Недокоснат от човешки ръце

by Robert Sheckley, Робърт Шекли, Виолета Чушкова (Translator)

Според американската критика Робърт Шекли е ненадминатият майстор на късия разказ. От 1952 год. до днес той вълнува многобройните си читатели с невероятните увлекателни, остроумни и забавни истории, които съчинява. Характерно за него е това, че той не поучава и не развлича, а просто размишлява заедно с читателя за живота. Предлаганият сборник е съставен от разкази, писани изключително през ранния период от творчеството на Шекли.


Цената на живота
Cost of Living, 1952

Травмираният
The Impacted Man, 1952

Недокоснат от човешки ръце
Untouched by Human Hands [= One Man’s Poison], 1953

Специалистът
Specialist, 1953

Седмата жертва
Seventh Victim, 1953

Клопка за хора
The People Trap, 1968

Жертвата от космоса
The Victim from Space, 1957

Мирисът на мисълта
The Odour of Thought, 1953

Доказателството
Proof of the Pudding, 1952

Лаксианският ключ
The Laxian Key, 1954

Последното оръжие
The Last Weapon, 1953

Дипломатически имунитет
Diplomatic Immunity, 1953

Служба „Премахване“
Disposal Service, 1955

Нощен страх
Fear in the Night, 1952

Защита
Protection, 1956

Земя — въздух — вода — огън
Earth, Air, Fire and Water, 1955

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Humor, Anthologies

309 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

One of science fiction's great humorists, Sheckley was a prolific short story writer beginning in 1952 with titles including "Specialist", "Pilgrimage to Earth", "Warm", "The Prize of Peril", and "Seventh Victim", collected in volumes from Untouched by Human Hands (1954) to Is That What People Do? (1984) and a five-volume set of Collected Stories (1991). His first novel, Immortality, Inc. (1958), was followed by The Status Civilization (1960), Journey Beyond Tomorrow (1962), Mindswap (1966), and several others. Sheckley served as fiction editor for Omni magazine from January 1980 through September 1981, and was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001.

Reviews

[Vit Babenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Sheckley, as a raconteur of weird fantastic tales, remains unsurpassed… At least I’ve never read science fiction quirkier…
The Monsters is about impossibility to comprehend the alien mores… A spaceship lands on the planet inhabited by some snakelike creatures… And the monsters are earthlings…

Cordovir saw at once that he had been right. The thing that crawled out of the hole was twin-tailed. It was covered to its top with something partially metal and partially hide. And its color! Cordovir shuddered.
The thing was the color of wet, flayed flesh.

In a dystopian story Cost of Living absolutely everything is automatized… Man should just push a button…
The Altar is a wicked vignette of the hidden in time ancient cult in the modern small town… 
Shape is a brilliant and witty tale of the failed alien invasion…
In The Impacted Man there is a hole in the tissue of time…
In Untouched by Human Hands two starving spacemen discover an alien warehouse full of alien food… Will they find there anything they can eat?

Casker prodded the block again. It giggled louder, this time with a disgusting little simper.
“Okay,” Casker said, “what do we try next?”
“Next? What’s wrong with this?”
“I don’t eat anything that giggles,” Casker stated firmly.

The King’s Wishes is a sci-fi fairy tale about a fabulous ancient jinn stealing things in the contemporary world…
Warm is a psychedelic horror piece… 
The Demons is a stupendous mystical lampoon…
Specialist is a smart and matchless space opera about a spaceship composed of the living sapient beings…
Seventh Victim is a dreary dystopia taking place in the future… Manhunt is legal… Everybody can become a homicidal hunter…

Anyone who signed up to murder, under the government rules, had to take his turn a few months later as Victim – if he survived.
That, in essence, was the setup. The individual could commit as many murders as he wanted. But between each, he had to be a Victim. If he successfully killed his Hunter, he could stop, or sign up for another murder.

The future keeps growing curiouser and curiouser…

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got interested in this collection after seeing the review of a GR Friend. On looking it up I found it was “included” in my Audible subscription, meaning I didn’t need to use any credits for it, so it was the audio version I listened to.

