The Second Fredric Brown Megapack. Fredric Brown
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The Second Fredric Brown Megapack
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Second Fredric Brown Megapack is copyright © 2014 by the Estate of Fredric Brown. All rights reserved. Cover art © 2014 by Innovari / Folotia.
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“The Waveries” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, January 1945. Copyright © 1945 by Fredric Brown.
“Obedience” originally appeared in Super Science Stories, September 1950. Copyright © 1950 by Fredric Brown.
“All Good Bems” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, April 1949. Copyright © 1949 by Fredric Brown.
“First Time Machine” originally appeared in Honeymoon in Hell (1958). Copyright © 1958 by Fredric Brown.
“Blood” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1955. Copyright © 1955 by Fredric Brown.
“The Last Martian” originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1950. Copyright © 1950 by Fredric Brown.
“Man Of Distinction” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, February 1951. Copyright © 1951 by Fredric Brown.
“Vengeance Fleet” originally appeared in Super Science Stories, July 1950. Copyright © 1950 by Fredric Brown.
“The Weapon” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, April 1951. Copyright © 1951 by Fredric Brown.
“Mouse” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1949. Copyright © 1949 by Fredric Brown.
“The Dome” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1951. Copyright © 1951 by Fredric Brown.
“Great Lost Discoveries I: Invisibility” originally appeared in Nightmares and Geezenstacks (1961). Copyright © 1961 by Fredric Brown.
“Great Lost Discoveries II: Invulnerability” originally appeared in Nightmares and Geezenstacks (1961). Copyright © 1961 by Fredric Brown.
“Great Lost Discoveries III: Immortality” originally appeared in Nightmares and Geezenstacks (1961). Copyright © 1961 by Fredric Brown.
“Millennium” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1955. Copyright © 1955 by Fredric Brown.
“Second Chance” originally appeared in Nightmares and Geezenstacks (1961). Copyright © 1961 by Fredric Brown.
“Contact” originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1960. Copyright © 1960 by Fredric Brown.
“A Word From Our Sponsor” originally appeared in Other Worlds Science Stories, September 1951. Copyright © 1951 by Fredric Brown.
“Something Green” originally appeared in Space on My Hands (1951). Copyright © 1951 by Fredric Brown.
“Crisis, 1999” originally appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, August 1949. Copyright © 1949 by Fredric Brown.
“And The Gods Laughed” originally appeared in Planet Stories, February 1944. Copyright © 1944 by Fredric Brown.
“Mitkey Rides Again” originally appeared in Planet Stories, November 1950. Copyright © 1950 by Fredric Brown.
“Placet Is a Crazy Place” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, May 1946. Copyright © 1946 by Fredric Brown.
“Honeymoon In Hell” originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction. Copyright © 1950 by Fredric Brown.
“Daisies” originally appeared in Angels and Starships (1954). Copyright © 1954 by Fredric Brown.
“Daymare” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, November 1943. Copyright © 1943 by Fredric Brown.
“Cartoonist” originally appeared in Planet Stories, May 1951. Copyright © 1951 by Fredric Brown and Mack Reynolds.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Fredric Brown (1906-1972) is perhaps best remembered for his use of humor and his mastery of the “short-short” form (these days called flash fiction)—stories of one to three pages, often with ingenious plotting devices and surprise endings. He was just as accomplished in the mystery field as in science fiction, and he won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his first novel, The Fabulous Clipjoint.
I discovered Fredric Brown’s work in the mid 1970s through the wonderful Science Fiction Hall of Fame anthology series. The concept of the series was that each volume contained some of the greatest science fiction stories published before 1965, as voted on by the membership of the Science Fiction Writers of America (and then winnowed down by each volume’s editor). The theory being, of course, that science fiction writers ought to know the best of the best.
SFWA members selected Fredric Brown’s story “Arena,” which is in the first of our Fredric Brown Megapacks (this is the second, and I hope there will be a third!), as one of the top 20 science fiction stories. (“Arena” was also adapted as an episode of the original Star Trek TV series—you will probably recognize it as soon as you start reading.)
Whether you discovered Fredric Brown’s work through the Megapack series, already know how great he is, or are experiencing him for the first time—here are 27 more great tales.
Enjoy!
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE MEGAPACK SERIES
Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”
The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)
RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?
Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).
Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.
TYPOS
Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.
If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
MYSTERY
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Charlie Chan Megapack*
The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack
The Detective Megapack
The Father Brown Megapack
The Girl Detective Megapack
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack
The First Mystery Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Philo Vance Megapack*
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Raffles Megapack
The Sherlock Holmes Megapack