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Table of Contents:

• ...And My Fear Is Great... - (1953) - novella
• Baby Is Three - (1952) - novella

Contains:

• A Pod in the Barrier
• A Crime for Llewellyn
• The Touch of Your Hand
• Affair with a Green Monkey
• Mr. Costello, Hero
• The Girl Had Guts
• The Other Celia
• It Opens the Sky
• A Touch of Strange

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (1987) - essay by David Pringle
• Killdozer! - (1944) - novella
• The Sex Opposite - (1952) - novelette
• Mr. Costello, Hero - (1953) - novelette
• The Golden Helix - (1954) - novella
• When You're Smiling - (1955) - novelette
• And Now the News ... - (1956) - novelette
• The Other Celia - (1957) - short story
• Slow Sculpture - (1970) - novelette
• List of Sources - (1987) - essay

Baby Is Three is a novella by Theodore Sturgeon. It originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1952.

This collection, including the famous "Abreaction" and "Like Young", shows Sturgeon at the peak of his mastery of mind and heart expanding story telling.

Table of Contents:

• Need - (1960)
• Abreaction - (1948)
• Nightmare Island - (1941)
• Largo - (1947)
• The Bones - (1943)
• Like Young - (1960)

Nebula Award nominated novelette. It originally appeared in Galaxy Magazine, January-February 1973. The story can also be found in the collcetions Case and the Dreamer and Other Stories (1974) and Case and the Dreamer: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, Vol. 13 (2010).

Contents:

• Case and the Dreamer (1973)
• If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister? (1967)
• When You Care, When You Love (1962)

Contains:

• Bright Segment
• Microcosmic God
• Ghost of a Chance
• Prodigy
• Medusa
• Blabbermouth
• Shadow, Shadow on the Wall
• Twink

Short story collection:

• "Essay on Sturgeon" by Groff Conklin
• "The Silken-Swift"
• "The Professor's Teddy-Bear"
• "Bianca's Hands"
• "Saucer of Loneliness"
• "The World Well Lost"
• "It Wasn't Syzygy"
• "The Music"
• "Scars"
• "Fluffy"
• "The Sex Opposite"
• "Die, Maestro, Die!"
• "Cellmate"
• "A Way of Thinking"

A charismatic, Christ-like figure--Godbody--appears in the midst of a small American town and transforms the lives of a select few.

Nebula Award nominated novella. It originally appeared in the anthology Dangerous Visions (1967), edited by Harlan Ellison. It is included in the collections Case and the Dreamer and Other Stories (1974) and The Nail and the Oracle (2007).

"It" is a horror short story by American writer Theodore Sturgeon, first published in Unknown of August 1940. The story deals with a plant monster that is ultimately revealed to have formed around a human skeleton, specifically that of Roger Kirk, in a swamp. P. Schuyler Miller described "It" as "probably the most unforgettable story ever published in Unknown."

Nominated in 2016 for the 1941 Retro Hugo Award. It originally appeared in Unknown, August 1940. It has been reprinted many times and can be found in the anthologies:

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories That Scared Even Me (1967), edited by Alfred Hitchcock
• The Great Science Fiction Stories Volume 2, 1940 (1979), edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg
• The Horror Hall of Fame (1991), edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Robert Silverberg
• Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead (2009), edited by John Skipp
• Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! (2011), edited by Otto Penzler

The story is included in the collections:

• Alien Cargo (1984)
• The Ultimate Egoist (1995)
• Selected Stories (2000)

Hugo Award nominated story. It originally appeared in the collection Beyond (1960). It is also included in the anthology The Best of All Possible Worlds (1980), edited by Spider Robinson, and collection The Man Who Lost the Sea (2005).

This novelette originally appeared in If, July-August 1971. It can also be found in the anthologies:

• The 1972 Annual World's Best SF (1972), edtied by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha
• The Best Science Fiction of the Year #1 (1972), edited by Terry Carr
• Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year (1972), edited by Lester del Rey
• Dream's Edge (1980) edited by Terry Carr
• Worlds of If: A Retrospective Anthology (1986), edited by Joseph D. Olander, Martin Harry Greenberg and Frederik Pohl
• The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF (1994), edtied by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer

The story is included in the collections Xanadu (1973), The Stars Are the Styx (1979) and Slow Sculpture (2009).