These stories were published in the early 1950s. Some could be classed as sci-fi but others really fit within the genre of fantastical stories or fantasy. A number are humorous, others most definitely not. One frequent theme is interaction between humans and aliens, but told from the alien perspective.

In the opening story, Monsters, aliens observe the arrival of human explorers on their planet, an inversion of the normal “alien invasion” story. The humans do not intend to be aggressive, but it soon becomes clear that there is a distinct clash of moral values between the species! One of the later stories, Ritual, also explores the idea of different cultures not understanding one another.

The Cost of Living is a prophetic tale about a society where people have become addicted to consumer goods. Everyone “must” have the latest gadget, with sore results. The Altar is the first of the fantasy stories, but a really good one. An average guy living in a small New Jersey town stumbles upon a sort of parallel dimension full of weird religious cults.

Keep your Shape is another tale where the characters are from an alien species, but these ones are bent on invading Earth. There’s a more peaceful human-alien interaction in Specialist, a supremely imaginative story and one of my favourites in the collection. Similarly, the title story involves humans encountering strange alien artefacts.

The Impacted Man features a New Yorker caught in a rip in spacetime, which means that whenever he travels up or down (in the sense of down a stairwell or up a hill) he travels either back or forward in time. This story focuses on the idea of the time paradox, as does The King’s Wishes, an amusing entry about a genie who travels forward in time to steal modern technology in order to fulfil his master’s wishes.

The Demons was another fantastical entry, very funny and another of my favourites. The Seventh Victim is a great story about a world where deadly combat is legalised, within a section of the population that volunteers to engage in it. The story entitled Warm had a different feel to the others in this collection, and was perhaps the most disturbing. The collection ends with a short tale called Beside Still Waters, an appropriate vehicle with which to end the collection.

This is a collection for those who want to indulge their imagination.

[Charlie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun and imaginative stories each exploring a different aspect of human nature. And a little bonus- blatantly where King got his idea for The Running Man from.

[Gary Sundell · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book I have ever read by Robert Sheckley. 13 short stories, most of which appeared in Galaxy magazine in 1952 and 1953. The collection was originally published in 1954. I enjoyed all but one of the stories. Most of the stories are humorous sf. Thankfully Open Road Media has republished most of Sheckley's order works.

[Ele Munjeli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outrageously original, wickedly funny sci-fi. I was lamenting the quality of recent sci-fi reads to a librarian (Jim, from the Fiction Department of LAPL Central) and he handed me this book. The copy I read was lushly vintage, with spotted pages and an anonymous rebound cover. The real wow is the fact that this collection of short stories, some the most modern I've ever read, was published in the 1954. Initially, I was impressed by the distinctively feminist tone of several stories; gender issues are prominent for Sheckley. After reading his Wikipedia Bio, I suspect the powerful (and often sinister or stupid) female characters are the result of his own troubled relationships (he married five times.) The author's bitter, cerebral satires had a nearly Russian flavor; at times the situations slide into slapstick. Every story was a gem, but I'll always be especially fond of 'Monsters', the first, because the brilliance of the author was so unique and unexpected. He makes Ray Bradbury seem as sedate as Alice Munro.

[Julio Bernad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quizá no fuera Robert Sheckley el primer autor estadounidense que percibió el potencial oculto que encerraba ese ingenuo y desdeñado género pulp que tanto disfrutaba el currante de a pie, pero desde luego fue uno de los que logró crear tramas inmortales que, aún a día de hoy, siguen reciclándose en el cine de ciencia ficción. Robert Sheckley se aleja de los encorsetados modelos de la ciencia ficción de la Edad de Oro escritos en piedra por Hugo Gernsback y John W Campbell Jr. para tomar un camino más libre, más fresco, en el que prima más la imaginación y el humor y en el que ciencia ficción y fantasía se entremezclan. Sheckley se parece más a un Bradbury cachondo, un Fredric Brown contenido o un R. A. Lafferty con los pies en la tierra. Sus cuentos son muy sencillos y, por eso, tan inteligentes y satisfactorios, recayendo todo su peso en la fuerza imaginativa de sus premisas, siempre brillantes y frescas. No parece que estos cuentos hayan envejecido, al menos no en el fondo, si mucho en la forma.

