This was a fun book. Short story is an important form in sci-fi. Many of the greatest authors got their start by getting short stories published that caught the attention of book publishers. Giving proven authors a starting point with a single line from a famous books is kind of a silly idea, but it results in some very good stories.
Publisher’s Summary
Audie Award Finalist, Original Work, 2014
In Rip-Off!, 13 of today’s best and most honored writers of speculative fiction face a challenge even they would be hard-pressed to conceive: Pick your favorite opening line from a classic piece of fiction (or even non-fiction) – then use it as the first sentence of an entirely original short story.
In the world of Rip-Off!, “Call me Ishmael” introduces a tough-as-nails private eye – who carries a harpoon; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz inspires the tale of an aging female astronaut who’s being treated by a doctor named Dorothy Gale; and Huckleberry Finn leads to a wild ride with a foul-mouthed riverboat captain who plies the waters of Hell.
Once you listen to Rip-Off! you’ll agree: If Shakespeare or Dickens were alive today, they’d be ripping off the authors in this great collection.
The stories included in Rip-Off! are:
- “Fireborn” by Robert Charles Wilson
- “The Evening Line” by Mike Resnick
- “No Decent Patrimony” by Elizabeth Bear
- “The Big Whale” by Allen M. Steele
- “Begone” by Daryl Gregory
- “The Red Menace” by Lavie Tidhar
- “Muse of Fire” by John Scalzi
- “Writer’s Block” by Nancy Kress
- “Highland Reel” by Jack Campbell
- “Karin Coxswain or Death as She Is Truly Lived” by Paul Di Filippo
- “The Lady Astronaut of Mars” by Mary Robinette Kowal
- “Every Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the Air” by Tad Williams
- “Declaration” by James Patrick Kelly
As a bonus, the authors introduce their stories, explaining what they ripped-off – and why.
Rip-Off! was produced in partnership with SFWA – Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. Gardner Dozois served as project editor.
The full list of narrators includes: Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, Jonathan Davis, Khristine Hvam, L.J. Ganser, Stefan Rudnicki, David Marantz, Nicola Barber, Dina Pearlman, Allyson Johnson, Marc Vietor, and Ilyana Kadushin.