Thirteen ingenious stories—at once breathtaking, wondrous, horrifying, and achingly human—from one of science fiction and fantasy's most influential writers

One of science fiction's most beloved trailblazers, Theodore Sturgeon wrote novels and short fiction that inspired and amazed readers and critics alike.

In Selected Stories, thirteen of Sturgeon's very best tales have been gathered into one collection: Here are stories of love and darkness, transcendence and obsession, alien contact and human interaction. In the devastating wake of a nuclear holocaust, an actress performs her swan song before a small audience of survivors. A machine is possessed and intent upon destruction. Humankind's place in the vast cosmos is explored, as is the strange humanity of evil. In the author's acclaimed story "The Man Who Lost the Sea," a life is reconstructed in bizarre shattered fragments. And in "Slow Sculpture," Sturgeon's award-winning classic, a breast cancer patient surrenders to a healer's most unorthodox methods. Lyrical, often witty, frequently provocative, and always surprising, Selected Stories covers a wide range of human and inhuman emotion and experience, deftly traversing the borders between science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Theodore Sturgeon including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the University of Kansas's Kenneth Spencer Research Library and the author's estate, among other sources.

Contents:

• A Way of Thinking (1953)
• Bianca's Hands (1947)
• Bright Segment (1955)
• It (1940)
• Killdozer! [revised] (1959)
• Mr. Costello, Hero (1953)
• Slow Sculpture (1970)
• The Golden Helix (1954)
• The Man Who Lost the Sea (1959)
• The Sex Opposite (1952)
• The Skills of Xanadu (1956)
• The [Widget], the [Wadget], and Boff (1955)
• Thunder and Roses (1947)

Hugo and Nebula Award winning novelette. It originally appeared in Galaxy Magazine, February 1970. The story can also be found in the anthologies:

• World's Best Science Fiction: 1971, edited by Terry Carr and Donald A. Wollheim
• Nebula Award Stories Six (1971), edited by Clifford D. Simak
• The Hugo Winners, Volume 3 (1977), edited by Isaac Asimov
• Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction (1980), edtied by Frederik Pohl, Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander
• The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume IV (1986), edited by Terrt Carr
• The Best of the Nebulas (1989), edited by Ben Bova

It is included in the collections:

• Sturgeon Is Alive and Well... (1971)
• A Touch of Sturgeon (1987)
• Selected Stories (2000)
• Slow Sculpture: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, Vol. 12 (2009)

Starshine -- the eerie, unmistakable fire of Ted Sturgeon's genius -- lights up unforgettably these stories of now and tomorrow...tales of aliens from far planets, men of the spaceways and creatures of darkness. From the daring of "The World Well Lost" to the tense adventure of "The Pod and the Barrier" and the brisk fantastic humor of "Derm Fool," these are Sturgeon classics -- stories you can't forget and shouldn't miss.

Table of Contents:

• "Derm Fool" - (1940)
• The Haunt - (1941)
• Artnan Process - (1941)
• The World Well Lost - (1953)
• The Pod and the Barrier - (1957)
• How to Kill Aunty - (1961)

Table of Contents:

• Foreword - (1971) - essay by Theodore Sturgeon
• To Here and the Easel - (1954)
• Slow Sculpture - (1970)
• It's You! - (1970)
• Take Care of Joey - (1971)
• Crate - (1970)
• The Girl Who Knew What They Meant - (1970)
• Jorry's Gap - (1968)
• It Was Nothing--Really! - (1969)
• Brownshoes - (1969)
• Uncle Fremmis - (1970)
• The Patterns of Dorne - (1970)
• Suicide - (1970)

Contains:

• To Marry Medusa
• The Comedian's Children
• The [Widget], the [Wadget] and Boff

Nebula Award nominated short story. It originally appaered in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1969. The story can also be found in the anthologies Nebula Award Stories Five (1970) and The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: 19th Series (1971), edited by Edward L. Ferman. It is included in the collections Sturgeon Is Alive and Well... (1971) and The Nail and the Oracle: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, Vol. 11 (2007).