Los relatos incluidos en esta antología son los siguientes:

Los monstruos (***): en un planeta desconocido habita una raza con una cultura muy diferente a la nuestra, en la que las discusiones son siempre objetivas, aunque acaben con algún que otro muerto, y las mujeres sean asesinadas por sus maridos a las pocas semanas de convivencia. Cuando una expedición humana arribe al planeta, el choque cultural será inevitable.

El coste de la vida (****): una despiadada crítica al capitalismo y al consumismo desaforado que seguramente leyó, y disfrutó, J.G. Ballard. Un padre de familia empeña su vida y la de su hijo para que la familia pueda disfrutar de todos los adelantos tecnológicos, por muy absurdas que sean sus funciones.

El altar (***): un hombre extraño llega a un pequeño pueblo estadounidense preguntando por un lugar desconocido para el narrador, natural de la localidad. Aunque éste es incapaz de guiarlo a su destino, el extraño lo encuentra sin dificultad y se sincera con el narrador: pertenece a una logia secreta.

Forma (****): una raza extraterrestre con la capacidad de adoptar cualquier forma a conveniencia ambiciona conquistar la Tierra. Ninguna de las avanzadillas expedicionarias logró su objetivo, todas desaparecieron, presumiblemente derrotadas. Para esta última excursión se ha seleccionado un equipo peculiar, compuesto por varios integrantes que no se ajustan como deberían al rígido sistema de Formas estipulado y que simpatizan peligrosamente con la herejía amorfa, que proclama que cualquiera debería tener derecho a adoptar cualquier forma deseada sin estar obligados de por vida a cumplir un rol en la sociedad.

El hombre afectado (*****): una empresa constructora de universo ha cometido un pequeño error al programar el continuo espacio tiempo en su último encargo. Al parecer, un ser humano, un hombre que está a punto de comenzar una nueva vida en un nuevo hogar con su mujer, se ha visto envuelto en una paradoja temporal: si se desplaza en el eje X todo está bien, pero si lo hace en el Y se desplazará, también, atrás o adelante en el tiempo. Pura originalidad, imaginación y comedia.

Alimentos y venenos (****): dos exploradores caen a un planeta abandonado por sus antiguos ocupantes. Sin comida ni bebida, los protagonistas deberán buscar e identificar en lo que aparentemente es un almacén de productos variados algo comestible que llevarse a la boca. De nuevo, el problema de la comunicación, pero esta vez tratado en clave de humor y con un final tan sorprendente como disparatado. Por cierto que el título en inglés mola mil veces más que la traducción al español.

Los deseos del rey (****): un matrimonio, dueños de una tienda de electrodomésticos, descubren que alguien está afanándose parte de sus productos. El responsable es un genio que, incapaz de realizar más magia que la de viajar en el tiempo, se ve obligado a proveerse de los aparatos necesarios para conceder los deseos de su dueño.

La voz (**): un hombre enamorado, a punto de acudir a su cita, escucha una voz desconocida en su cabeza que le pide ayuda. El más flojo.

Los demonios (****): cuando un vendedor de seguros dobla la esquina es trasportado, mágicamente, al interior de un pentagrama dibujado con tiza en un lugar que, a todas luces, debe tratarse del infierno. Ante él tiene a Nelzebú, su invocador, que reclama sus servicios como demonio para conseguir quince mil kilometros de destro. De negarse a satisfacer su deseo, le amanaza con encerrarlo en una botella. El pobre vendedor de seguros tendrá que salir de esta situación utilizando todo su ingenio.

El especialista (***): tras una tormenta solar, una nave espacial queda varada en el insondable vacío cósmico. Pero esta nave es muy peculiar, pues todos sus componentes tienen vida y conciencia: su estructura está construida a partir de muchas razas distintas que cumplen distintas funciones para el correcto funcionamiento del vehículo. La tormenta en cuestión ha dañado a su Pujante, el único capaz de lograr acelerar la nave por encima de la velocidad de la luz.

