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Cities in the Sky episodes
- Infiltration, by Algis Budrys
Werewolves don't necessarily conform to all the superstitions people have. They may even know fear...
This short story appeared in the October 1958 issue of Infinity Science Fiction.
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Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), John A. Sentry, William Scarff, and Paul Janvier. He is best known for the influential 1960 novel Rogue Moon.
Incorporating his family's experience, Budrys's fiction depicts isolated and damaged people and themes of identity, survival, and legacy.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at [email protected].
26 min - And Miles To Go Before I Sleep, by William F Nolan
He knew, to the exact minute, when he was going to die. And Earth was too far away to reach. But his aged parents would never know that their son was dead...
This short story appeared in the August 1958 issue of Infinity Science Fiction.
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William Francis Nolan (March 6, 1928 – July 15, 2021) was an American author who wrote hundreds of stories in the science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime fiction genres. Nolan is perhaps best known for coauthoring the novel "Logan's Run," with George Clayton Johnson, but wrote literally hundreds of pieces, from poetry to nonfiction,to prose, for many publications.Nolan wrote several mystery novels, including the "Challis" series. He also had a long career in the movie industry, primarily working for Dan Curtis, and co-wrote the screenplay for the 1976 horror film Burnt Offerings which starred Karen Black and Bette Davis.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, let me know at [email protected].
12 min - All Cats are Gray, by Andre Norton
Steena was background stuff, never out of her baggy shapeless gray space-alls, with the gray personality of the machines she minded. Her only companion was a gray cat called Bat. So when she told Cliff Moran, a down-on-his-luck spacer, that it was time to seek out the famed "Empress of Mars" and bring it into port, he had no choice but to take her seriously. Little did he know that he'd have two extra passengers, nor that this trip would change his life...
This short story appeared in the August-September 1953 issue of Fantastic Universe Science Fiction.
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Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name Andre Norton, but also under Andrew North and Allen Weston. She was the first woman to be Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy, to be SFWA Grand Master, and to be inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, let me know at [email protected].
19 min - The Missing Will, by Agatha Christie
Violet Marsh's uncle had written two wills—one public, one hidden—and challenged his niece, and his sole heir, to pit her educated wits against his uneducated wits and find the hidden will. Knowing that she was outmatched, Violet contacted an expert in solving riddles...
"The Missing Will" appeared in "Blue Book Magazine," January 1925, pages 146 - 150.
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Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction," Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery." She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know at [email protected].
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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
26 min - The Boomerang Circuit, by Murray Leinster
Ades has vanished! And kings, emperors and despots are annexing the planets Kim Rendell, matter-transmitter technician, inter-galactic criminal, and space explorer, and Dona, his wife and ship-mate, freed from the Sinab Empire. In his ship, the Starshine, Kim must investigate what has happened to Ades, and then devise a plan to free those planets from further tyranny...
This novella appeared in the June 1947 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories.
The Boomerang Circuit was later published as the third part of a full novel titled "The Last Spaceship" in 1949 by "Galaxy Publishing Corp."
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Murray Leinster (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975) was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, let me know at [email protected].
1 hr 59 min - The Manless Worlds, by Murray Leinster
The planet Sinab II has altered the fighting-beams to kill only men, and they're spreading across the First Galaxy by wiping out all the men on a planet, waiting until the women are desperate, and then re-colonizing it with their own men, creating the first Galactic Empire. The planet Ades is in line to be colonized and become part of the Sinab Empire. But Kim Rendell, matter-transmitter technician and inter-galactic criminal, has a plan to stop them...
This novelette appeared in the February 1947 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories.
The Manless Worlds was later published as the second part of a full novel titled "The Last Spaceship" in 1949 by "Galaxy Publishing Corp."
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Murray Leinster (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975) was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, let me know at [email protected].
1 hr 46 min - The Disciplinary Circuit, by Murray Leinster
Kim Rendell, matter-transmitter technician, has defied the government of Alphin III by nullifying the Disciplinary Circuit, the system used to keep the planet's citizens under control in a condition of virtual slavery. He is given a choice, stay on the planet as a blocked man with no access to any facilities the planet provides and suffering daily the increasing pain of the Disciplinary Circuit, or exile. Kim chooses a third option...
This novelette appeared in the Winter 1946 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories.
The Disciplinary Circuit was later published as the first part of a full novel titled "The Last Spaceship", in 1949 by "Galaxy Publishing Corp."
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Murray Leinster (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975) was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, let me know at [email protected].
1 hr 40 min - Beyond the Door, by Philip K Dick
Did you ever wonder at the lonely life the bird in a cuckoo clock has to lead—that it might possibly love and hate just as easily as a real animal of flesh and blood?
Larry Thomas bought a cuckoo clock for his wife—without knowing the price he would have to pay.
This short story appeared in the January 1954 issue of Fantastic Universe.
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Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories. His fiction explored philosophical and social questions such as the nature of reality, perception, human nature, and identity, and commonly featured characters struggling against elements such as alternate realities, illusory environments, monopolistic corporations, drug abuse, authoritarian governments, and altered states of consciousness.