Hugo Award nominated short story. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1959. The story is included in the anthologies:

• The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: Ninth Series (1960), edited by Robert P. Mills
• The 5th Annual of the Year's Best S-F (1960), edited by Judith Merril
• Toward Infinity: 9 Science Fiction Tales (1968), edited by Damon Knight
• Alpha 8 (1977) edited by Robert Silverberg
• The Arbor House Treasury of Science Fiction Masterpieces (1983), edited by Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg
• The World Treasury of Science Fiction (1989), edited by David G. Hartwell
• The Great SF Stories 21 (1959) (1990), edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg
• The Big Book of Science Fiction (2016), edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer

It is included in the collections The Golden Helix (1979), Selected Stories (2000) and The Man Who Lost the Sea (2005).

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (1979) - essay
• Tandy's Story - (1961) - novelette
• Rule of Three - (1951) - novelette
• The Education of Drusilla Strange - (1954) - novelette
• Granny Won't Knit - (1954) - novella
• When You're Smiling - (1955) - novelette
• The Claustrophile - (1956) - novelette
• The Other Man - (1956) - novella
• The Stars Are the Styx - (1950) - novelette
• Occam's Scalpel - (1971) - novelette
• Dazed - (1971) - novelette

Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Theodore Sturgeon reinvents the alien invasion novel with this heart-stopping story of a malevolent, galaxy-consuming hive mind and its surprising human host

Drunk, angry, abusive, and pathetic, Dan Gurlick exists at the very lowest level of human civilization, sleeping in junkyard cars and scrounging through garbage cans for his dinner. But his last rotting meal contains something unexpected: a spore that originated from a galaxy many light-years away. First, Dan eats the spore, then, the spore eats Dan; and the homeless alcoholic becomes a host for the Medusa. An insatiable alien hive mind, the Medusa has already consumed the life forms of a billion planets. Now, it hungers for the dominant species of Earth. But to do so, it must somehow unite the planet's intelligent creatures into a single shared consciousness: an assignment the miserable wretch Dan may prove surprisingly capable of carrying out.

To Marry Medusa is suspenseful, inventive, and surprisingly compassionate; a vibrant and unforgettable exploration of what it means to be more—or less—than human.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Theodore Sturgeon including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the University of Kansas's Kenneth Spencer Research Library and the author's estate, among other sources.

originally published in 1958 as The Cosmic Rape.

This short story originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, August 1955. It is included in the collections Caviar (1955), Alien Cargo (1984), and Bright Segment (2002).

Hugo Award nominated story. It originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1962. The story can also be found in the anthologies The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: A Special 25th Anniversary Anthology (1974), edited by Edward L. Ferman, The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction (1980), edited by Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg and The Great SF Stories 24 (1962) (1992), edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. It is included in the collections Case and the Dreamer and Other Stories (1974) and The Nail and the Oracle (2007).

This novelette originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1955. It can also be found in the anthologies S-F: The Year's Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy (1956), edited by Judith Merril, SF: The Best of the Best (1967), edited by Judith Merril, and The Great SF Stories 17 (1955) (1988), edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. The story is included in the collections A Way Home (1955), Thunder and Roses (1957), Maturity: Three Stories (1979, and Bright Segment (2002).

Retro Hugo-nominated Novella

Theodore Sturgeon's stunning debut novel, about a young boy who is drawn into a dangerous conspiracy when he leaves home to join a circus of shadows

Though only eight years old, little Horton "Horty" Bluett has known a lifetime of sadness. Tormented and abused by his adoptive family, he's had enough—and with a beloved broken toy he calls "Junky" as his sole companion, the desperate little boy runs away to join a carnival. There, among the fortune tellers, fire-eaters, sideshow freaks, and assorted "strange people," Horty hopes to find acceptance and, at long last, a real home.

