I Am Crying All Inside

And Other Stories (The Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak, Book 1)

By: Clifford D. Simak

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot, Jonathan Davis, Kevin T. Collins, Marc Vietor, Nick Sulliva, Scott Aiello, Josh Hurley

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

From the Nebula Award-winning author of Way Station: 10 stories - including one never before published - of mystery and imagination in a world that cannot be.

People work; folk play. That is how it has been in this country for as long as Sam can remember. He is happy, and he understands that this is the way it should be. People are bigger than folk. They are stronger. They do not need food or water. They do not need the warmth of a fire. All they need are jobs to do and a blacksmith to fix them when they break. The people work so the folk can drink their moonshine, fish a little, and throw horseshoes. But once Sam starts to wonder why the world is like this, his life will never be the same.

Along with the other stories in this collection, "I Am Crying All Inside" is a compact marvel - a picture of an impossible reality that is not so different from our own.

Also included in this volume is the newly published "I Had No Head and My Eyes Were Floating Way Up in the Air", originally written for Harlan Ellison's The Last Dangerous Visions™.

Each story includes an introduction by David W. Wixon, literary executor of the Clifford D. Simak estate and editor of this book.

©2015 the Estate of Clifford D. Simak (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Classic Simak -- what a treat!

it is amazing to read stories written so long ago that speak with such clarity to contemporary issues of science such as AI and its interface with humanity. Such foresight . . . and great story telling!

No mater what generation of S.F. reader you are, you'll find a compelling tale in this collection.

Classic science fiction short stories

Excellent narration. Collection of short stories from Hugo and Nebula award winning author of CITY, WAY STATION, etc. Classic science fiction, some written before WW2. Each story is introduced by editor David Dixon. Quite a variety of topics, styles, and themes. We enjoyed and discussed them. Some comments below:

INSTALLMENT PLAN. Third-person POV. Robots gain new skills and personalities whenever they are given a different “transmog” (never fully defined, but we can guess). Set on a distant planet. Humans. Humanid gnomes. A podar plant harvested for tranquilizer drug. A cartel of the future. Had us guessing!

I AM CRYING ALL INSIDE: More robots, AI.

ALL THE TRAPS OF EARTH: Robots again.

I HAVE NO ARMS AND MY EYES ARE FLOATING ABOVE MY HEAD. First person POV. Set on an alien planet. Creepy horror. But funny, as it’s read aloud. A human and a bunch of large lobster-like sentient beings. So this hysterically mean-spirited man rants and raves about his misfortune, finds that his hatred is his last surviving speck of humanity, and plans vengeance. But others have made plans, too. We laughed out loud. But it went on a bit too long.

OGRE. On an alien plant, the vast carpet of moss is sentient. Humans make it into blankets, cloaks. This creates an interesting effect. With music.

SMALL DEER. Epistle involving time-travel and dinosaurs, with a warning for all of us billions, especially those who indulge in too much fast food and chocolate cake. Snark.

GLEANERS: This is another time travel piece. Almost comical.

GUNSMOKE INTERLUDE: Darkly pessimistic Western, yet with humanity shining through the gloom.