Best Science Fiction Stories of H G Wells
by H G Wells (1966)

An unbeatable lineup of Wells' short fiction classics published from 1894-1901. The full novella version of 'The Invisible Man' is here - in addition to the prototypical sci-fi short stories 'The New Accelerator', 'The Star', 'In the Abyss' and 'The Crystal Egg'. Reading these leaves little doubt as to who is the true father of science fiction.

The Past Through Tomorrow
by Robert A Heinlein (1967)

A sweeping omnibus which claims to contain "all 21 of the stories, novellas and novels" from RAH's Future History tales - a loosely-connected framework that was created mainly for marketing purposes. Although copyright dates can be confusing, most of the stories were penned before 1950. Rippingly good intro to early-Heinlein.

The Philip K Dick Reader
by Philip K Dick (1997)

This collection of Dick's short fiction is basically the first 20 titles in the third volume of the Collected Stories series supplemented by four stories with feature film creds--'The Minority Report', 'Second Variety' (Screamers), 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale' (Total Recall) and 'Paycheck'. All except one are from the 1950s when Dick arguably wrote his strongest short fiction.

Neutron Star
by Larry Niven (1968)

A collection of eight outstanding stories from Niven's popular Known Space series. The title story won a Hugo in 1966. Races of creatures such as grog, thrint and bandersnatchi delight us with their exploits - all set on a galaxy of planets with their own histories, ecologies and cultural epochs. Niven at his freshest best.

Deathbird Stories
by Harlan Ellison (1975)

American Ellison made his name editing the acclaimed New Wavish Dangerous Visions original anthologies. Best known for his boundary-shattering short fiction - Deathbird Stories presents us with a pantheon of gods holding sway over things such as pain, smog, machines, Freudian guilt, coaxial cables and neon. Master at work.

Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
by Spider Robinson (1977)

A terrific collection of nine very funny linked stories originally appearing in Analog magazine. Callahan's is a bar frequented by time travelers, cybernetic aliens, telepaths and various other regulars. Its mantra is the Law of Conservation of Pain and Joy: "Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased - thus do we refute entropy." Remarkable observations of the human condition.

Burning Chrome
by William Gibson (1986)

Cyberpunk supremo Gibson outpaced the declining marketability of single-author collections with this cutting-edge set of street-wise tales. The standouts are the title piece and 'The Gernsback Continuum', while 'Johnny Mnemonic' was turned into a feature film. Cyberpunkers might also like Bruce Sterling's Crystal Express (1989).

Maps in a Mirror
by Orson Scott Card (1990)

While not strictly a sci-fi collection (plenty of fantasy and some horror), it is hard to go past this massive 688-page volume as the ultimate collection of Card's short fiction. The best sci-fi includes 'Dogwalker' and 'I Put My Blue Genes On', while the novelette version of 'Ender's Game' shows an author on the way to the top. Indispensable modern collection.