This Is My Funniest: Leading Science Fiction Writers Present Their Funniest Stories Ever

By Mike Resnick

Book Overview

This collection of 29 short stories from masters of science fiction--each tale chosen by the authors as the funniest they have ever written--presents wildly hilarious stories accompanied by prefaces written by the authors providing valuable insight into their selection and themselves. Featured contributors include David Brin, Esther Friesner, Harry Turtledove, Connie Willis, and many more, with stories such as "Amanda and the Alien," "Franz Kafka, Superhero ," "Space Rats of the CCC," "The Soul Selects Her Own Society," and "Too Hot to Hoot."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932100954
• ISBN13: 9781932100952
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Benbella Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Irresistible science fiction comedy from great authors

I couldn't resist reading "This is My Funniest", an anthology of stories collected by Mike Resnick from some of the top science fiction writers. Authors were asked to send what they thought was their funniest story. Every story is a real winner, some I thought really funny. The hardest part about reviewing this collection is that types of humor are varied and people find different things amusing. So this is my take at what I thought were standouts because I laughed out loud when I read them. Other stories were great science fiction. In all, twenty-nine stories are included. An added bonus is each story has a letter from the author explaining their choice which are almost as fun to read as the stories themselves. The top story in my list is a time travel romance between a husband and wife on their tenth anniversary, titled "Present", by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. It's humorous and horrific both and trust me, this is one premise you won't want to try at home. Next is "Too Hot to Hoot" by Spider Robinson. It starts with hot sex and a wife nine and a half months pregnant and uses realistic details of their life to find humor, especially with the added twist of an alien. I think I laughed hardest at "The Soul Selects Her Own Society" by Connie Willis, but then, I fancy myself a poet. An academic paper, this story explains how Emily Dickinson dealt with aliens. Don't forget to read the footnotes. "A Delightful Comedic Premise" by Barry Malzburg tells the story of a writer seeking work in a series of letters. Several others used similar setups to produce a funny work, including "Usurper Memos" by Josepha Sherman, and "Patent Infringement" by Nancy Kress. Nick DiCaprio's "Alien Radio" is a delightful spoof of talk radio psychologists, this one by an alien with children. Never forget the children. In terms of stories I found delightful, "The Lemon Spaghetti-Loud Dynamite-Dribble Day" by William Tenn sent me back to the sixties, "Night of the Cooters" by Howard Waldrop, took me into western land, "The Capo of Darkness" by Laura Resnick, had me amongst mobsters, editor Mike Resnick had me giggling at his basement fairies in "Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies" and too many more to highlight. I rate this anthology five stars because it's a collection worth every penny and it might even make you laugh.