Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley

Edited by Alex Abramovich and Jonathan Lethem.

Robert Sheckley was an eccentric master of the American short story, and his tales, whether set in dystopic city-scapes, ultramodern advertising agencies, or aboard spaceships lighting out for hostile planets, are among the most startlingly original of the twentieth century.  Today, as the new worlds, alternate universes, and synthetic pleasures Sheckley foretold become our reality, his vision begins to look less absurdist and more prophetic.  This retrospective selection, chosen by Jonathan Lethem and Alex Abramovich, brings together the best of Sheckley's deadpan farces, proving once again he belongs beside such morbid critics of contemporary mores as Bruce Jay Friedman, Terry Southern, and Thomas Pynchon.