Golden Age Science Fiction Short Stories: The Marching Morons, A Pail of Air, Second Variety, The Defenders, The Last Evolution, The Star, In The Year 2889 and A Martian Odyssey Audiobook

About the Authors

Jules Verne (1828–1905) is considered by many the father of science fiction. Born in Nantes, France, he studied law but turned to writing opera libretti until the 1863 publication of Five Weeks in a Balloon, the first of his Extraordinary Voyages series. Its success encouraged him to produce a number of classic and prophetic science fiction novels, including Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. His stories foresaw many scientific and technological developments, including the submarine, television, and space travel.

Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks and won over fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.

Fredric Brown (1906–1972) was the only writer to achieve equal prominence in the mystery and science fiction genres. His first foray into mystery, The Fabulous Clipjoint, won the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Brown was also the acknowledged master of the short short story; the famous collection Nightmares and Geezenstacks demonstrates his consummate mastery of a form limited to no more than five hundred words. His short story “Arena” was the basis of a famed Star Trek episode; “Martians, Go Home!” was adapted for a 1992 film; “The Last Martian” was adapted for Serling’s Twilight Zone and starred Steve McQueen at the start of his career. Brown’s work, more than forty years after his death, is increasingly prominent.

H. G. Wells (1866–1946) earned a reputation as “a prophet of his time,” thanks to groundbreaking classics such as The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds. Born into humble beginnings in Kent, England, Wells rose to become one of the most widely read and influential authors of the 20th century. In addition to his many short stories, Wells’s visionary themes continue to resonate, securing his legacy as a pioneer of science fiction and modern thought.

Philip K. Dick (1928–1982) published thirty-six science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned toward deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2007 the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

Robert Sheckley (1928–2005) was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous, quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist, and broadly comical. In 2001 he was named an Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

About Saethon Williams

Algernon Blackwood (1869–1951) led a rich and varied life. Storyteller, mystic, adventurer, and radio and television personality, he is best remembered for his two superlative horror stories, “The Willows” and “The Wendigo.” But in his lifetime he wrote over 150 stories, at least a dozen novels, two plays, and quite a few children’s books as well. By the time of his death, he had become one of the greatest writers of supernatural fiction in the twentieth century.