T. L. Sherred

A collection of original science fiction stories by such noted authors as Ray Bradbury, Ben Bova, and Kurt Vonnegut.

At his death in 1985, Sherred left an unfinished sequel to Alien Island, which author Lloyd Biggle, Jr. completed and published as Alien Main. Set on Earth some two hundred years after aliens had nearly destroyed life on the planet, the novel finds descendants of the aliens returning to atone for the atrocities committed by their ancestors. They find that the inhabitants of Earth are now living in tribes, with no connections except for a common belief in a goddess, whose return they await. While reviewer Gerald Jonas deemed Alien Main "not very ambitious," he nevertheless found the work offers a "pleasant blend of surprise and predictability," concluding: "Books such as this are the nourishing bread and butter of science fiction."

The Martian Way - novelette by Isaac Asimov Earthman, Come Home - novelette by James Blish Rogue Moon - novella by Algis Budrys The Spectre General - novella by Theodore R. Cogswell (variant of The Specter General) [as by Theodore Cogswell] The Machine Stops - novelette by E. M. Forster The Midas Plague - novella by Frederik Pohl The Witches of Karres - novelette by James H. Schmitz E for Effort - novelette by T. L. Sherred In Hiding - novelette by Wilmar H. Shiras The Big Front Yard - novella by Clifford D. Simak The Moon Moth - novelette by Jack Vance

Little Lost Robot - novelette by Isaac Asimov Tomorrow's Children - novelette by Poul Anderson and F. N. Waldrop [as by Poul Anderson] Child's Play - novelette by William Tenn Time and Time Again - short story by H. Beam Piper Tiny and the Monster - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon E for Effort - novelette by T. L. Sherred Letter to Ellen - short story by Chan Davis The Figure - short story by Lawrence L. LeShan [as by Edward Grendon] With Folded Hands ... - novelette by Jack Williamson The Fires Within - short story by Arthur C. Clarke Zero Hour - short story by Ray Bradbury Hobbyist - novelette by Eric Frank Russell Exit the Professor - short story by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore [as by Lewis Padgett] Thunder and Roses - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon

Earth had not been attacked–no, indeed–and the Visitors were not about to allow the Establishment to intervene between them and the man-in-the-street. The Establishment had, in fact, been spending considerable time, energy and (taxpayers') money on an effort to shield the tender, hyper-sensitive feelings of the public from the panic it assumed would result were it ever to become generally known that the Earth had Visitors–and had been having them for several years. It was, of course, the Establishment which was scared witless. So they were bypassed. And there wasn't a thing the united governments of the Earth could do about it. Except for their unitedly witless Secret Services...

Little Lost Robot - novelette by Isaac Asimov Tomorrow's Children - novelette by Poul Anderson and F. N. Waldrop Child's Play - novelette by William Tenn Time and Time Again - short story by H. Beam Piper Tiny and the Monster - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon E for Effort - novelette by T. L. Sherred Letter to Ellen - short story by Chan Davis The Figure - short story by Lawrence L. LeShan [as by Edward Grendon] With Folded Hands ... - novelette by Jack Williamson The Fires Within - short story by Arthur C. Clarke Zero Hour - short story by Ray Bradbury Hobbyist - novelette by Eric Frank Russell Exit the Professor - short story by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore [as by Lewis Padgett] Thunder and Roses - novelette by Theodore Sturgeon Don't Look Now - short story by Henry Kuttner He Walked Around the Horses - novelette by H. Beam Piper The Strange Case of John Kingman - short story by Murray Leinster That Only a Mother - short story by Judith Merril The Monster - short story by A. E. van Vogt Dreams Are Sacred - novelette by Peter Phillips Mars Is Heaven! - short story by Ray Bradbury Thang - short story by Martin Gardner Brooklyn Project - short story by William Tenn Ring Around the Redhead - short story by John D. MacDonald Period Piece - short story by John R. Pierce [as by J. J. Coupling] Dormant - short story by A. E. van Vogt In Hiding - novelette by Wilmar H. Shiras Knock - short story by Fredric Brown A Child Is Crying - short story by John D. MacDonald Late Night Final - novelette by Eric Frank Russell

Which in itself is a pretty odd question. But it is in fact typical of science fiction, a field of writing which examines the usual the better to extrapolate the unusual, which revels in oddity, in looking at things upside down, or backwards, or even forwards, which delights in the strange juxtaposition, the reversed field, the apparent contradiction--and which is, indeed, the genre where T. L. Sherred is certainly one of the first and most significant of writers (although not necessarily peculiar). His work is rare and precious and it is therefore all the more pleasurable to be able to present this collection.