The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of the 20th Century

By: Greg Bear, Terry Bisson, David Brin, John W. Campbell, Harlan Ellison, Ursula K. Le Guin, Judith Merrill, Frederik Pohl, Eric Frank Russell, Arthur C. Clarke

Narrated by: David Ackroyd, Wil Wheaton

From Ellison to Clarke to Merrill, hear a dozen unabridged science-fiction short stories, considered the best of the best from the 20th century. They are: "Why I Left Harry's All-Night Diner" by Lawrence Watt Evans, "Jeffty Is Five" by Harlan Ellison, "The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke, "The Crystal Spheres" by David Brin, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. LeGuin, "Huddling Place" by Clifford D. Simak, "That Only a Mother" by Judith Merrill, "Fermi and Frost" by Frederick Pohl, "Tangents" by Greg Bear, "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson, "Allamagoosa" by Eric Frank Russell, and "Twilight" by John W. Campbell.©1987 by Lawrence Watt Evans; 1935 by Street & Smith Publications; 1985 by Davis Publications, Inc.; 1953, Renewed 1981 by Arthur C. Clarke; 1948 by Judith Merrill; 1973 by Ursula K. LeGuin; 1986 by Omni Publications International Ltd.; 1990 by Davis Publications Inc., "Allamagoosa", Copyright 1955 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc.; 1977 by Harlan Ellison; 1984 by David Brin; 1944 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc., Renewed 1972 by Clifford D. Simak (P)1998 by NewStar Media, Inc.

Enjoyable Variety of Science Fiction Stories

I would not be able to say that these are the greatest science fiction stories since I don't know which stories to compare them with. I would say though that they are interesting stories and that they are entertaining. I enjoyed most of them with the exception of one or two that I can't recall. The performances were great. If you like listening to science-fiction stories, then I would highly recommend this Audible book to you.

Great stories but the greatest??

A very enjoyable book of short science fiction stories. Well worth a read, but I am not sure how they got into the list of the greatest of the 20th century. That said, I would be very happy to recommend this book if you are a lover of Sci-Fi.

some great little stories

I really enjoyed this. several of the stories here are truly awesome and brain bending

If not the greatest certainly Classics...

A fine collection of stories better called Classics rather than the greatest.

However one nagging feature of this recording is that there is less than a 1 second gap between tracks! This eats up that essential pause needed after such calibre of tale for reflection.

Other than that I really enjoyed hearing these again.

Great Stories in a Nice Package

Any story anthology that includes "The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke is worth your time. From the first time I read this story a thousand or so years ago, it has stayed with me and been something I have always remembered. This is the first time I've encountered this in any audiobook, and would recommend this one simply for the joy this one piece of it will bring.

However, this anthology includes some other really remarkable stories which a sci-fi junkie will remember - but that are very accessible to anyone. Some of the best wordsmiths around are included, with some of their best stories. Some of the really outstanding ones include "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson and "Tangents" by Greg Bear. However, there are no stinkers in the whole set.

The production values are above average - a variety of narrators and they give it lots of energy in their delivery.

Overall a worthwhile investment in time. And a must-have for the true sci-fi junkie.