La séptima víctima (****): en el futuro, para evitar la guerra que acabe con todas las guerras, se ha creado un Ministerio de Catarsis Emocional al que puede apuntarse cualquier persona que deseé asesinar a un semejante. Al entrar en este ministerio lo hará en calidad de Cazador, de asesino, pero estará obligado a ejercer de Victima una vez cometido el acto y huir de su cazador. Así, cazadores y víctimas pueden matarse y defenderse sin poner en riesgo al resto de la población, que no alberga sentimientos homicidas. Si el cazador logra matar a diez víctimas y, a su vez, sobrevivir al ataque de diez cazadores, ingresará en el selecto club de los diez. El protagonista de este relato va ya por su séptima víctima; es un cazador experimentado. Sin embargo, su siguiente víctima le ha quitado toda la diversión a este deporte: se trata de una mujer, una que se niega a tomar precauciones y parece esperar resignada a su verdugo.

Ritual (***): una raza extraterrestre ha concebido una extensa batería de rituales y danzas para recibir a sus dioses, seres llegados de las estrellas que, al aterrizar en el planeta, realizan una serie de gestos agónicos que los nativos interpretan de maneras totalmente arbitrarias.

Las quietas aguas del espacio (***): un hombre desencantado vive solo en un asteroide, cultivando su propio alimento. Para soportar la soledad construye un robot, al que va educando para que sus respuestas sean cada vez más variadas, espontáneas y humanas. Este relato, en manos de Bradbury, hubiera sido inmortal. A Sheckley se le da mejor ser gracioso que melancólico.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Robert Sheckley were writing today, much of his work would likely be thought of as Speculative Fiction, rather than Science Fiction. He's a master at taking a novel concept that turns the world, or some notion of the expected, on it's head in some aspect, and using that as the backdrop to tell a focused, entertaining story, often sprinkled with ample humor and tongue-in-cheek wit. Although relatively unknown today, I've read enough Sheckley by now to recognize him for a true golden age SF master.

This is a fantastic collection. A few thoughts on the individual stories:

The Monsters 5/5 - Cute first contact story from an alien perspective

Warm 5/5 - Creepy twilight zone like story as a man questions the composition of his reality

Specialist 5/5 - A ship comprised of all alien, organic components seeks a human to replace a crucial missing part

Seventh Victim 4/5 - In the future, society abolishes war, and finds other outlets to express the human need for violence

Beside Still Waters 3/5 - Very short piece about an isolated spacer and the bonds he grows with this custom programmed robot

Untouched by Human Hands 5/5 - Hilarious tale of two starving astronauts, desperately seeking food, who stumble across an alien warehouse full of surprises

[Никола Чалъков · Rating 5 out of 5]

Оригинални, изключително смешни, без нищо излишно, с неочакван край - разказите на Шекли в този сборник са истинско бижу на научната фантастика. Ще си прекарате прекрасно, докато ги четете, дори и да не сте от най-големите фенове на жанра, защото авторът определено знае как да разкаже интересна история.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Es posible producir un semillero gigante de ideas en apenas un puñado de cuentos allá por los años 50 y que aún hoy se note su huella en infinidad de obras? Tiene respuesta y se dice con un nombre: Robert Sheckley.

¿Cómo? ¿Que estoy exagerando un poco? ¿Que tampoco será para tanto? ¿Que a este no lo conoce ni Blas? Pues vean. Antes de que Ann Leckie creara su nave espacial consciente, Robert Sheckley escribió "El especialista"; antes de que Cameron (y otros muchos) revirtiera los papeles entre humanos y alienígenas, Robert Sheckley escribió "El monstruo"; antes de que James DeMonaco se hinchara los bolsillos con la franquicia de "La Purga", Robert Sheckley escribió "La séptima víctima"; antes de que surgieran multiversos como setas, Robert Sheckley escribió "El hombre afectado"; antes de que Brandon Sanderson creara las ingeniosas formas de los Parshendi, Robert Sheckley escribió –¿adivinan qué?– "La forma".

