So, GWC, what’s your favorite sci-fi short story? Do you have one?
As for me, I think mine would have to be Asimov’s short The Last Question
The scope of the story is pretty damn impressive.
Another good story in a similar genre is “The Nine Billion Names of God” by Clarke. I promptly wrote a program to try and do that task back when I first read it, but then got bored after it ran for 24 hours and decided to use my computer for something else. As a child, I apparently had an early interest in armageddon.
For favorite short story overall, I’ll go with “The Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury.
Sandkings by George R. R. Martin is a fun little Twilight Zoney story. A Song for Lya is pretty solid, too.
My favorite short is Neil Gaiman’s “We Can Get Them For You Wholesale”, though it may not be strict sci-fi.
‘Robbie’ by Isaac Asimov holds a special place in my heart.
The Last Question reminds me of I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison. Another good one.
The Green Hills of Earth by Heinlein.
Terry Bissom’s They’re Made out of Meat.
It’s been adapted for a short opera (sort of a jazz opera, really) and a short film:
The Star by Arthur C. Clarke. You can read it online here:
They’re Made of Meat is awesome. I almost want to change my vote.
Naw, Nine Billion is a good one (although arguably not SF.)
Heinlein’s “The Long Watch” is classic science-fiction martyr heroism. Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains,” it’s just so sad, and there’s nothing to it but technology and dystopia. Tiptree’s “Last Flight of Dr. Ain,” is tragic, and one of the best short story arguments that Sci-Fi is real literature.
Stephen King’s “The Jaunt” is one that’s stayed with me for years. It’s more a horror story by the end, but it’s based around a sci-fi premise. I’m not sure if Ursula K. LeGuin’s “The Author of the Acacia Seeds” counts as sci-fi, but ever since it was pointed out to me I’ve loved it.
“A Pail of Air” by Fritz Lieber. I read this in the sixties and never forgot it, so it’s certainly stood the test of time.
One of my favorites is Time Again by Tim Maly. That story tied my brain up in knots the first time I read it.
Good choice. IMO the best story from ‘I, Robot’.
Short stories I remember : All Summer in a Day (Bradbury), The Sound of Thunder (?), I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (Ellison) are three that have stuck with me since I was a teenager.(Which was a long, long time ago. Especially The Sound of Thunder and the concept of small acts having larger consequences over time.