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"

"Health Hazard" is a 1973 science fiction short story by Howard L. Myers. It is about an inhabitant of another planet whose addiction to an Earth food eventually helps save her species.
continue reading "Health Hazard by Howard L. Myers"

"The Gulf Between" is a 1953 science fiction novella by Tom Godwin. It is about 2 soldiers who after the war compete for control of the world’s most powerful computer.
continue reading "The Gulf Between by Tom Godwin"

"The Stutterer" is a 1955 science fiction novelette by R. R. Merliss. It is about a strange galactic fugitive who flees to Earth.
continue reading "The Stutterer by R. R. Merliss"

“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"

"The Land Ironclads" is a 1903 science fiction short story by H. G. Wells. It is an eerily prophetic story about a war correspondent and a soldier in a fictitious battle between “townsmen” and “countrymen”. What’s the catch? While one side has the brawn, the other may have the brains to turn the tide of the war forever.
continue reading "The Land Ironclads by H. G. Wells"

“Raiders of the Universes” is a 1932 science fiction novelette by Donald A. Wandrei. It is about an astronomer who discovers a vicious, universe-conquering race of aliens headed for Earth!
continue reading "Raiders of the Universes by Donald A. Wandrei"

"The Beautiful People" is a 1952 science fiction short story by Charles Beaumont. It is about a normal young woman who refuses to have surgery to make her beautiful, and all the problems that causes!
continue reading "The Beautiful People by Charles Beaumont"

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a novella published in 1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a well known story about a man with a dual personality.
continue reading "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

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"

This is a guest post by Martin Dugas.

“Flowers for Algernon”, a 1959 short story by Daniel Keyes, is about a human test subject whose intelligence significantly increases after undergoing a special surgery.
continue reading "Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes"

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"

"Rappaccini’s Daughter" is an 1844 science fiction novelette by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is about a young man who discovers the strange daughter of a mad doctor.
continue reading "Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne"

"Keep Your Shape" is a 1953 science fiction short story by Robert Sheckley. It is about some aliens who try to invade a nuclear plant on Earth.
continue reading "Keep Your Shape by Robert Sheckley"

"The Hell Ship" is a 1952 science fiction novelette by Ray Palmer. It is about a man who is pressed into service on a horrific space ship.
continue reading "The Hell Ship by Ray Palmer"

"The Bicentennial Man" is a 1976 science fiction novelette by Isaac Asimov. It is about a robot who fights for his rights, and gradually becomes more human, over the long course of his life.
continue reading "The Bicentennial Man by Isaac Asimov"

"The Cosmic Expense Account" is a 1956 science fiction novelette by C.M. Kornbluth. It is about 2 men who journey into a plague area to convince a powerful woman that her strange beliefs are incorrect.
continue reading "The Cosmic Expense Account by C.M. Kornbluth"

"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"

"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"