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1Knights of Arthur

By Frederik Pohl

Sailors Sam Dunlap and Arthur check in to a New York hotel to await their mate Vern Engdahl when a girl shows up proposing to purchase Arthur. They need guys like Arthur to help run the city, and the fact that he fits in a small suitcase is even better. – The Knights of Arthur was first published in the January 1958 edition of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. (Summary by Gregg Margarite)

2Tunnel Under The World

By Frederik Pohl

This famous Pohl story explores cybernetic robots and implanted personalities in a way that certainly expanded my way of looking at reality. Is that wall really real? or is it just kinda, sorta real? And who am I? The protagonist, Guy Burckhardt, wakes up screaming from a horrible dream of explosions, searing fire, choking gas and other terrible ways to die. But he wakes up so it must have been just a bad nightmare, right? To find out that piece of information you will need to listen to this inventive and scary story. (summary by Phil Chenevert)

3Knights of Arthur (Version 2)

By Frederik Pohl

Pohl takes us into the future in this quirky and funny story, where the population of the United States is less than 10,000 people ... total. Yes you guessed it, there was a war; but the 'clean' bombs killed people and left most everything else intact. Our trio of 'Knights' are not very talented or smart or brave, but they have survived very well and now are taking on New York City to fulfill a quest of Arthur. You see, Arthur has no legs. Or arms. Or body. But he is very opinionated nevertheless. Listen to this fascinating story that is full of humor and human nature as only Pohl can do it. (Summary by Phil Chenevert)

4Plague of Pythons

By Frederik Pohl

In a post-apocalyptic world where every government in the world has been overrun by its own military machinery, only to see that military machinery self-destruct, people are randomly being affected by a plague that seemingly takes over their brains and forces them to commit heinous crimes. Chandler is one of these unfortunate victims, the perpetrator of rape and murder. He is driven out of his community as a Hoaxer (someone who feigns being a victim of the plague), branded on his forehead with the letter H. But he is not feigning. In his travels, he finds the source of the plague, and it's not what people think. It's up to him to deal with it, and he does. But to what end? - Summary by Nick Bulka

5Search the Sky

By C. M. Kornbluth and Frederik Pohl

Ross was a junior trader on Halsey's Planet, and had great prospects but was not happy at all. Everything smelled of decay. The whole planet seemed to be slowly disappearing, the population dwindling month by month and year by year and yet no one seemd to care or even notice. Something was very, very wrong. When the first interstellar transport in 30 years arrived on Halsey's Planet, it brought things to a head. The ship had touched on six other colony worlds - and all six had been devoid of human life. Where was everybody? It was almost as if humankind, when separated by cosmic distances from Mother Earth, could not survive. He didn't know the answer but he knew it all smelled highly of decay. Decay and Rot. This highly praised novel by C.M.Kornbluth and Frederick Pohl was first published in 1954 was seen as a wonderful satire on various trends in the society of the 1950's. - Summary by phil Chenevert

6Preferred Risk

By Frederik Pohl and Lester del Rey

The Company insures you against everything. Everything except war, that is. But they've put an end to wars (or so they claim). The Company also controls everything. Including all the sources of weapons. The Company is dedicated to the happiness of mankind (or so they claim). Medical Treatment and Law Enforcement are just a few of the other services they provide to the entire world. Claims Adjuster Wills was a happy Company employee until his path crossed those of a man with no legs and a mysterious woman. All of a sudden, his world was turned upside down, and his decisions could determine the future of the planet. This collaborative work was originally published under the pseudonym Edson McCann. It was the winner of the 1955 Galaxy-Simon & Schuster novel contest. - Summary by Nick Bulka

7Wolfbane

By C. M. Kornbluth and Frederik Pohl

This science fiction novel takes place in the year 2203, if we take literally the age of 250 years. A rogue planet, populated by strange machines known as Pyramids, has stolen the Earth from the Solar system, taking it off into interstellar space. The moon has been 'ignited' by alien technology to serve as a miniature sun around which both planets orbit. This new sun is rekindled every 5 years, though as the book opens, the rekindling is nearly overdue and there is fear among the populace that it may never happen again. - Summary by Wikipedia

8Town is Drowning

By C. M. Kornbluth and Frederik Pohl

<b>TORN FROM TODAY'S HEADLINES</b><br> This novel takes you right into the heart of the new flood country, the Northeast United States which had generally been free of hurricanes and attendant floods. Now disaster has struck, more than once--terrible and grim.<br><br> Although this novel will give you an accurate and brilliantly vivid picture of what it's like to live through a flood, even more importantly it will show you what the people are like who fought the catastrophe and how those who survived are still fighting. In the persons of Starkman the burgess, Groff the dynamic young executive, Sharon the shrewd opportunist, Mrs. Goudeket, the resort owner, and others, you will meet and understand the varying human elements that the flood unleashed and intensified. Through it all you will sense a growing feeling of pride--that despite the selfishness of some, the people of the town met the terrible onslaught with courage and a sense of mutual help.<br><br> Already well known for their superb science fiction, Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth demonstrate here their equal power in the realistic contemporary novel. - Summary by book jacket<br><br> <b>Notes from the narrator</b><br> To me, <i>A Town is Drowning</i> was an interesting reading and recording assignment as it provided a look back at the dialogue and narrative structure for the dramatic works of the 1950’s, my earliest memories.<br> Echoes of World War II, the Atomic Bomb, and the Cold War were ever present in this 1955 world; as was the idea of American Idealism and Opportunity. The story narrative tended to be strait-forward, black and white, with minimal cultural gray issues.<br><br> Yet I also observed aspects found in the 2022 world, the struggle for equality across ethinic backgrounds, stereotypes, and class divisions, the lure of money and power, and increasingly - the occurrence of natural disasters, today attributed to global climate change. Authors <i>Frederik Pohl</i> and <i>C. M. Kornbluth</i> created a realistic contemporary novel for 1955, but for me, much of their story resonates with the world of today.<br><br> I hope you enjoy listening to <i>A Town is Drowning</i>.<br><br> Maurice Donegan<br> Atlanta, Georgia<br> August 17, 2022 <br>

9My Lady Greensleeves

By Frederik Pohl

In a future where everyone is assigned profession-based classifications, defying your place in society can land you in prison. Captain Liam O' Leary of the Estates-General Correctional Institution, better known as The Jug, knows his place. He also knows trouble when he smells it, and the trouble he smells manifests as a large scale prison riot where those rigid class structures don't mean a damn thing and the name of the game is survival! - Summary by Ben Tucker