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NINE HUNDRED GRANDMOTHERS - I think this one book is the absolute required minimum must-have-read-in-your-lifetime book. Contains some of Lafferty's best short stories, especially my favorites "Hog Belly Honey", Thus we Frustrate Charlemagne, and "The Six Fingers of Time", the first RAL-story I ever read. If you don't like these, you won't like any Lafferty.
Contents:
- Nine Hundred Grandmothers
- Land of the Great Horses
- Ginny Wrapped in the Sun
- The Six Fingers of Time
- Frog on the Mountain
- All the People
- Primary Education of the Camiroi
- Slow Tuesday Night
- Snuffles
- Thus We Frustrate Charlemagne
- Name of the Snake
- Narrow Valley
- Polity and Custom of the Camiroi
- In Our Block
- Hog-Belly Honey
- Seven Day Terror
- The Hole on the Corner
- What's the Name of that Town ?
- Through Other Eyes
- One at a Time
- Guesting Time
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LAFFERTY IN ORBIT - This collection contains thirteen stories that were published by Damon Knight in his Orbit periodical. There is a bit overlap with 900 Grandmothers and some other collections. Solely taken on its own this is the second best collection of Lafferty short stories (IMO) and even subtracting them this still would be a good second or third choice.
Contents:
- Old Foot Forgot
- All Pieces of a River Shore
- Bright Coins in Never-Ending Stream
- Flaming Ducks and Giant Bread
- The Hole on the Corner
- The Skinny People of Leptophlebo Street
- Continued on Next Rock
- Entire and Perfect Chrysolite
- Great Day in the Morning
- The Hand with One Hundred Fingers
- One at a Time
- Royal Licorice
- And Name My Name
- Fall of Pebble Stones
- Configuration of the North Shore
- Dorg
- When All the Lands Pour Out Again
- Interurban Queen
- The Only Tune That He Could Play
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STRANGE DOINGS - Another excellent collection of Lafferty short stories. I'd rate it tentatively as the third best collection.
Contents:
- Rainbird
- Camels and Dromedaries, Clem
- Continued on Next Rock
- Once on Aranea
- Sodom and Gomorrah, Texas
- The Man with the Speckled Eyes
- All but the Words
- The Transcendent Tigers
- World Abounding
- Dream
- Ride a Tin Can
- Aloys
- Entire and Perfect Chrysolite
- Incased in Ancient Rind
- The Ugly Sea
- Cliffs That Laughed
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HEART OF STONE, DEAR - A small booklet containing five short ones from the master. They are printed there for the first time. Curiously the two best stories are in the back of the booklet.
Contents:
- And You Did Not Wail
- Company in the Wings
- The End of Outward
- Heart of Stone, Dear
- Haruspex
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DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE SOMETHING FURTHER TO ADD ? - More short stories by the master of the short story. The best stories aren't as good as the best "900 Grandmother" stories, but better than the lesser ones. There is even a small detective story here, in true Lafferty style!
Contents:
- About a Secret Crocodile
- Mad Man
- Nor Limestone Islands
- The Man Underneath
- Boomer Flats
- This Grand Carcass Yet
- In the Garden
- Groaning Hinges of the World
- Golden Trabant
- How They gave It Back
- Maybe Jones and the City
- Seven Story Dream
- Adam Had Three Brothers
- Pig in a Pokey
- The Weirdest World
- The Ultimate Creature
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IRON TEARS - Yet another fine collection of fine short stories. The stories itself are what make the collection fine. The publishers Edgewood Press let a LOT of spelling errors go through, which makes reading harder than it should.
Contents:
- You Can't Go Back
- Ifrit
- Lord Torpedo, Lord Gyroscope
- Funnyfingers
- Thieving Bear Planet
- Berryhill
- The World as Will and Wallpaper
- Horns on Their Heads
- By The Sea Shore
- Selenium Ghosts of the Eighteen Seventies
- Magazine Section
- Or Little Ducks Each Day
- Cabrito
- Le Hot Sport
- Gray Ghost: A Reminiscence
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GOLDEN GATE AND OTHER STORIES - Another indespensable collection for this has amongst other excellent stories the Hugo-Award-winning "Eurema's Dam".
Contents:
- Golden Gate
- Mr. Hamadryad
- This Boding Itch
- Condillac's Statue
- The Cliff Climbers
- Mc Gruders Marvels
- Tongues of the Matagorda
- Ishmael into the Barrens
- Eurema's Dam
- Days of Grass, Days of Straw
- Make sure the Eyes are Big Enough
- Bequest of Wings
- Fall of Pebble-Stones
- Marsilia V
- One-Eyed Mocking Bird
- Sky
The picture is not a cover scan, but an illustration of the story "Condillac's Statue" |
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THROUGH ELEGANT EYES - This collection is unique, in that it is a collection of short stories, that feature a constant cast of characters. It isn't the Institute of impure science (which I would have preferred), but maybe the second best thing, namely Austro (from "Two for Four Ninety Nine"), Roy Mega, Harry O'Donovan, Dr. George Drakos, Cris Benedetti, Barnaby and the first person story teller named "Laff".
Contents:
- The All-At-Once Man
- Mud Violet
- Barnaby's Clock
- And Read the Flesh between the Lines
- Animal Fair
- The Ungodly Mice of Dr. Drakos
- The Two-Headed Dragon of Chris Bendetti
- The Hellaceous Rocket of Harry O'Donovan
- The Wooly World of Barnaby Sheen
- Rivers of Damascus
- Old Helloweens on the Guna Slopes
- Brain Fever Season
- What Big Tears the Dinosaur's
- And all the Skys are full of Fish
- St. Poleander's Eve
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THE MAN WHO MADE MODELS - Five more short stories, that were never published before. (What's the matter with the SF magazines ??) As in "Heart of Stone, Dear" the last story is the best, but three of the other stories are also quite enjoyable.
Contents:
- The Man Who Made Models
- I'll See It Done and Then I'll Die
- The Effigy Histories
- Of Laughter and the Love of Friends
- Two for Four Ninety Nine
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SNAKE IN HIS BOSOM - Again five short stories, that haven't been put to print before. No gold is to be found in these 44 pages, but for the Lafferty fan this $2 booklet is still a worthy investment. Snake in his bosom, the title story is the highlight here:
Contents:
- Jack Bang's Eyes
- Pleasures and Palaces
- Posterior Analytics
- Snake in His Bosom
- Unique Adventue Gone
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FUNNYFINGERS & CABRITO - This might be the prettiest Lafferty book, I have held in hands. The content is just two shortstories, that you can also find elsewhere. So this should be of interest to collectors only.
Contents:
- Funnyfingers
- Cabrito
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OTHER COLLECTIONS
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RINGING CHANGES - (Scan provided by Jussi T. Vainikain)
Contents:
- Parthen
- Old Foot Forgot
- Dorg
- Days of Grass, Days of Straw
- Brain Fever Season
- And Read the Flesh Between the Lines
- Old Halloweens on the Guna Slopes
- The Ungodly Mice of Doctor Drakos
- The Wooly World of Barnaby Sheen
- Rivers of Damascus
- Among the Hairy Earthmen
- In Outraged Stone
- And Name my Name
- Sky
- For All Poor Folks at Picketwire
- Oh Whatta You Do When the Well Runs Dry ?
- And Some in Velvet Gowens
- The Doggone Highly Scientific Door
- Interurban Queen
- Been a Long Long Time
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