Incredible Science Fiction: Amazing Tales from the ’50s and Beyond Volume One

Share this page

Incredible Science Fiction Volume One book cover
Twelve stories • one original tale

Incredible Science Fiction: Volume One

A hand-picked journey into the ideas, anxieties and strange worlds of 1950s science fiction—curated and introduced for modern readers.

Affiliate links; no extra cost to you.

A doorway into the decadeStories chosen to show the breadth of 1950s speculative fiction.
Context, not clutterAn introduction helps modern readers enter the period and its concerns.
Read or listenAvailable in print, ebook and narrated audio editions.

The future as the 1950s imagined it

Before moon landings and pocket computers, science-fiction writers were already wrestling with artificial intelligence, identity, isolation, survival and humanity’s place in the universe. Incredible Science Fiction: Volume One gathers memorable stories from that restless era alongside Andrew G. Gibson’s original story, The Goldfish.

This is a collection for readers who want more than nostalgia. It is an invitation to see how yesterday’s futures illuminate the world we inherited.

Stories in Volume One

  • Homecoming — Miguel Hidalgo
  • A Toothache on Zenob — Boyd Ellanbee
  • Captain Peabody — Rog Phillips
  • Star of Rebirth — Bernard Wall
  • Time Enough at Last — Lyn Venable
  • Lorelei — Charles V. De Vet
  • Rat in the Skull — Rog Phillips
  • Transient — William Harris
  • Conservation — Charles L. Fontenay
  • Learning Theory — James V. McConnell
  • The Goldfish — Andrew G. Gibson
  • Assassin — Bascom Jones, Jr.

For readers of classic science fiction

Start here if you enjoy compact, idea-driven stories; forgotten writers; vintage futures; or anthologies that reward dipping in one tale at a time.

Curated by Andrew G. Gibson

Andrew is an author, editor and narrator with a particular interest in the imaginative, unsettling and often prophetic science fiction of the 1950s.

Explore beyond the book

Read Andrew’s introduction to the Incredible Science Fiction project, or continue through the site’s 100 greatest science-fiction novels.

Begin with Volume One

Meet twelve stories that helped imagine the future—and discover how much of that future still feels startlingly familiar.

Questions readers ask

Do I need to read the volumes in order?

No. Each volume is a self-contained anthology and can be read independently.

Is this available as an audiobook?

Yes. Volume One is available in print, ebook and audiobook formats.

Does the collection contain an original story?

Yes. Andrew G. Gibson’s original story The Goldfish appears alongside the restored classic stories.