Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley [Paperback]

An NYRB Classics Original

Robert Sheckley was an eccentric master of the American  short story, and his tales, whether set in dystopic city­scapes, ultramodern advertising agencies, or aboard spaceships lighting out for hostile planets, are among the most startlingly original of the twentieth century. Today, as the new worlds, alternate universes, and synthetic pleasures Sheckley foretold become our reality, his vision begins to look less absurdist and more prophetic. This retrospective selection, chosen by Jonathan Lethem and Alex Abramovich, brings together the best of Sheckley’s deadpan farces, proving once again that he belongs beside such mordant critics of contemporary mores as Bruce Jay Friedman, Terry Southern, and Thomas Pynchon.“Sheckley is . . . powerful . . . fantastic . . . brilliant . . .his wry twistings of reality . . . are absolutely unique.”  — Roger Zelazny

“Because Sheckley leavened his darkest visions with wit and aburdist plotting, he is considered one of science fiction’s seminal humorists, a precursor to Douglas Adams.”
—The New York Times

The late Sheckley was known for a dark satirical style that keeps some of the more dated material in this retrospective collection fresh….Editors Lethem and Abramovich provide an insightful introduction but otherwise let the individual stories stand on their own.    — Publishers Weekly

….collection of classic sci-fi stories from the '50s and '60s, which melds the wit of Ray Bradbury with the philosophical undertones of Philip K. Dick….comic and thought-provoking gems.    —The Bookseller(UK)

Science fiction’s premier gadfly. —Kingsley Amis

Witty and ingenious . . . a draught of pure Voltaire and tonic. — J. G. Ballard

“If the Marx Brothers had been literary rather than thespl³Y