Dusty Zebra by Clifford D Simak
Tales of science fiction and adventure from the Hugo Award-winning author of Way Station and City.
The long and prolific career of Clifford D. Simak cemented him as one of the formative voices of the science fiction and fantasy genre. The third writer to be named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, his literary legacy stands alongside those of Robert A. Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. This striking collection of nine tales showcases Simak's ability to take the everyday and turn it into something truly compelling, taking readers on a long journey in a very short time.
In "Dusty Zebra," Joe discovers a portal that allows him to exchange everyday objects with an entity he can neither see nor hear, and soon learns that one man's treasure may be another dimension's trash. In "Retrograde Evolution," an interplanetary trading vessel tries to figure out how to deal with a remote society that has suddenly decided to become far less civilized. And in "Project Mastodon," an unusual ambassador from an unheard-of country offers amazing opportunities in a place the modern world can never compete with: the past. Simak's mastery of the short form is on display in these and six other stories.
Each story includes an introduction by David W. Wixon, literary executor of the Clifford D. Simak estate and editor of this book.
The long and prolific career of Clifford D. Simak cemented him as one of the formative voices of the science fiction and fantasy genre. The third writer to be named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, his literary legacy stands alongside those of Robert A. Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. This striking collection of nine tales showcases Simak's ability to take the everyday and turn it into something truly compelling, taking readers on a long journey in a very short time.
In "Dusty Zebra," Joe discovers a portal that allows him to exchange everyday objects with an entity he can neither see nor hear, and soon learns that one man's treasure may be another dimension's trash. In "Retrograde Evolution," an interplanetary trading vessel tries to figure out how to deal with a remote society that has suddenly decided to become far less civilized. And in "Project Mastodon," an unusual ambassador from an unheard-of country offers amazing opportunities in a place the modern world can never compete with: the past. Simak's mastery of the short form is on display in these and six other stories.
Each story includes an introduction by David W. Wixon, literary executor of the Clifford D. Simak estate and editor of this book.
Praise for Clifford DSimak
“To read science fiction is to read Simak. A reader who does not like Simak stories does not like science fiction at all.” —Robert A. Heinlein
“Like Olaf Stapledon and SF’s later mystics, Simak could dream on a grand scale. . . . Thoreau or Wordsworth would feel at home in his isolated houses rooted in natural landscapes.” —Locus
“Simak is the most underrated great science fiction writer alive, and has never written a bad book.” —Theodore Sturgeon
“I read [Simak’s] stories with particular attention, and I couldn’t help but notice the simplicity and directness of the writing—the utter clarity of it. I made up my mind to imitate it, and I labored over the years to make my writing simpler, clearer, more uncluttered, to present my scenes on a bare stage.” —Isaac Asimov
“Without Simak, science fiction would have been without its most humane element, its most humane spokesman for the wisdom of the ordinary person and the value of life lived close to the land.” —James Gunn
“To read science fiction is to read Simak. A reader who does not like Simak stories does not like science fiction at all.” —Robert A. Heinlein
“Like Olaf Stapledon and SF’s later mystics, Simak could dream on a grand scale. . . . Thoreau or Wordsworth would feel at home in his isolated houses rooted in natural landscapes.” —Locus
“Simak is the most underrated great science fiction writer alive, and has never written a bad book.” —Theodore Sturgeon
“I read [Simak’s] stories with particular attention, and I couldn’t help but notice the simplicity and directness of the writing—the utter clarity of it. I made up my mind to imitate it, and I labored over the years to make my writing simpler, clearer, more uncluttered, to present my scenes on a bare stage.” —Isaac Asimov
“Without Simak, science fiction would have been without its most humane element, its most humane spokesman for the wisdom of the ordinary person and the value of life lived close to the land.” —James Gunn
Simak, Clifford D.: - Clifford Donald Simak (1904 - 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He was honored by fans with three Hugo Awards and by colleagues with one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. Simak became interested in science fiction after reading the works of H. G. Wells as a child. His first contribution to the literature was The World of the Red Sun, published by Hugo Gernsback in the December 1931 issue of Wonder Stories. Within a year he placed three more stories in Gernsback's pulp magazines and one in Astounding Stories, then edited by Harry Bates. But his only science fiction publication between 1932 and 1938 was The Creator (Marvel Tales #4, March-April 1935), a story with religious implications, which was then rare in the genre. Once John W. Campbell, at the helm of Astounding from October 1937, began redefining the field, Simak returned and was a regular contributor to Astounding Science Fiction (as it was renamed in 1938) throughout the Golden Age of Science Fiction (1938-1950). At first, as in the 1939 serial novel Cosmic Engineers, he wrote in the tradition of the earlier super science subgenre that E. E. Doc Smith perfected, but he soon developed his own style, which is usually described as gentle and pastoral. During this period, Simak also published a number of war and western stories in pulp magazines. His best-known book may be City, a fix-up novel based on short stories with a common theme of mankind's eventual exodus from Earth. Simak continued to produce award-nominated novels throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Aided by a friend, he continued writing and publishing science fiction and later, fantasy into his 80s. He believed that science fiction was not rooted in scientific fact, but was responsible for the failure of the genre to be taken seriously and stated his aim was to make the genre a part of what he called realistic fiction.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781504069052 |
| ISBN 10 | 1504069056 |
| Title | Dusty Zebra |
| Author | Clifford D Simak |
| Series | Complete Short Fiction Of Clifford D Simak Ser |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Open Road Media |
| Year published | 2021-10-12 |
| Number of pages | 348 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |