Best Science Fiction Stories of Clifford D. Simak

Man! I can't believe the lack of reviews for one of the best, most prolific and long-lived SF authors ever. And it's a "BEST OF" collection! Reading Simak at times is like floating down a lazy river or taking a liesurely stroll with an old friend. He's got a country bumpkin type of approach. I love it. I like Simak's "Robot Stories" better than Asimov's because of his style. In fact, my favorite story in this collection was a robot story. ALL THE TRAPS OF EARTH examines what it would be like to be a robot with hundreds of years of memories and suddenly be faced with the threat of having all those memories taken away. Then to runaway from that situation and become an instantly recognizable fugitive, hitch a ride on the side of a spaceship and the effect warp-drive would have on a robot's uninsulated positronic brain. Oh, there's so much more to the story, but I can't tell you. CRYING JAG is definately a "feel good" story, as almost all of them are. This is good stuff and definately "a keeper" on my shelf.

Man! I can't believe the lack of reviews for one of the best, most prolific and long-lived SF authors ever. And it's a "BEST OF" collection! Reading Simak at times is like floating down a lazy river or taking a liesurely stroll with an old friend. He's got a country bumpkin type of approach. I love it. I like Simak's "Robot Stories" better than Asimov's because of his style. In fact, my favorite story in this collection was a robot story. ALL THE TRAPS OF EARTH examines what it would be like to be a robot with hundreds of years of memories and suddenly be faced with the threat of having all those memories taken away. Then to runaway from that situation and become an instantly recognizable fugitive, hitch a ride on the side of a spaceship and the effect warp-drive would have on a robot's uninsulated positronic brain. Oh, there's so much more to the story, but I can't tell you. CRYING JAG is definately a "feel good" story, as almost all of them are. This is good stuff and definately "a keeper" on my shelf.

Simak is a cerebral author whose characters spend a great deal of time analyzing puzzles and discovering solutions to problems set up for them. Unlike City, Simak's best known work, the stories in this collection are often optimistic in tone. This collection has several stories that have become my favorites: Crying Jag is a fun commentary on one of the things friends are supposed to be good for, and New Folks' Home is one of my favorite short stories of all time.