Todo esto y mucho más en un pequeño volumen de unas ciento cincuenta páginas, plagado de humor, de mala leche, satírico en cada página, y descatalogado desde hace décadas, cómo no.

[PostMortem · Rating 5 out of 5]

За пръв път чета Шекли и съм много доволен. Разказите в сборника ми дадоха от всичко - фантастика, ужас, хумор. Имаше само един-два разказа, които поставям на по-ниско ниво, всички останали бяха чук.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Sheckley's first book; curiously, it appeared in simultaneous hardback and paperback editions from Ballantine in March of 1954. It contains a bakers' dozen stories, most of which originally appeared in genre magazines (Fantasy, Fantastic, Amazing, Astounding, F & SF, but primarily Galaxy) in a surprisingly brief span of 1952 and '53. There's a bit of traditional sf and space opera, a lot of satire and humor, but mostly character-driven stories of speculation. Fifteen years later and they would have labeled him as New Wave. Included is the original version of his best-known story Seventh Victim, which was filmed a time or two, expanded to novel length, and has been cited as an influence on King's The Running Man. The stories are a little dated in spots, but still fun and fast and easy to read.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be one of Sheckley's best collection of short stories. It's a fun, witty look at the human condition. Enjoyable all the way through!

[Alex Memus · Rating 3 out of 5]

TLDR
Читать Шекли приятно. Он не напрягает, не нудит и не топит за судьбы человечества. Он иронизирует и пытается шутить. В итоге, два рассказа в сборнике прям крутые, два ужасные (прям хотелось скипнуть) и остальные просто вызывают улыбку. Панчлайны Шекли не очень-то маскирует, потому угадать их можно заранее. В итоге, получается не так смешно, как стендап, но и не так тягомотно как Саймак. Хочется или юмора или глубины побольше. Но следующий сборник всё-таки тоже прочитаю.

Это очевидно означало, что я могу писать только так, как я могу писать, не важно, насколько сильно я стараюсь.

Детали
* Самый главный респект Шекли, что у него есть четкий авторский голос. Я много прочитал книг из 40х и 50х. Там меняются темы, но стиль у всех примерно одинаковый. Скорее отражает время, чем самих авторов. Можно было бы большие куски текста перетаскивать из книжки в книжку, и читатели бы не заметили подмены. А с Шекли такой номер не пройдет. Дайте мне рассказ Шекли — и я его угадаю сразу.
* Лучший рассказ номер 1 "Тепло". В нём Шекли доводит идею солипсизма до логического завершения. И на голову перепрыгивает Бестера и его "Человека без лица". Вообще, я много медитирую и мои внутренние переживания очень похожи на перипетии главного героя. Попадание было прям слово в слово.
* Лучший рассказ номер 2 "Стоимость жизни". В нём Шекли почти не шутит, но чётко угадывает наш мир. Тот, в котором у каждого айфон и кредит на этот айфон, а в космос мы так и не полетели. А ещё это мир, в котором технологии делают всё больше работы, а люди бездумно нажимают кнопки. Это иронично и страшно одновременно.
* Два самых слабых рассказа "На берегу спокойных вод" и "Алтарь". В них тупо ничего не происходит. А сам сеттинг слишком примитивный, чтобы быть интересным сам по себе. Без панчлайна в конце после рассказов остаётся обида на автора что ли.
* В рассказе про растущую шпаклевку я вспомнил, что видел какой-то фильм в детстве про это. Там большой зеленый шар заполнял комнаты. Но нагуглить и найти его я не смог. Если вдруг вы понимаете о чём я, то напишите в комменте, как она назывался, пожалуйста.
* В рассказах-середнячках Шекли больше всего рассуждает про профессии (aka специализацию) людей. В этом смысле он такой настоящий делец с Уолл-Стрит из 50х. Но однозначного ответа у Шекли нет. Где-то профессии тяготят героев, где-то окрыляют. Словно автор насыпает разные переменные в свой генератор — печатную машинку — и на выходе получаются разные исходы. Красиво. Но происходит всё это в разных вселенных.

