Then there are the stories that only get told when the hour is late and too much booze has been consumed . . . the stories that take you back to the moments you don't want to remember, when, on the field of battle, you saw more of the nature of reality than you ever wanted to.

Sheckley is known for his sharp, satirical style, and his humor is often tinged with ironic bitterness at human folly. Although he wrote them decades ago, Sheckley's stories have a very modern feel. . . .