But disgraced doctor Pierre "Maneater" Monetre's traveling show is no ordinary entertainment, and its performers are not what they appear to be. The Maneater has sinister plans for the world that go far beyond fleecing unsuspecting rubes and other easy marks—a dark and terrible scheme that requires unleashing the extraterrestrial power of the dreaming jewels, and the unwitting assistance of a young boy who may be far more remarkable than he's ever imagined.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Theodore Sturgeon including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the University of Kansas's Kenneth Spencer Research Library and the author's estate, among other sources.

Also published as The Synthetic Man (Pyramid Books, 1957)

Charlie Johns has been snatched from his home on 61 North 34th Street and delivered to the strange future world of Ledom. Here, violence is a vague and improbable notion. Technology has triumphed over hunger, overpopulation, pollution, even time and space. But there is a change Charlie finds even more shocking: gender is a thing of the past. Venus Plus X is Theodore Sturgeon's brilliant evocation of a civilization for whom tensions between male and female and the human preoccupation with sex no longer exist.

As Charlie Johns explores Ledom and its people, he finds that the human precepts he holds dear are profane in this new world. But has Charlie learned all there is to know about this advanced society? And why are the Ledom so intent on gaining Charlie's approval? Unsettling, compelling, and no less than visionary, here is science fiction at its boldest: a novel whose wisdom and lyricism make it one of the most original and insightful speculations on gender ever produced.

Contents:

• v - Introduction (The Cosmic Rape) - (1977) - essay by Samuel R. Delany
• 1 - The Cosmic Rape - (1958) - novel
• 161 - To Marry Medusa - (1958) - novella

The Golden Helix is a selection of Sturgeon's own favorites from among his many beautiful and unabashedly romantic fantasies. Each story is prefaced with a brief discussion by the author. "A master storyteller certain to fascinate all sorts of readers..." -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Contents:

• Introduction (The Golden Helix) - (1979) - essay
• The Golden Helix - (1954) - novella
• The Man Who Lost the Sea - (1959) - shortstory
• And Now the News... - (1956) - novelette
• The Clinic - (1953) - shortstory
• ...And My Fear Is Great... - (1953) - novella
• The Ultimate Egoist - (1941) - novelette
• The Skills of Xanadu - (1956) - novelette
• The Dark Room - (1953) - novelette
• Yesterday Was Monday - (1941) - shortstory
• "I Say... Ernest..." - (1973) - essay

First published in 1953, this most celebrated of Sturgeon's works won the International Fantasy Award, as has been touted as "a masterpiece of provocative storytelling" (The Herald Tribune).

A group of remarkable social outcasts band together for survival and discover their combined powers renders them superhuman.

Theodore Sturgeon's dark and foreboding look at the vampire myth was an instant classic when originally published in 1956. When George Smith is arrested for assaulting a senior officer, a military psychiatrist is assigned to the case. The secret of George's past is unearthed, and a history of blood lust and murder. Innovatively told through letters, interviews, and traditional narrative, Some of Your Blood effectively portrays the tragic upbringing of George Smith to his attempts at a stable life and the great love of his life to his inevitable downfall. Millipede Press is proud to present this masterpiece of macabre literature in a brand new edition.

Checklist of Sturgeon's fiction and nonfiction published in books and periodicals (including fanzines) and annotated listing of secondary material.

Timshel was once the vacation spot of the galaxy, full of culture, natural beauty, and friendly, hospitable inhabitants. But now Timshel has cut itself off from the universe. No one is allowed to enter or leave. Concerned, the Federation has sent agents to investigate, but none have returned.

Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise are shocked to discover the truth: the people of Timshel have succumbed to an insidious new technology that guarantees every citizen total pleasure, a soul-destroying ecstasy that has enslaved their entire civilization. Kirk and Spock have faced many threats before, but now they face the most seductive menace of all: perfect happiness.

And the rest of the Federation may soon fall under the irresistible control of the Joy Machine.

The Ultimate Egoist, the first volume of The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, contains the late author's earliest work, written from 1937 to 1940. Although Sturgeon's reach was limited to the lengths of the short story and novelette, his influence was strongly felt by even the most original science fiction stylists, including Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, and Gene Wolfe, all contributors of laudatory forewords. The more than forty stories here showcase Sturgeon's masterful knack with clever, O. Henry-ish plot twists, sparkling character development, and archetypal "why didn't I think of that?" story ideas. Early Sturgeon masterpieces include "It," about the violence done by a creature spontaneously born from garbage and mud, and "Helix the Cat," about an inventor's bizarre encounter with a disembodied soul and the cat that saves it. Sturgeon's unique genius is timelessly entertaining.

