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Short Stories

Ten classic science fiction short stories — Asimov, Bradbury, Pohl, Verne, Laumer — curated and typeset for comfortable reading. Drop your email and we'll send the full PDF to your inbox.

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A Litloop Short Classics Anthology

Short stories from the golden age of science fiction

Between roughly 1935 and the early 1960s, a generation of writers worked out almost everything science fiction would go on to be — first contact, robot ethics, simulated reality, surveillance dystopia, faster-than-light travel, post-scarcity economics, the unthinkable.

This collection gathers ten of the cleanest, sharpest examples in the public domain — Asimov, Bradbury, Pohl, Laumer, plus an original new story from Litloop's own Ben Luxon.

What's in the collection

10 STORIES · 1 PDF

Litloop№01

Sci-Fi

Youth

Isaac Asimov

1952

1 · 1952

Youth

by Isaac Asimov

Two boys find strange creatures in their garden and decide to keep them. The creatures, it turns out, are doing the same. A quietly perfect first-contact story with a twist Asimov throws in effortlessly.

Litloop№02

Sci-Fi

Let's Get Together

Isaac Asimov

1957

2 · 1957

Let's Get Together

by Isaac Asimov

Cold War paranoia at full stretch: ten humanoid robots are smuggled into the United States — each carrying a fragment of a hydrogen bomb that will only arm when they all stand in the same room.

Litloop№03

Sci-Fi

A Little Journey

Ray Bradbury

1951

3 · 1951

A Little Journey

by Ray Bradbury

An elderly woman buys a ticket on the new rocket service to Mars, certain the young captain at the controls is something he's not. Bradbury at his most tender.

Litloop№04

Sci-Fi

The Tunnel Under the World

Frederik Pohl

1954

4 · 1954

The Tunnel Under the World

by Frederik Pohl

Guy Birckhead wakes from a dream of dying in an explosion. The same advertisement plays on every channel. The town is not the town it appears — and neither, possibly, is he.

Litloop№05

Original

Headstart

Ben Luxon

Contemporary

5 · Contemporary

Headstart Original

by Ben Luxon

When offered the chance to trial a new technology to assist him in his therapy sessions, Dr Philip Schele is distraught. He jumps at this opportunity.

Litloop№06

Sci-Fi

Dalrymple's Equation

Paul W. Fairman

1951

6 · 1951

Dalrymple's Equation

by Paul W. Fairman

A physicist's equation could end the world — or save it. The trouble is no one, the physicist included, can yet tell which side of the line his proof actually falls on.

Litloop№07

Sci-Fi

Doorstep

Keith Laumer

1951

7 · 1951

Doorstep

by Keith Laumer

An enormous craft has landed on the White House lawn and refuses to open. A government negotiator is sent in. The story is short, sly, and almost entirely about interacting with what is in front of you.

Litloop№08

Sci-Fi

In the Year 2889

Jules & Michel Verne

1889

8 · 1889

In The Year 2889

by Jules & Michel Verne

A media baron's ordinary workday, one thousand years from now — flying machines, video calls, advertising projected onto clouds. Remarkable for how much he got right.

Litloop№09

Sci-Fi

Export Commodity

Irving Cox, Jr.

1951

9 · 1951

Export Commodity

by Irving Cox, Jr.

A trader arrives on a backwater colony world with terms that are far too generous and a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. The locals are probably adorable.

Litloop№10

Sci-Fi

A Spaceship Named McGuire

Randall Garrett

1961

10 · 1961

A Spaceship Named McGuire

by Randall Garrett

A private detective is hired to recover an experimental ship with a mind of its own — and a tendency, like its previous pilots, to develop resources. Pulp at its most affectionate.

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Ten classic sci-fi short stories, typeset for comfortable reading on phone, tablet or e-reader. Sent the moment you hit Download.

FAQ

Common questions

Yes — every story in the collection is in the public domain (with the exception of the original piece by Ben Luxon, included by the author). Drop your email and we'll send the full PDF straight to your inbox.
Ten stories spanning hard SF, space opera, and speculative fiction — Asimov, Bradbury, Pohl, Laumer, Verne, Fairman, and more. All formatted for comfortable reading on phone or screen.
Please do. These are public-domain classics — share, print, email, drop it around your book club. The more people reading the things we love, the better.
A single PDF optimised for both screen and print. If you'd prefer EPUB, reply to the welcome email and we'll send over a version.
No. You'll get the stories, plus occasional book recommendations from Litloop — never more than once a week, and one-click to unsubscribe.