The Status Civilization

The Status Civilization

Robert Sheckley

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Will Barrent had no memory of his crime . . . but he found himself shipped across space to a brutal prison-planet. On Omega, his only chance to advance himself - and stay alive - is to commit an endless series of violent crimes. The average inmate\'s life expectancy from time of arrival is three years. Can Barrett survive, escape, and return to Earth to clear his name? "Yes sir. Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...." "Quite right," Mr. Frendlyer said. "And today is Landing Day. You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon.... I\'m happy to say that everything is in order. The Landing Day Hunt ends at sundown. You can leave here with the knowledge that everything is correct and that your rights have not been violated." "Leave here? After sundown, you mean." Mr. Frendlyer shook his head and smiled sadly. "I\'m afraid not. According to the law you must leave here at once." "But they\'ll kill me!" "That\'s very true. Unfortunately it can\'t be helped. A victim by definition is one who is to be killed.... We protect rights, not victims." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Immortality, Inc

Immortality, Inc

Robert Sheckley

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Immortality, Inc. is a 1958 science fiction novella by Robert Sheckley, about a fictional process whereby a human's consciousness may be transferred into a brain-dead body. The serialised form (published under the title Time Killer in Galaxy Science Fiction in 1958-1959) was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Originally published in shorter form as Immortality, Delivered in 1958. It was filmed in 1992 as Freejack , starring Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.
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Soma Blues

Soma Blues

Robert Sheckley

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Hob Draconian, American born but a two-decade resident of Ibiza and a tie-dyed-in-the-wool hippie philosopher, divides his time between Paris and Ibiza—and when Soma, a new drug, turns up in Paris in the hands of a murdered Ibizan drug dealer, it's time for the Alternative Detective Agency to spring into action and defeat the crime syndicate that has infiltrated his beloved expatriate community. From the very beginning of his career, Robert Sheckley was recognized by fans, reviewers, and fellow authors as a master storyteller and the wittiest satirist working in the science fiction field. Open Road is proud to republish his acclaimed body of work, with nearly thirty volumes of full-length fiction and short story collections. Rediscover, or discover for the first time, a master of science fiction who, according to the New York Times, was "a precursor to Douglas Adams."
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Options

Options

Robert Sheckley

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Options is a 1975 absurdist science fiction novel by Robert Sheckley. The story is ostensibly about a marooned space traveller's attempt to get a spare part for his starship, the Intrepid III . He has a robotic guard, programmed to guard him against all planetary dangers. But soon he discovers that the robot has not been programmed for the planet where they are, with comic results. However, the narrative later descends into a mass of diversions, non-sequiturs and meditations on the nature of authorship. Eventually the diversions take over the book to the extent that the author openly introduces an increasingly bizarre succession of deus ex machina in an attempt to get the novel back on track, but eventually admits defeat.
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A Ticket to Tranai

A Ticket to Tranai

Robert Sheckley

Science Fiction & Fantasy

“Most of Seakirk’s inhabitants were indifferent to the spectacle of corruption in high places and low, the gambling, the gang wars, the teen-age drinking. They were used to the sight of their roads crumbling, their ancient water mains bursting, their power plants breaking down, their decrepit old buildings falling apart, while the bosses built bigger homes, longer swimming pools and warmer stables. People were used to it…” Robert Sheckley, A Ticket To Tranai
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