Dusty Zebra

And Other Stories

by Clifford Simak

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Pub Date Jul 04 2017 | Archive Date Jul 18 2017

Description

Tales of science fiction and adventure from the Hugo Award–winning author of Way Station and City.

The long and prolific career of Clifford D. Simak cemented him as one of the formative voices of the science fiction and fantasy genre. The third writer to be named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, his literary legacy stands alongside those of Robert A. Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. This striking collection of nine tales showcases Simak’s ability to take the everyday and turn it into something truly compelling, taking readers on a long journey in a very short time.

In “Dusty Zebra,” Joe discovers a portal that allows him to exchange everyday objects with an entity he can neither see nor hear, and soon learns that one man’s treasure may be another dimension’s trash. In “Retrograde Evolution,” an interplanetary trading vessel tries to figure out how to deal with a remote society that has suddenly decided to become far less civilized. And in “Project Mastodon,” an unusual ambassador from an unheard-of country offers amazing opportunities in a place the modern world can never compete with: the past. Simak’s mastery of the short form is on display in these and six other stories.

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

Advance Praise

Praise for Clifford D. Simak
“To read science fiction is to read Simak. A reader who does not like Simak stories does not like science fiction at all.” —Robert A. Heinlein

“Like Olaf Stapledon and SF’s later mystics, Simak could dream on a grand scale. . . . Thoreau or Wordsworth would feel at home in his isolated houses rooted in natural landscapes.” —Locus

“Simak is the most underrated great science fiction writer alive, and has never written a bad book.” —Theodore Sturgeon

“I read [Simak’s] stories with particular attention, and I couldn’t help but notice the simplicity and directness of the writing—the utter clarity of it. I made up my mind to imitate it, and I labored over the years to make my writing simpler, clearer, more uncluttered, to present my scenes on a bare stage.” —Isaac Asimov

“Without Simak, science fiction would have been without its most humane element, its most humane spokesman for the wisdom of the ordinary person and the value of life lived close to the land.” —James Gunn