Harlan Ellison’s work shaped the science-fiction, fantasy, and horror genres in the twentieth century, and this collection of his best-known and most-acclaimed stories is a perfect treasury for old Ellison fans as well as listeners discovering this zany, polyphonic writer for the first time.

Robert A. Heinlein's Gentlemen, Be Seated! is a gripping and suspenseful science fiction short story that highlights themes of ingenuity, survival, and the indomitable human spirit in the face of disaster. Originally published in 1948, this classic tale exemplifies Heinlein's ability to blend technical realism with high-stakes adventure. Set in a near-future lunar colony, the story follows an experienced space reporter and a group of lunar workers who find themselves in a life-threatening situation when a structural failure causes a dangerous air leak in an underground tunnel.

Robert A. Heinlein's The Black Pits of Luna is an exciting and suspenseful science fiction short story that explores the dangers of space exploration, the resilience of the human spirit, and the thrill of adventure beyond Earth. First published in 1948, this classic tale showcases Heinlein's ability to craft realistic yet gripping narratives set in the expanding frontier of space. The story follows a young boy who, while on a family trip to the Moon, gets separated from his group during a guided tour of the lunar surface.

The Green Hills of Earth blends Heinlein's characteristic exploration of human nature with a lyrical examination of the costs of space exploration and the human desire for connection to home. The story also delves into the role of art and poetry in expressing the deeper emotions and longings of those who venture into the unknown. This short story is a masterful exploration of the tension between adventure and sacrifice, reminding listeners of the emotional costs of leaving behind everything that is familiar in the pursuit of new frontiers.

Robert A. Heinlein's The Long Watch is a powerful and emotional science fiction short story that explores themes of duty, sacrifice, and the moral courage of an individual standing against tyranny. First published in 1949, this story is part of Heinlein's Future History series and remains one of his most poignant and enduring tales. The story follows Lieutenant John Dahlquist, a young officer in the Space Patrol, who finds himself in a critical moral dilemma.

Robert A. Heinlein's Space Jockey is a gripping short story that offers a realistic and human perspective on space travel. First published in 1947, this tale explores the challenges faced by commercial space pilots in a future where spaceflight has become routine but remains physically and emotionally demanding. The story follows Jake Pemberton, a seasoned pilot navigating the vast emptiness of space while balancing the pressures of his job with the strains of family life back on Earth.

Harlan Ellison's masterwork of myth and terror as he seduces all innocence on a mind-freezing odyssey into the darkest reaches of mortal terror and the most dazzling heights of Olympian hell in his finest collection. Deathbird Stories is a collection of 19 of Harlan Ellison's best stories, including Edgar and Hugo winners, originally published between 1960 and 1974.

Dive into the imaginative universe of one of science fiction's most celebrated authors with The Classic Collection of Isaac Asimov. This illustrated anthology features a selection of Asimov's most captivating stories, including "Youth," "Let's Get Together," "Robot AL-76 Goes Astray," "Super-Neutron," and "Ring Around the Sun," among others. Asimov's masterful storytelling explores profound themes such as the intricacies of human-robot interactions, the complexities of youth and maturity, and the wonders of the cosmos.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were only three major television networks. And there was only one Harlan Ellison taking them all to task in a series of weekly essays he wrote for the countercultural, underground newspaper, the Los Angeles Free Press, a.k.a. “The Freep”. For nearly four years, he channel-surfed through the mire of ABC, CBS, and NBC, finding little of value but much to critique. No one offered a more astute analysis of the idiot box’s influence on American culture, or its effects on the intelligence and psyche of viewers.

Robert A. Heinlein's Searchlight is a gripping and suspenseful science fiction short story that highlights the power of human ingenuity and technological advancement in overcoming life-threatening challenges. First published in 1962, this tale is a testament to Heinlein's ability to blend hard science with emotional depth. The story revolves around a young blind girl, an exceptionally talented pianist, who becomes lost on the Moon after an accident during a lunar expedition.

The following books are included: Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories of the Hung-Up Generation and Love Ain't Nothing but Sex Misspelled.

We Also Walk Dogs is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History stories, it was first published in Astounding Science Fiction (July 1941, as by Anson MacDonald) and collected in The Green Hills of Earth (and subsequently The Past Through Tomorrow).

The original teleplay that became the classic Star Trek episode, with an expanded introductory essay by Harlan Ellison, The City on the Edge of Forever has been surrounded by controversy since the airing of an "eviscerated" version - which subsequently has been voted the most beloved episode in the series' history. In its original form, The City on the Edge of Forever won the 1966-67 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Teleplay. As aired, it won the 1967 Hugo Award.