Table of Contents:

• Editor's Note by Paul Williams
• About Theodore Sturgeon by Ray Bradbury
• About Theodore Sturgeon by Arthur C. Clarke
• About Theodore Sturgeon by Gene Wolfe
• Heavy Insurance
• The Heart
• Cellmate
• Fluffy
• Alter Ego
• Mailed through a Porthole
• A Noose of Light
• Strangers on a Train
• Accidentally on Porpoise
• The Right Line
• Golden Day
• Permit Me My Gesture
• Watch My Smoke
• The Other Cheek
• Extraordinary Seaman
• One Sick Kid
• His Good Angel
• Some People Forget
• A God in a Garden
• Fit for a King
• Ex-Bachelor Extract
• East Is East
• Three People
• Eyes of Blue
• Ether Breather
• Her Choice
• Cajun Providence
• Strike Three
• Contact!
• The Call
• Helix the Cat
• To Shorten Sail
• Thanksgiving Again
• Bianca's Hands
• Derm Fool
• He Shuttles
• Turkish Delight
• Niobe
• Mahout
• The Long Arm
• The Man on the Steps
• Punctuational Advice
• Place of Honor
• The Ultimate Egoist
• It
• Butyl and the Breather
• Story Notes by Paul Williams
• Look About You [poem]

The second of thirteen volumes that reprint all Sturgeon's short fiction covers his prolific output during 1940 and 1941, after which he suffered five years of writer's block. Showcasing Sturgeon's early penchant for fantasy, the first six selections include whimsical ghost stories, such as "Cargo," in which a World War II munitions freighter is commandeered by invisible, peace-loving fairies.

With the publication of his enduring science fiction classic, "Microcosmic God," Sturgeon finally found his voice, combining literate, sharp-edged prose with fascinating speculative science while recounting the power struggle between a brilliant scientist, who creates his own miniature race of gadget makers, and his greedy banker. Every one of the stories here is entertaining today because of Sturgeon's singular gifts for clever turns of phrase and compelling narrative. As Samuel R. Delaney emphasizes in an insightful introduction, Sturgeon was the single most influential science fiction writer from the 1940s through the 1960s.

Table of Contents:

• Editor's Note by Paul Williams
• Foreword: Theodore Sturgeon by Samuel R. Delany
• Cargo
• Shottle Bop
• Yesterday Was Monday
• Brat
• The Anonymous
• Two Sidecars
• Microcosmic God
• The Haunt
• Completely Automatic
• Poker Face
• Nightmare Island
• The Purple Light
• Artnan Process
• Biddiver
• The Golden Egg
• Two Percent Inspiration
• The Jumper
• Story Notes by Paul Williams
• Microcosmic God: Unfinished Early Draft

Killdozer! is the third volume of a series of the complete short stories from Theodore Sturgeon's career. It contains a few of his best and most famous short stories: "Medusa", "Killdozer!" and "Mewhu's Jet." The series editor Paul Williams has dug into the background of each story, and come up with a lot of interesting lore about Sturgeon. Especially of interest in this volume is the alternative original ending to "Mewhu's Jet."

Table of Contents:

• Editor's Note by Paul Williams
• Foreword by Robert Silverberg
• Blabbermouth
• Medusa
• Ghost of a Chance
• The Bones
• The Hag Séleen
• Killdozer! (revised)
• Abreaction
• Poor Yorick!
• Crossfire
• Noon Gun
• Bulldozer is a Noun
• August Sixth, 1945
• The Chromium Helmet
• Memorial
• Mewhu's Jet
• Story Notes by Paul Williams
• Afterword by Robert A. Heinlein

Thunder and Roses is the fourth volume in The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon. Included in Thunder and Roses are 15 stories, with major works like "Maturity," "The Professor's Teddy Bear," "A Way Home," and the title story, in addition to two works never published before.