Я прочитал эту книгу для обсуждения на подкасте про научную фантастику «Худо Не Было». Послушать можно тут: https://share.transistor.fm/s/7bb03a46

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I moved to Grinnell College as a freshman to room with my high school friend Richard Hyde, our nextdoor neighbor in Loose Hall was one Rick Strong, a sophomore from Riverdale in the Bronx. He was the first New Yorker I ever got to know, the first serious musician, and, like me, a long-time science fiction fan.

Unlike me at that time, Rick was also very funny and had a particular liking for Robert Sheckley, himself a science fiction writer of a humorous bent. This, I believe, was the first Sheckley book Rick loaned me. I read it at Grinnell's Project House, the campus radical hotbed where I spent a lot of time during the first year there.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Sheckley is one of the best short story writers to come along in the 20th century in science fiction. This book is a collection of stories from 1954. Some were published in Galaxy and other scifi magazines popular back then. If you love a good story, you are going to like this collection.

[Andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

More like 6 out of 5! I can't believe this outrageously funny, clever, and original author has escaped my notice until now - every story in this collection, which range from sci-fi to fantasy, was brilliant. Sheckley's humor is astute and situational (akin to Patchett or Adams) and his originality unparalleled. Some stories had me laughing out loud, and others deep in thought. He brings wit to all his observations about the human psyche and his settings are original and comical, oftentimes observing humans through the eyes of utterly alien lifeforms.

A highly recommended read to, well, anyone really, it's just so damn good.

[Ben Loory · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is sheckley's very first collection (1954). it's nice because he hasn't quite narrowed his focus yet so there are a lot of very different kinds of stories. some of them don't do much for me but some are among my favorites of his (including "the monsters," "the altar," "the impacted man," the PKD-ian "warm," and above all "shape," which is really just a beautiful story, kind of like The Far Side gone biblical).

probably gonna take a little break from sheckley now. before i completely dull the edge.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story collection by one of the overlooked SF masters of the 1950's - 1960's. Clever & darkish. Recommended to fans of Douglas Adams &/or Theodore Sturgeon.

[Simina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, hilarious, and modern!

[Zantaeus Glom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had 'Shards of Space' and The Status Civilization' by Robert Sheckley in my library for a wee while, and, sadly, I hadn't got round to reading them (shame on me!) But I recently picked up a copy of 'Untouched by Human Hands' and found it to be an absolute heady delight from start to finish!

Much like the equally trail-blazing Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Sheckley is an artist, a true adept of short fiction, and, frankly, a bit of a visionary when it comes to sardonic, short-form SF / fantasy.

Rarely in this particular idiom will you find a complete collection of stories that are so compulsively readable; generally there will be a limp squib or three; this is absolutely not the case with 'Untouched by Human Hands'. The first tale 'Monsters' is a pristine example of A) The perfect sf short story and B) the unmitigated genius of Sheckley. It's hard to precis his work as you really don't want to give anything away, so I won't; if you have yet to experience the sublime imaginings of Sheckley, this compact, yet hugely literary tome will make for an exhilarating experience!

[Красимира · Rating 5 out of 5]

Прекрасен сборник с разкази на един от любимите ми писатели фантасти Робърт Шекли. Свежи, стегнати и динамични истории, написани с неповторимо чувство за хумор, което понякога преминава в социална сатира. Повечето разкази биха могли да служат за пример за изграждане на сюжет с неочакван край. Задължителна книга за любителите на жанра!

[Neven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable classic sci-fi, structured in the Twilight Zone tradition. Often funny, always concise.

[Nujood AlMulla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The short stories carefully curated and narrated by Robert Sheckley made me feel like a kid again, an extremely intelligent, nerdy kid with an aptitude for philosophy, moral dilemmas and the human psyche. My first impression was: THIS ACTUALLY FEELS LIKE READING EPISODES FROM THE 1950’S BELOVED SHOW: THE TWILIGHT ZONE, which is my ultimate favourite TV series of all time. Other than ‘The Altar’ and the short story actually titled ‘Untouched by Human Hands’, which were the only two I didn’t really enjoy, the stories were marvellous.

