This is a guest post by Rick Buchan.

The Nature Of Man. Since the days of Pinocchio, inanimate devices seem mesmerized by Man and obsessed with trying to discover the answer to what it is and what it means to be human.

This quirky yet wonderful novelette, written by Roger Zelazny in 1966, illustrates the frustratingly perplex struggle to correlate genius with folly, strength with frailty, and all the promise and pratfalls of what it means to be Man! (*)
continue reading "For a Breath I Tarry by Roger Zelazny"

“Thin Edge” is a 1963 science fiction novelette by Johnathan Blake Mac Kenzie (a.k.a. Randall Garrett). It is about an asteroid miner who comes to Earth to investigate the disappearance of his friend.
continue reading "Thin Edge by Johnathan Blake Mac Kenzie"

This is a guest post by Tyler Gates.

Benjamin William Bova’s “The Next Logical Step” from 1962 is a short and sweet tale about the dangers of U.S. military hardware.
continue reading "The Next Logical Step by Ben Bova"

"Subjectivity" is a 1964 science fiction short story by Norman Spinrad. It is about the crew of an inter-stellar ship who use hallucinogenic drugs to deal with the boredom of long space flight.
continue reading "Subjectivity by Norman Spinrad"

Am I Still There?, a 1963 short story written by James R. Hall is about a man that undergoes brain surgery, and his fears about doing so.
continue reading "Am I Still There?"

“Code Three” is a 1963 science fiction novella by Rick Raphael. It is about 3 officers (and their huge patrol vehicle) who work dangerous jobs as patrolmen on the North American Continental Thruway Patrol.
continue reading "Code Three by Rick Raphael"

“Goblin Night” is a 1965 science fiction novelette by James H. Schmitz. It is about a teen aged girl whose psionic abilities cause trouble while camping in a dangerous national park.
continue reading "Goblin Night by James H. Schmitz"

“Harrison Bergeron” is a 1961 science fiction short story by Kurt Vonnegut. It is about a future society in which talented and gifted people are forced to wear handicapping equipment to make them “more normal.”

continue reading "Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut"

“Neutron Star” is a 1966 science fiction short story by Larry Niven. It is about a man sent to investigate the mysterious deaths of two space explorers who were studying the galaxy’s only known neutron star.

continue reading "Neutron Star by Larry Niven"

“We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” is a 1966 science fiction novelette by Philip K. Dick. It is about a man who desperately wants to go to Mars but can’t afford it, so he gets vacation memories implanted instead.

continue reading "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick"

“The Last Command” is a 1967 science fiction short story by Keith Laumer. It is about an old war machine that is reactivated decades after being buried in a radiation-proof landfill.

continue reading "The Last Command by Keith Laumer"

“The First Men” is a 1960 science fiction novelette by Howard Fast. It is about a group of gifted children, raised in a controlled environment, who evolve into super humans.

continue reading "The First Men by Howard Fast"

A Rose for Ecclesiastes

by Roger Zelazny

• Word count: 12431
• Page count: 29

“A Rose for Ecclesiastes” is a 1963 science fiction novelette written by Roger Zelazny. It is about a gifted linguist who is the first human allowed to read sacred Martian texts.

continue reading "A Rose for Ecclesiastes by Roger Zelazny"

The Day the Martians Came

by Frederik Pohl

• Word count: 2579
• Page count: 6

The Day the Martians Came is an interestingly abstract science fiction short story by Frederik Pohl. First published in 1967 it explores the social ramifications of humans discovering an alien race.

The story follows one night of a hotel manager as he struggles to deal with all the reporters in his establishment on the eve of NASA’s returning Algonquin Nine – an expediton to Mars.
continue reading "The Day the Martians Came by Frederik Pohl"