With an introduction by J. J. Pierce, this volume features the 12 most important stories by Cordwainer Smith, a unique writer who has fused wonder and poetry into imaginative tales that transcend both science and fiction.

The following books are included: Paingod and Other Delusions, I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream, and From the Land of Fear.

Harlan Ellison’s work shaped the science-fiction, fantasy, and horror genres in the twentieth century, and this collection of his best-known and most-acclaimed stories is a perfect treasury for old Ellison fans as well as listeners discovering this zany, polyphonic writer for the first time.

The original teleplay that became the classic Star Trek episode, with an expanded introductory essay by Harlan Ellison, The City on the Edge of Forever has been surrounded by controversy since the airing of an "eviscerated" version - which subsequently has been voted the most beloved episode in the series' history. In its original form, The City on the Edge of Forever won the 1966-67 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Teleplay. As aired, it won the 1967 Hugo Award.

This collection shows a vibrant young writer with a wide-ranging imagination, ferocious creative energy, devastating wit, and an eye for the wonderful and terrifying and tragic. Among the gems are "All the Sounds of Fear", "The Sky Is Burning", "The Very Last Day of a Good Woman", and "In Lonely Lands". Though they stand tall on their own merits, they also point the way to the sublime stories that followed soon after and continue to come even now, more than 50 years later.

Harlan Ellison's masterwork of myth and terror as he seduces all innocence on a mind-freezing odyssey into the darkest reaches of mortal terror and the most dazzling heights of Olympian hell in his finest collection. Deathbird Stories is a collection of 19 of Harlan Ellison's best stories, including Edgar and Hugo winners, originally published between 1960 and 1974.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were only three major television networks. And there was only one Harlan Ellison taking them all to task in a series of weekly essays he wrote for the countercultural, underground newspaper, the Los Angeles Free Press, a.k.a. “The Freep”. For nearly four years, he channel-surfed through the mire of ABC, CBS, and NBC, finding little of value but much to critique. No one offered a more astute analysis of the idiot box’s influence on American culture, or its effects on the intelligence and psyche of viewers.

The following books are included: Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories of the Hung-Up Generation and Love Ain't Nothing but Sex Misspelled.

In a career spanning more than 50 years, Harlan Ellison has written or edited 75 books; more than 1700 stories, essays, articles and newspaper columns; two dozen teleplays; and a dozen movies. Now, for the first time anywhere, Troublemakers presents a collection of Ellison's classic stories—chosen by the author—that will introduce new listeners to a writer described by the New York Times as having "the spellbinding quality of a great nonstop talker, with a cultural warehouse for a mind."

In a post-apocalyptic future, 15-year-old Vic wanders the wasteland with Blood, his genetically-altered telepathic dog, in the Hugo Award-nominated and Nebula Award-winning novella, A Boy and His Dog - the basis of the cult classic film. An intergalactic conspiracy infects the minds of the most powerful politicians in the Republican Party - and only one jolly old elf can save them in “Santa Claus vs. S.P.I.D.E.R.” And in the Hugo Award-winning title story, disparate threads of violence, conflict, and conversation weave an intricate tapestry across worlds and times.

The following books are included: Paingod and Other Delusions, I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream, and From the Land of Fear.

With this, his bestselling and most critically acclaimed collection ever, Ellison celebrates four decades of brilliant, outrageous writing. The award-winning novella Mefisto in Onyx is the centerpiece of an irreverent and wildly imaginative book that the San Diego Union-Tribune called "electrifying … Ellison is back, as unsettling as ever."

A collection of twenty thought-provoking essays from “one of the most brilliant, innovative, and eloquent writers on earth” (Publishers Weekly).

Millions of years beyond our time, our Earth has long since stopped spinning—and giant flora have taken over the sunlit half of the motionless world. Here humans are among the very few animal species that still exist, struggling to survive against enormous odds, but they have become small and weak, and their numbers have dwindled to almost nothing. When the aging leader of Gren's tribe decrees it is time for the old ones to go "Up," the younger are left to make their own way below.

In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn't been heard of in 70 years: murder. That's the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a 10-year death struggle with rival D'Courtney Enterprises.Terrorized in his dreams by The Man with No Face and driven to the edge after D'Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival and bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence.

This volume is the definitive collection of the best science fiction novellas published between 1929 and 1964, containing 11 great classics. No anthology better captures the birth of science fiction as a literary field. Published in 1973 to honor stories that had appeared before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame introduced tens of thousands to the wonders of science fiction and was a favorite of libraries across the country.

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Neil Clarke has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year's writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome "sensawunda" that the genre has to offer.