The Monsters
In ‘The Monsters’ we live in a village in outer space where man’s main function is to resist novelty and limit the female population, where the ‘honourable’ thing to do is to kill one’s wife after 25 days of marital bliss, where ‘untruths’ are unaccepted and moral grounds are everything. As these inhabitants encounter a strange species who come to rescue the females who live in a stock piling unit, they initially seek to find out whether these species are “human beings or monsters”, they are ofcourse perceived as ‘inhumane monsters’ as these simple inhabitants define intelligence as “axiomatically meaning standards of differentiation, differentiation implies right and wrong” where right and wrong are not flexible or subjective, they are simply what they’ve been told was right and wrong from a sociopath’s point of view generations ago, void of any argument, any judgement and any contemplation of natural instinct.

Cost of Living
This story was more relevant to our time than any other. It tells the story of a suicide in an ultra luxurious society where technology advancement is everything, where life is nothing but a series of financial transactions to meet the ever so evolving standards of living, where kids cannot dream of going to Mars, of exploring the galaxy due to the chain of debts inherited to them by the previous generations. Wanting more is everything in this society and what everyone wants is to do less work and PUSH MORE BUTTONS. Pushing buttons ofcourse inevitably leads to disengagement as it does not meet our cognitively complicated brains that long for activity and presence. However everyone is distracted by the new shiny button pressing advanced tech that they do not bother to contemplate about the act of button pushing, until they finally do.

Keep Your Shape
This is a galactic poem to freedom, to escaping tyranny, to embracing one’s potential regardless of the limitations others may enforce to contain it. An extremely melting pile of cheesy lessons wrapped in a charming story about an alien shape shifting crew that is sent to conquer earth, only to find out about the oppression they were subjected to in their caste based planet.

The Impacted Man
A whimsical little tale about how the galaxy is designed, where the fabric of space and time IS ACTUAL FABRIC, where time worm holes are constructional accidents, where the ‘END OF THE WORLD’ is just a calculated decision of extraction to maintain the grand galaxy in balance, away from chaos, ultimately preventing a paradox, where manufacturing new designer planets are the responsibility of the hottest bidder. This will surely make you appreciate the author and wonder just what kind of a mind did he possess, he took the challenge of ‘imagining just how the world was designed’ to a whole new unexpected level.

Untouched by Human Hands
Main takeaway: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison, one man’s poison is another man’s meat and sometimes, one man’s poison is just another man’s poison”

Watchbird
FINALLY SOME DEADLY GOOD OLD TERMINATOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. This was actually adapted into a short film, that I can’t wait to watch. A profound telling of how just foolish man can be when it comes to mechanisation. Tasking a new designer autonomous robot with the vital task of ‘ending homicide ’, the Watchbirds start interpreting the death of crops, the death of animals, killing mosquitos and spiders, surgical intervention, stopping one’s metal machine ‘a car for example’ as unethical unacceptable homicide and start a series of fatal and catastrophic death string of their own to fulfil their blind duties. Only the tragedy is that they are countered by an even more powerful machines as governments look for a ‘quick fix’. This kind of made me think about COVID too and what the powerful is willing to compromise to contain a catastrophe as soon as possible without truly evaluating the long term risks. What a WORLD ?!

Warm
This actually might be the least SCI-FI but my personal FAVOURITE. Warm is a story of a biological and physical manifestation of the state of desensitisation and entry into the void. If you ever contemplated the phenomenon of absurdity, of what it’s like to truly disengage from the world, well here’s your chance to learn about it from a physicist’s perspective.

"Basically, there is no form. Man produces gestalts, and cuts form out of the plethora of nothingness. It's like looking at a set of lines and saying that they represent a figure. We look at a mass of material, extract it from the background and say it's a man. But in truth there is no such thing. There are only the humanizing features that we—myopically—attach to it. Matter is conjoined, a matter of viewpoint”.

Specialist
This story was also a charmer and presented many paradoxical ideas about specialty versus cooperation. I guarantee you you’ve never read anything like this in YOUR LIFE AND NEVER WILL. He decomposes a spaceship into a cooperative crew of a TALKER, A THINKER, an EYE, WALLS, a FEEDER, an ACCELERATOR seeking to replace their beloved latest crew member THE PUSHER where they kidnap a new PUSHER from the planet of pushers and try to convince him to stay on board to save the world and spread inter-galactic peace.