Table of Contents:

• Editor's Note by Paul Williams
• Foreword by James E. Gunn
• Maturity (1947)
• Tiny and the Monster (1947)
• The Sky Was Full of Ships (1947)
• Largo (1947)
• Thunder and Roses (1947)
• It Wasn't Syzygy (1948)
• The Blue Letter
• Wham Bop! (1947)
• Well Spiced (1948)
• Hurricane Trio (1955)
• That Low (1948)
• Memory (1948)
• There Is No Defense (1948)
• The Professor's Teddy Bear (1948)
• A Way Home (1953)
• Story Notes by Paul Williams
• The Original Second Half of "Maturity"

The fifth of ten volumes that will reprint all Sturgeon's short fiction covers his prolific output volume contains 15 classics and two previously unpublished stories, including "Quietly." The Perfect Host provides enough of a representative sampling of Sturgeon's "greatest hits" to give the uninitiated a good sense of what all the fuss was about way back when. At the same time it offers a generous selection of alternate takes and rarities, notably several of Sturgeon's best forays into other forms of genre writing, plus previously unreleased cuts and liner notes.

Table of Contents:

• Editor's Note by Paul Williams
• Foreword by Larry McCaffery
• Quietly
• The Music (1953)
• Unite and Conquer (1948)
• The Love of Heaven (1948)
• Till Death Do Us Join (1948)
• The Perfect Host (1948)
• The Martian and the Moron (1949)
• Die, Maestro, Die! (1949)
• The Dark Goddess... More to a Marriage...
• Scars (1949)
• Messenger (1949)
• Minority Report (1949)
• Prodigy (1949)
• Farewell to Eden (1949)
• One Foot and the Grave (1949)
• What Dead Men Tell (1949)
• The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast (1949)
• Story Notes by Paul Williams

Baby Is Three is the sixth volume in the series devoted to the complete works of one of science fiction's titans. Like others in the series, this one includes extensive notes and background information on each story by editor Paul Williams. The early 1950s, during which this material was written, was the beginning of Sturgeon's greatest creative period. The title story for this collection was later expanded into the International Fantasy Award winning novel More Than Human. Sturgeon's whimsical, sardonic sense of humor lifts his work out of the mundane realm of genre science fiction. This wide-ranging collection shows precisely why he has been cited as a primary influence by authors as varied as Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, and Carl Sagan.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by David Crosby
• Shadow, Shadow on the Wall (1951)
• The Stars Are the Styx (1950)
• Rule of Three (1951)
• Make Room for Me (1951)
• Special Aptitude (1951)
• The Traveling Crag (1951)
• Excalibur and the Atom (1951)
• The Incubi of Parallel X (1951)
• Never Underestimate (1952)
• The Sex Opposite (1952)
• Baby Is Three (1952)
• Story Notes by Paul Williams
• "Author, Author" (essay, 1950)
• Men Behind Fantastic Adventures: Theodore Sturgeon (essay, 1951)

Kurt Vonnegut cites Theodore Sturgeon as the inspiration for his character Kilgore Trout. This volume includes 12 stories from 1953, considered Sturgeon's golden era. Among them are such favorites as the title story, "The Silken-Swift," "A Way of Thinking," "The Dark Room," "The Clinic," and "The World Well Lost," a story very ahead of its time in advocating gay rights.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by Kurt Vonnegut
• A Saucer of Loneliness
• The Touch of Your Hand
• The World Well Lost
• And My Fear Is Great
• The Wages of Synergy
• The Dark Room
• Talent
• A Way of Thinking
• The Silken-Swift
• The Clinic
• Mr. Costello, Hero
• The Education of Drusilla Strange

Sci-fi master Theodore Sturgeon wrote stories with power and freshness, and in telling them created a broader understanding of humanity--a legacy for readers and writers to mine for generations. Along with the title story, the collection includes stories written between 1953 and 1955, Sturgeon's greatest period, with such favorites as "Bulkhead," "The Golden Helix," and "To Here and the Easel."

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by William Tenn
• Cactus Dance
• The Golden Helix
• Extrapolation
• Granny Won't Knit
• To Here and the Easel
• When You're Smiling
• Bulkhead
• The Riddle of Ragnarok
• Twink
• Bright Segment
• So Near the Darkness
• Clockwise
• Smoke!

