple of the stories betray their age in their attitudes to women, but even then Sheckley undermines even a modern reader's expectations by giving female characters agency in sometimes surprising ways.
The title story is a classic where two spaceship pilots running short of supplies find themselves stranded in an alien warehouse full of food they cannot eat, with labels like "VIGROOM - FILLS ALL YOUR STOMACHS AND FILLS THEM RIGHT!" and "VORMITASH - AS GOOD AS IT SOUNDS!".
Perhaps the stand-out story for me was Watchbird, where robot birds are deployed to predict murderous intent and prevent the crimes happening (a theme familiar from the "Precrime" in Philip Dick's 1956 novella - and [much] later film - Minority Report). But the robot birds have "learning circuits" and begin to learn human behaviour too well. This story could be almost contemporary - change some of the vocabulary to include the words "AI", "algorithm" and "drone", and a modern reader wouldn't turn a hair.
The collection ends with another classic, The Seventh Victim.
Many of the best of these stories have been reprinted since in other collections. but this is worth acquiring if you see a copy. And frankly, any Robert Sheckley is worth acquiring. show less
Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley (New York Review Books Classics) by Robert Sheckley
Archived on openlibrary.org. Don't miss the introduction.
"Language might actually be compared to the sparkling, ever-changing face of the sea. Like the sea, you never know what reefs may be concealed in its pellucid depths. The brightest water hides the most treacherous shoals."
What a bunch of short, strange, and def. not sweet stories. Not all are SF, either, for example 'Cordle to Onion to Carrot.' But even while reading that one, we can admit that it's Speculative, in its own way. Mostly show more pretty bleak, but with black humor too. Intelligent, but not pretentious.
Unfortunately there's lots of "the man and the girl" and other casual sexism. But he objectifies and satirizes the male pov too, so it's really not so unpalatable as it could be.
Definitely recommended to those interested in the history of quality science fiction. show less
"Language might actually be compared to the sparkling, ever-changing face of the sea. Like the sea, you never know what reefs may be concealed in its pellucid depths. The brightest water hides the most treacherous shoals."
What a bunch of short, strange, and def. not sweet stories. Not all are SF, either, for example 'Cordle to Onion to Carrot.' But even while reading that one, we can admit that it's Speculative, in its own way. Mostly show more pretty bleak, but with black humor too. Intelligent, but not pretentious.
Unfortunately there's lots of "the man and the girl" and other casual sexism. But he objectifies and satirizes the male pov too, so it's really not so unpalatable as it could be.
Definitely recommended to those interested in the history of quality science fiction. show less
Robert Sheckley was a master of science fiction short stories that warned us to be careful what we wish for because disaster could follow if our dreams come true.
The collection’s title story, “Pilgrimage to Earth,” is the best of the bunch. It first appeared as “Love, Inc.” in Playboy. A young man from a farming planet comes to Earth to find true love. He finds just what he wants for sale at a good price, but it is not, of course, what he bargained for. Reading it is like watching show more a train wreck—you don’t want it to happen, but you can’t stop watching, and in this case, laughing—and feeling guilty about doing so.
The stories often take shots at conformity and consumerism. Characters frequently make deals with aliens and unscrupulous humans that backfire in creative ways. In “Protection,” for instance, a man hires an alien to warn him of dangers in his future but discovers that doing so also increases the threats he faces. It may be an allegorical critique of the 1950s arms race.
I wish Sheckley were still around to poke fun at the Internet economy. show less
The collection’s title story, “Pilgrimage to Earth,” is the best of the bunch. It first appeared as “Love, Inc.” in Playboy. A young man from a farming planet comes to Earth to find true love. He finds just what he wants for sale at a good price, but it is not, of course, what he bargained for. Reading it is like watching show more a train wreck—you don’t want it to happen, but you can’t stop watching, and in this case, laughing—and feeling guilty about doing so.
The stories often take shots at conformity and consumerism. Characters frequently make deals with aliens and unscrupulous humans that backfire in creative ways. In “Protection,” for instance, a man hires an alien to warn him of dangers in his future but discovers that doing so also increases the threats he faces. It may be an allegorical critique of the 1950s arms race.
I wish Sheckley were still around to poke fun at the Internet economy. show less
Lists
Read in 2015 (1)
Reading LIst (2)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 415
- Also by
- 222
- Members
- 12,805
- Popularity
- #1,831
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 233
- ISBNs
- 574
- Languages
- 20
- Favorited
- 28