Dick's influence has been widespread, extending into Hollywood filmmaking. Popular films based on his works include Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990 and 2012), Screamers (1995), Minority Report (2002), A Scanner Darkly (2006), The Adjustment Bureau (2011), and Radio Free Albemuth (2010). In 2015, The Man in the High Castle (1962) was a dapted into a multi-season television series, based on Dick's 1962 novel; and in 2017 Channel 4 produced the anthology series Electric Dreams, based on various Dick stories.
In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer included in The Library of America series.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at [email protected].
17 min - The Eyes Have It, by Philip K Dick
A little whimsy, now and then, makes for good balance. You could find this type of humor anywhere, but only a topflight science-fictionist could have written this story, in just this way...
This short story appeared in Science Fiction Stories published in 1953.
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Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories. His fiction explored philosophical and social questions such as the nature of reality, perception, human nature, and identity, and commonly featured characters struggling against elements such as alternate realities, illusory environments, monopolistic corporations, drug abuse, authoritarian governments, and altered states of consciousness.
Dick's influence has been widespread, extending into Hollywood filmmaking. Popular films based on his works include Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990 and 2012), Screamers (1995), Minority Report (2002), A Scanner Darkly (2006), The Adjustment Bureau (2011), and Radio Free Albemuth (2010). In 2015, The Man in the High Castle (1962) was a dapted into a multi-season television series, based on Dick's 1962 novel; and in 2017 Channel 4 produced the anthology series Electric Dreams, based on various Dick stories.
In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer included in The Library of America series.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, let me know at [email protected].
9 min - Zero Hour, by Ray Bradbury
The new game the children are playing is going to be the best game ever! It's called 'Invasion!' and their new friend, Drill, is helping them prepare for Zero Hour, when the game begins.
This short story appeared in the Fall 1947 issue of Planet Stories.
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Ray Douglas Bradbury (August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.
Bradbury is widely known by the general public for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951). Most of his best known work is speculative fiction, but he also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books.
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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, let me know at [email protected].
24 min
About Cities in the Sky
From the publisher's feed
Classic Stories of Science and Fantasy Fiction.
Science fiction and fantasy stories have captivated audiences for as long as stories have been told. The Epic of Gilgamesh, written around 2000…
BCE, is often cited as one of the earliest science fiction, or fantasy fiction, stories, depending who you talk to.
Speculative fiction began to take shape prior to and during the European Enlightenment, encouraged by the new scientific discoveries being made. Thomas More's 1516 book, "Utopia", describes an island nation whose inhabitants have developed a seemingly perfect society. Several books from this period deal with voyages to, or societies living on, the moon; Johannes Kepler's "Somnium", 1634, Francis Godwin's "The Man in the Moone", 1638, and Cyrano de Bergerac's "Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon", 1656. Voltaire's "Micromégas", 1752, suggests that people of other worlds may be more advanced than those of Earth.
Mary Shelley's classic novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus", published in 1818, contains the archetypal 'mad scientist' experimenting with advanced technology. Another of her novels, "The Last Man", in 1826, is cited as the first Dystopian story.
Alexander Veltman's novel "The forebears of Kalimeros: Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon", 1836, was the first Russian science fiction novel and the first novel to use time travel, although via a magical hippogriff rather than technological means.
Samuel Butler's 1872 novel "Erewhon" describes machines that could become sentient and replace humans. Edward Everett Hale's "The Brick Moon", published serially in 1869 in The Atlantic Monthly, was the first story to describe an artificial satellite. "The Case of Summerfield" written by William Henry Rhodes and published in 1871 in the Sacramento Union newspaper, introduces the first 'weapon of mass destruction' used by a 'mad scientist' to blackmail the world. Edward Page Mitchell published science fiction short stories in The Sun for more than a decade, from 1874 onwards, dealing with invisibility, faster than light travel, teleportation, time travel, cryogenics, mind transfer, mutants, cyborgs and mechanical brains.
In the 19th Century, Jules Verne and H G Wells represented divergent styles of speculative fiction. Verne's mix of accurate technology and daring romantic adventures could be considered the earliest 'hard' science fiction. Well's more didactic approach skipped over much of the science and technology in order to critique Victorian society, and could be considered the first 'soft' science fiction. Both were commercially successful, and showed that a comfortable living could made writing such stories.
American author L. Frank Baum's book "Tik-Tok of Oz", 1914, contains the first literary appearance of handheld wireless communicators. Jack London's science fiction short stories "The Unparalleled Invasion", published in McClure's in 1910, and "The Red One", published in Cosmopolitan in 1918, contain germ wafare and extraterrestrials, respectively.
Then came the so-called golden age of science fiction from around the mid-1920s to the mid-1940s. Pulp magazines such as Astounding Stories, Amazing Stories, Wonder Stories, Galaxy, If Magazine, and Weird Tales filled newstands and helped launch the writing careers of many of the giants of science fiction; household names such as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, Leigh Brackett, and Frank Herbert. The rich heritage upon which they drew, and to which they contributed, continues to influence modern science fiction and fantasy writers, and will undoubtedly do so far into the future.
Please note that performance of a story is not a condoning, endorsement, or promotion of attitudes, prejudices, biases or opinions therein—particularly of gender and gender roles, ethnicity, disability, and sexuality—that an inhabitant of modern times would find distasteful.
If there's a story that you'd like me to narrate, let me know at [email protected].