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    Keep Your Shape
    Keep Your Shape
    Keep Your Shape
    Ebook56 pages31 minutes

    Keep Your Shape

    By Vidmer and Robert Sheckley

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateMar 1, 1979
    Keep Your Shape

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    Reviews for Keep Your Shape

    4.5/5

    43 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Very readable classic sci-fi, structured in the Twilight Zone tradition. Often funny, always concise.
    • 4/5
      This is a collection of thirteen Sheckley stories that were originally published in 1952 and 1953. Nine of these were new to me. Sheckley's writing from this period is great fun: quick moving, witty and humorous, with touches of farce and no pretensions whatsover (except perhaps "Beside Still Waters" a story which tries to go beyond this, and carries it off reasonably well).The best of the lot is is the well known "Seventh Victim," but none of them were bad.
    • 5/5
      Some of the best speculative fiction I have ever read. This is what it should be about. Philosophically grounded in real-world issues, doesn't take itself too seriously or try to be a boring sage of the future, alternative POVs in a fun and engaging manner. Ultimately this is a humanist book, such a relief from neo-fascist drek that makes up so much of this genre particularly from this period. Sheckley himself said that he was in effect writing "a commentary on science fiction", in other words anti-science fiction and that's what makes it so great, sets it above. Sheckley deals with issue of post-colonialism quite well, turning the tables on the colonizer and colonized. Also the condition of modernity, "Cost of Living" it's even more relevant today in this age of eternal debt. The last story, "Beside Still Waters", is beautiful.
    • 4/5
      Good short story collection. This is where Sheckley excels.

    Book preview

    Keep Your Shape - Vidmer

    The Project Gutenberg EBook of Keep Your Shape, by Robert Sheckley

    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

    almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

    re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

    with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

    Title: Keep Your Shape

    Author: Robert Sheckley

    Illustrator: Vidmer

    Release Date: May 12, 2010 [EBook #32346]

    [Last updated: August 22, 2012]

    Language: English

    *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KEEP YOUR SHAPE ***

    Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online

    Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

    Transcriber's Note:

    This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction November 1953. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

    KEEP YOUR SHAPE

    By ROBERT SHECKLEY

    Illustrated by VIDMER

    Only a race as incredibly elastic as the Grom could have a single rule of war:

    id the Pilot slowed the ship almost to a standstill, and peered anxiously at the green planet below.

    Even without instruments, there was no mistaking it. Third from its sun, it was the only planet in this system capable of sustaining life. Peacefully it swam beneath its gauze of clouds.

    It looked very innocent. And yet, twenty previous Grom expeditions had set out to prepare this planet for invasion—and vanished utterly, without a word.

    Pid hesitated only a moment, before starting irrevocably down. There was no point in hovering and worrying. He and his two crewmen were as ready now as they would ever be. Their compact Displacers were stored in body pouches, inactive but ready.

    Pid wanted to say something to his crew, but wasn't sure how to put it.

    The crew waited. Ilg the Radioman had sent the final message to the Grom planet. Ger the Detector read sixteen dials at once, and reported, No sign of alien activity. His body surfaces flowed carelessly.

    oticing the flow, Pid knew what to say to his crew. Ever since they had left Grom, shape-discipline had been disgustingly lax. The Invasion Chief had warned him; but still, he had to do something about it. It was his duty, since lower castes such as Radiomen and Detectors were notoriously prone to Shapelessness.

    A lot of hopes are resting on this expedition, he began slowly. We're a long way from home now.

    Ger the Detector nodded. Ilg the Radioman flowed out of his prescribed shape and molded himself comfortably to a wall.

    However, Pid said sternly, distance is no excuse for promiscuous Shapelessness.

    Ilg flowed hastily back into

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