Seventh Victim
I believe this was also adapted into actually many films and stories starting from the Hunger Games and Purge. Based on the notion that man has an internal desire to kill and in an effort to end all wars, governments construct an extremely profitable scheme to allow those who would like to kill with the opportunity. This actually might be a genius idea as it at least eradicates a portion of the population who is innately evil and evil seeking as the victims assigned through the plot are also voluntary killers.

Well there you have it, a little snippet of Sheckley’s genius, borderline insane collection of Sci-Fi short stories. Definitely worth the read, least of all, to remember what unstoppable imagination looks like.

[Marc Goldstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

9 "The Monsters"
Humans make first contact with an alien race. Told from the POV of the aliens, who must kill their female mates every 25 days to prevent the female population from exploding.

8 "Cost of Living"
A man always must have the best for his family and he can always sign up his income to pay the easy terms. Then, he can sign up for his children's income and where will it end?

5 "The Altar"
A "what might be lurking hidden and unknown in your town" horror tale.

6 "Keep Your Shape"
Aliens invade Earth repeatedly but they always fail. Why do the advance parties keep failing?

6 "The Impacted Man"
Problems with minor faults cause trouble for the construction company that builds the Earth, among other things.

5 "Untouched by Human Hands"
Two stranded explorers, having run out of food, find a deserted alien warehouse but how can they work out what is edible?

6 "Warm"
A man hears a voice in his head and it leads him to a terrible fate. The voice is his own, drawing him into a parallel universe. A fate like Sisyphus.

7 "Specialist"
Told from the POV of an alien spacecraft composed of interlocking intelligent beings. In a storm, the crew loses its “Pusher,” who alone can make the ship travel at FTL speed. The crew desperately searches for a replacement. Humans turn out to be primitive pushers, and one man is abducted and shown his rightful place in the universe.

6 "Seventh Victim"
Murder is legalized under certain circumstances. You apply to hunt and are assigned a victim. If you survive, you will become a victim for another in your turn. The protagonists’ seventh victim turns out to be a woman with an apparent death wish. She seduces him and then kills him as he lowers his guard to profess his love.

[Bryan]

Sci-fi short stories from the 1950s. Considered one of the best sci-fi short story writers of all time. He had a humorous bent similar to Douglas Adams at times, though these are not really humorous stories. See also his other short story collections from this period:

Pilgrimage to Earth
Citizen in Space

[Olga]

Nostalgia?
I found this when I tried to search for a vaguely remembered TV puppet play from my childhood - in Russia.
All I recalled was a tall marionette whose phrase, "I am Ferrara of the Ferras" stuck in my head for decades.
But internet is magic.
Here it is!
It is from the story "King's Wishes".
Along with that one there is a collection of classic fantasy by Robert Sheckley.
Very creative, each one is different and very enjoyable. Irony, humor, sci fi elements.
This is why 1950s are sometimes called "Golden Age of Science Fiction".
I hope some younger readers discover it as well.

[Ruskoley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good stories - as can be expected of Sheckley. Generally unique and fun, but occasionally with a dose of melancholy and wistfulness.

"Warm" is the most esoteric, but also nihilistic. My favorite in this collection is probably "The Impacted Man."

This collection is recommended for all readers.

[Artem Gavrishev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Легко и весело. Возможно Дуглас Адамс вдохновлялся Шекли.

Прекрасный пример того, как можно без лишних деталей написать фантастический рассказ: просто помещаешь героев на "склад разного хлама на другой планете". И все. Дальше просто фантазируешь практически без ограничений.

[Kenji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheckley's short stories are excellent. I like them, especially Arnold & Gregor's stories.

[Chiaralletti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ho definitivamente fatto pace con i "racconti", che prima non amavo troppo.
E questi sono fighissimi.
Con un ringraziamento speciale a chi me l'ha regalato per i miei primi 30 anni.