Written between 1955 and 1957, the 15 stories in And Now the News... include five previously uncollected stories along with five well-known works, two cowritten with genre legend Robert Heinlein. Spanning his most creative period, these tales show why Sturgeon won every science fiction award given.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by David G. Hartwell
• Won't You Walk...?
• New York Vignette
• The Half-Way Tree Murder
• The Skills of Xanadu
• The Claustrophile
• Dead Dames Don't Dial
• Fear Is a Business
• The Other Man
• The Waiting Thing Inside (with Don Ward)
• The Deadly Innocent (with Don Ward)
• And Now the News...
• The Girl Had Guts
• The Other Celia
• Affair With a Green Monkey
• The Pod and the Barrier

By the winner of the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Life Achievement Awards, this latest volume finds Theodore Sturgeon in fine form as he gains recognition for the first time as a literary short story writer. Written between 1957 and 1960, when Sturgeon and his family lived in both America and Grenada, finally settling in Woodstock, New York, these stories reflect his increasing preference for psychology over ray guns. Stories such as "The Man Who Told Lies," "A Touch of Strange," and "It Opens the Sky" show influences as diverse as William Faulkner and John Dos Passos. Always in touch with the zeitgeist, Sturgeon takes on the Russian Sputnik launches of 1957 with "The Man Who Lost the Sea," switching the scene to Mars and injecting his trademark mordancy and vivid wordplay into the proceedings. These mature stories also don't stint on the scares, as "The Graveyard Reader"--one of Boris Karloff's favorite stories--shows. Acclaimed novelist Jonathan Lethem's foreword neatly summarizes Sturgeon's considerable achievement here.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by Jonathan Lethem
• A Crime For Llewellyn
• It Opens the Sky
• A Touch of Strange
• The Comedian's Children
• The Graveyard Reader
• The Man Who Told Lies
• The Man Who Lost the Sea
• The Man Who Figured Everything (with Don Ward)
• Like Young
• Night Ride
• Need
• How to Kill Aunty
• Tandy's Story

This book contains ten major stories by the master of science fiction, fantasy, and horror written during the 1960s. The controversial "If All Men We re Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?" shows the author's technique of "ask the next question" used in a way that shatters social conventions. "When You Care, When You Love" offers a prescient vision of the marriage of deep obsessive love and genetic manipulation, written long before actual cloning techniques existed. "Runesmith" constitutes a rare example of Sturgeon collaborating with a legendary colleague, Harlan Ellison. Included also are two other rarities: two detective stories and a Western that showcase Sturgeon's knack for characterization and action outside his usual genre. "Take Care of Joey" has been read as an allusion to the complex personal relationship between Sturgeon and Ellison, while "It Was Nothing, Really!" hilariously skewers the mores of the military-industrial complex. As always, these stories demonstrate not only Sturgeon's brilliant wordplay but also his timeliness, with "Brown-shoes" and "The Nail and the Oracle" standing out as powerful commentaries on the use and abuse of power that might have been written yesterday.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by Harlan Ellison
• Ride In, Ride Out (with Don Ward)
• Assault and Little Sister
• When You Care, When You Love
• Hold Up à la Carte
• How to Forget Baseball
• The Nail and the Oracle
• If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?
• Runesmith (with Harlan Ellison)
• Jorry's Gap
• Brownshoes
• It Was Nothing - Really!
• Take Care of Joey

Theodore Sturgeon was a model for his friend Kurt Vonnegut's legendary character Kilgore Trout, and his work was an acknowledged influence on important younger writers from Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg to Stephen King and Octavia Butler. His work has long been deeply appreciated for its sardonic sensibility, dazzling wordplay, conceptual brilliance, memorable characters, and unsparing treatment of social issues such as sex, war, and marginalized members of society. Sturgeon also authored several episodes of the original Star Trek TV series and originated the Vulcan phrase "Live long and prosper."

