This is a guest post by Timothy Darling.

Doctor Hugo Pinero invents a device for measuring the length of life and predicting the date and time of death. This leads to the protests of insurance companies and the potential collapse of the industry, not to mention many personal concerns, and the dilemma of a humanity confronted with knowledge that they perhaps should not have.
continue reading "Life-line by Robert A. Heinlein"

"The Chameleon Man" is a 1943 science fiction short story by William P. McGivern. It is about a man with a peculiar condition that renders him nearly invisible.
continue reading "The Chameleon Man by William P. McGivern"

“Mouse” is a 1949 science fiction short story by Fredric Brown. It is about a small vessel that lands on Earth carrying a tiny but dangerous occupant.
continue reading "Mouse by Fredric Brown"

"A Logic Named Joe" is a 1946 science fiction short story by Murray Leinster. It is about a network connected machine that can answer any and all questions!
continue reading "A Logic Named Joe by Murray Leinster"

"Housing Problem" is a 1944 speculative fiction short story by Henry Kuttner. It is about a couple who rent a room to a man with a very strange bird cage.
continue reading "Housing Problem by Henry Kuttner"

"Farewell to the Master" is a 1940 science fiction novella by Harry Bates. It is about a powerful robot whose master is killed while visiting Earth.
continue reading "Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates"

“Beauty and the Beast” written by Henry Kuttner is about an alien life form that hatches on Earth.  As he grows, the beast realizes he has some important information to give to humans.  But since there is a language barrier and a fear factor, will he live long enough to share his vital knowledge? 
continue reading "Beauty and the Beast"

“Rescue Party” is a 1946 science fiction novelette by Arthur C. Clarke. It is about an alien exploration ship sent to rescue the last of humankind before the sun goes supernova.
continue reading "Rescue Party by Arthur C. Clarke"

The Encyclopedists is part 2 of the first Foundation novel. It is here that we get our first glimpse of life on Terminus, the planet on the edge of the galaxy chosen to be the home of the Foundation.
continue reading "The Foundation Project: The Encyclopedists"

The Psychohistorians is the first part (or story) in the first Foundation novel. It begins by introducing us to Gaal Dornick who, with his newly minted doctorate degree in mathematics, is making his first inter-planetary trip to Trantor, the seat of the Galactic Empire.
continue reading "The Foundation Project: The Psychohistorians"

Twenty one years ago, at the tender age of seventeen, I read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series for the very first time. No one had recommended the books to me, and I knew absolutely nothing about the series – I just happened to pick the first one off the shelf of the book store I was visiting.
continue reading "The Foundation Project: An Introduction"

One of the cool benefits about being in the science fiction blog-o-sphere is meeting people who really, REALLY love the things they read. This is no more apparent than in the very interesting email I received a few weeks ago from a woman who said that she had reprinted (with permission) a fine press edition of Fredric Brown’s short story “Etaoin Shrdlu.”
continue reading "An Etaoin Shrdlu Limited Edition"

“Desertion” is a 1944 science fiction short story by Clifford D. Simak. It is about the director of a Jovian survey dome who keeps losing men to Jupiter’s open atmosphere.

continue reading "Desertion by Clifford D. Simak"

“The Only Thing We Learn” is a 1949 science fiction short story by Cyril Kornbluth. It is about a group of rebel ships that attack their home planet and provide proof of a recurring historical theory.

continue reading "The Only Thing We Learn by Cyril Kornbluth"

“Mimsy Were the Borogoves” is a 1943 science fiction novelette by Lewis Padgett. It is about two young children who find a box of toys sent back from millions of years in the future, and the strange effect the toys have on their mental development.

continue reading "Mimsy Were the Borogoves by Lewis Padgett"

“Nightfall” is a 1941 science fiction novella by Isaac Asimov. It is about a newspaperman who witnesses the last hours of sunlight from an observatory on the planet Lagash.

continue reading "Nightfall by Isaac Asimov"

—And He Built a Crooked House

by Robert A. Heinlein

• Word count: 7589
• Page count: 20

—And He Built a Crooked House is a science fiction short story from one of the big names among classic science fiction authors: Robert Heinlein. First published in 1941, this story explores the idea of using mathematics and the fourth dimension to build a new type of house.
continue reading "—And He Built a Crooked House by Robert Heinlein"

Marionettes, Inc.

by Ray Bradbury

• Page count: 9

Marionettes, Inc. is a famous short story by the legendary science fiction author Ray Bradbury.

Marionettes, Inc. is a story about two men who feel they are trapped in their marriages, and the desperate and misguided attempts they make to get out of them by replacing themselves with identical robots (hence the “marionettes”). However, not everything turns out as they had hoped!
continue reading "Marionettes, Inc. by Ray Bradbury"