Dusty Zebra, Clifford D. Simak
Dusty Zebra, Clifford D. Simak
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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Dusty Zebra
And Other Stories

Author: Clifford D. Simak

Narrator: Stephen Bel Davies

Unabridged: 10 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/02/2024


Synopsis

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 listeners 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.

About Clifford D. Simak

During his fifty-five-year career, Clifford D. Simak produced some of the most iconic science fiction stories ever written. Born in 1904 on a farm in southwestern Wisconsin, Simak got a job at a small-town newspaper in 1929 and eventually became news editor of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, writing fiction in his spare time.

Simak was best known for the book City, a reaction to the horrors of World War II, and for his novel Way Station. In 1953 City was awarded the International Fantasy Award, and in following years, Simak won three Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award. In 1977 he became the third Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and before his death in 1988, he was named one of three inaugural winners of the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Donna

Clifford Simak was a prolific writer of short stories, mostly science fiction starting in the 1930s when the genre was new, and initially the stories were sold individually to magazines. They have been curated and released digitally by his friend, David W. Wixon, who provides a forward and brief, in......more

Metaphorosis Reviews 3.5 stars This as a very uneven collection. Some of the stories are among Simak's very best, and others are no more than adequate. To those who dropped in for Simak's trademark good-hearted, pleasant heroes, the included WW II action story is shocking in its attitudes and language......more

Goodreads review by Chuck

Clifford D. Simak was one of the absolute masters of 20th Century science fiction, his work consistently exploring strange, quirky and dark frontiers of the genre, with engrossing and sometimes quietly unsettling plots, relatable characters, and a true 'sense of wonder' that recalls the best of the......more

Goodreads review by Osman

I just love his writing. His stories are filled with unexpected trails that sometimes end suddenly which somehow works. I have never read Mr. Simak's works before, now he's foremost in my list. I can honestly say this collection of works has made me a fan. Try it, you won't regret it.......more