This twelfth volume of North Atlantic's ambitious series reprinting his complete short stories includes classic works such as the award-winning title story, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1971, as well as "Case and the Dreamer," a well-crafted tale of an encounter with a trans-spatial being that is also a meditation on love, and "The [Widget], the [Wadget], and Boff," a creative exploration of the human ability to achieve self-realization in response to crisis. The book includes a new Foreword, an illuminating section of Story Notes, and a comprehensive index for the entire series.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by Connie Willis
• The [Widget], the [Wadget], and Boff
• The Beholders (prev unpub)
• It's You!
• Slow Sculpture
• The Girl Who Knew What They Meant
• The Patterns of Dorne
• Crate
• Suicide
• Uncle Fremmis
• Necessary and Sufficient
• The Verity File
• Occam's Scalpel
• Dazed
• Pruzy's Pot
• Afterword by Spider Robinson

"A consummate storyteller and someone whose stories had not only heart, but brains and depth."
--Connie Willis, from the foreword

"One of the all-time masters of the sci-fi short story. This multivolume project to bring many of his classic tales back into print is long overdue."
--Publishers Weekly

"Sturgeon's often tender explorations of alien minds were as carefully worked out as Faulkner's exploration of the mind of the idiot in The Sound and the Fury. His emphasis on psychology instead of blasters prepared the way for most modern masters of the science fiction genre."
--Stephen King

"Sturgeon was, in several senses, the conscience of modern science fiction."
--The New York Times

"Sturgeon's stories have an emotional impact unmatched by almost any other writer."
--Arthur C. Clarke

"One of the best writers in America ... Sturgeon is a master storyteller certain to fascinate all sorts of readers, not only science fiction fans."
--Kurt Vonnegut

"Intelligent, humane, tantalizing stories, every one of which evokes the sense of wonder. Sturgeon's stories are treasures from Elfland."
--Carl Sagan

"A terrific writer; I enjoyed every word he published."
--Robert Heinlein

"Sturgeon wrote miraculous short stories.... He found his urgency directed in becoming the John Dos Passos, the William Faulkner, the Ring Lardner, the James Thurber, the Virginia Woolf of science fiction."
--Jonathan Lethem

"The most literate and lyrical writer science fiction ever had."
--Spider Robinson, from the afterword

James Blish called him the "finest conscious artist science fiction ever produced." Kurt Vonnegut based the famous character Kilgore Trout on him. And such luminaries as Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, and Octavia Butler have hailed him as a mentor. Theodore Sturgeon was both a popular favorite and a writer's writer, carving out a singular place in the literary landscape based on his masterful wordplay, conceptual daring, and narrative drive. Sturgeon's sardonic sensibility and his skill at interweaving important social issues such as sex--including gay themes--and war into his stories are evident in all of his work, regardless of genre.

Case and the Dreamer displays Sturgeon's gifts at their peak. The book brings together his last stories, written between 1972 and 1983. They include "The Country of Afterward," a sexually explicit story Sturgeon had been unable to write earlier in his career, and the title story, about an encounter with a transpatial being that is also a meditation on love. Several previously unpublished stories are included, as well as his final one, "Grizzly," a poignant take on the lung disease that killed him two years later. Noted critic and anthologist Paul Williams contextualizes Sturgeon as both man and artist in an illuminating afterword, and the book includes an index to the stories in all thirteen volumes.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by Peter S. Beagle and Debbie Notkin
• Tuesdays Are Worse
• Case and the Dreamer
• Agnes, Accent and Access
• Ingenious Aylmer
• The Sheriff of Chayute (with Don Ward)
• The Mysterium (prev unpub)
• I Love Maple Walnut
• Blue Butter
• The Singsong of Cecily Snow
• Harry's Note
• Time Warp
• The Country of Afterward
• Like Yesterday
• Why Dolphins Don't Bite
• Vengeance Is.
• Seasoning
• Not an Affair
• Black Moccasins (prev unpub)
• The Trick
• Grizzly
• Afterword by Paul Williams

The Ugly Little Boy:

A small Neanderthal boy is brought into the future for scientific experimentation. The nurse who takes care of him, starts to see him as something other than a experimental subject.

The [Widget], the [Wadget], and Boff:

Only Robin could really see the Aliens...