Robert Sheckley (1928 – 2005) was an American Scifi author who mostly wrote short stories, but also a couple of full length novels, some of which were adapted for TV and screen. (The movie
Freejack was based on his book "Immortality, Inc.," which is much better than the movie.)
Fellow Scifi writer Brian Aldiss said about him: "Sheckley at his best is Voltaire and Soda."
This ebook contains three typical Sheckleyian stories originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction. (The etexts are from Project Gutenberg.)
1. One man’s poison (
PG #32041)
Two starving space explorers need to quickly figure out an alien language in order to survive.
2. Watchbird (
PG #29579)
Autonomous drones are used for law enforcement with (not so) unexpected consequences.
3. Warrior Race (
PG #29548)
Two space explorers need to find a creative way to overcome the deadly defense strategy of an alien warrior race.