1950s Science Fiction 11: Time Travel, Alien Worlds, and the Golden Age of Imagination

The 1950s gave science fiction writers an enormous universe to explore, and 1950s Science Fiction 11 brings together 27 stories that show just how far their imaginations could travel. Mars, distant planets, mysterious visitors, dangerous machines, altered realities, and impossible journeys await in a collection featuring some of the most celebrated names in classic science fiction.

Arthur C. Clarke sends humanity across unimaginable stretches of time in Exile of the Eons. Fritz Leiber explores the dangerous consequences of trying to rewrite history in Try and Change the Past, while Jack Vance imagines an Earth transformed beyond recognition in The Men Return. Robert Sheckley contributes Forever, Gordon R. Dickson brings us The Stranger, and C. S. Lewis steps into an unsettling alternate reality with The Shoddy Lands.

The remarkable lineup continues with Algis Budrys, Hal Clement, Tom Godwin, Alfred Coppel, William F. Nolan, Walter Tevis, A. Bertram Chandler, Michael Shaara, and others. Robert Silverberg appears in Postmark Ganymede and joins Randall Garrett for Bleekman’s Planet, adding still more variety to a collection that ranges from Mars to the farthest reaches of space.

Meet a man-hunting robot, confront the mystery of a dead planet, discover what happens when Martians refuse to die, and face the terrifying emptiness behind The Nothing Equation. Some stories venture millions of miles from Earth, while others reveal something extraordinary hiding beneath an apparently familiar world.

With 27 vintage stories, 1950s Science Fiction 11 is a journey through a decade when the possibilities seemed limitless. Legendary authors, forgotten voices, strange worlds, and unexpected discoveries make this another fascinating collection from science fiction’s remarkable 1950s.