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Quiz about Short but Sweet Science Fiction Stories
Quiz about Short but Sweet Science Fiction Stories

Short (but Sweet) Science Fiction Stories Quiz


Take a tour with me through a galaxy of short fiction stars... and identify the correct short story title from the clues I'll give you.

A multiple-choice quiz by Flamis. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Flamis
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
331,737
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
359
Last 3 plays: Guest 174 (10/10), Guest 62 (3/10), Guest 68 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. When the crew of the starship Bustler learn they are about to be subjected to a full military inspection they discover they have a small problem...they can't find their "offog". Which short story is this? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In this short story it appears that the aliens, the Kanamit, are here to help humanity - but they have something quite different on their menu. What is this often quoted story called? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. This Asimov story was inspired by the Emerson quote: "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years..." and is set on a planet surrounded by six stars which keep the planet in almost continuous daylight. So, what is its name? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. If I tell you that this story centres on a man and a mouse, and that the mouse dies, can you identify it? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. You could say that the moral of this story is never step off the path - or is it never tread on a butterfly? Which of these stories, invoking the perils of time-travel, am I talking about?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. An architect named Quintus Teal builds a unique home in Hollywood, with eight cubical rooms - which collapse into a tesseract when hit by an earthquake. Which Heinlein short story begins with the line: "Americans are considered crazy anywhere in the world"? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Beowulf Shaeffer takes a theoretically indestructible starship to find what happened to earlier researchers who died investigating a strange astronomical object - and is nearly killed himself, by the same mysterious force. Which Larry Niven story am I talking about? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. A "dark star" has pulled the Earth out of its orbit into the cold of interstellar space. Yet a human family manages to survive, eking out a grim existence in their Nest. Which story is this? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. In this future, a talking dog, named Surplus, may seek an audience of a Queen...even if "Her name was Gloriana the First, and she was a hundred years old and still growing". So which story am I talking about? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. It involves Tibet, monks and a computer. It ends with the classic line, "Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out." Which Arthur C. Clarke story is this? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 16 2024 : Guest 174: 10/10
Mar 05 2024 : Guest 62: 3/10
Feb 08 2024 : Guest 68: 10/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. When the crew of the starship Bustler learn they are about to be subjected to a full military inspection they discover they have a small problem...they can't find their "offog". Which short story is this?

Answer: Allamagoosa

This remarkable comic short story won the Hugo for British writer Eric Frank Russell back in 1955, before I was born. It was funny when I read it as a child, and you know what - it's still funny! Some things, especially military bureaucracies, just don't change. The "Allamagoosa" of the title may have been coined by the author, and means "thingamagig".
2. In this short story it appears that the aliens, the Kanamit, are here to help humanity - but they have something quite different on their menu. What is this often quoted story called?

Answer: To Serve Man

Damon Knight's story "To Serve Man" was made into a classic episode of "The Twilight Zone" which then spawned multiple references across popular culture, from "The Simpsons" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" through the movies "The Naked Gun 2½" and "Madagascar" to computer games like "World of Warcraft". Any time you hear the phrase "It's a cookbook!" they're quoting this story. "To Serve Man" was honoured with a retrospective Hugo in 2001 as "Best Short Story of 1951".
3. This Asimov story was inspired by the Emerson quote: "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years..." and is set on a planet surrounded by six stars which keep the planet in almost continuous daylight. So, what is its name?

Answer: Nightfall

In his autobiography, Asimov tells how the editor John W. Campbell challenged him to write a story based on the quote, which concludes: "...how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God!" Campbell's opinion was that, "I think men would go mad." Asimov wrote the story in 1941, and in 1968 it was acknowledged by the Science Fiction Writers of America as the best SF story written before the Nebula Awards started in 1965.
4. If I tell you that this story centres on a man and a mouse, and that the mouse dies, can you identify it?

Answer: Flowers For Algernon

This short story won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for Daniel Keyes in 1960. The author expanded it into a novel, which shared the Nebula Award for best novel in 1966. The novel has been adapted many times for film and television including the 1968 movie "Charly" which netted Cliff Robertson an Academy Award for Best Actor.
5. You could say that the moral of this story is never step off the path - or is it never tread on a butterfly? Which of these stories, invoking the perils of time-travel, am I talking about?

Answer: A Sound Of Thunder

Ray Bradbury's story "A Sound Of Thunder" was first published in 1952, and has since been reprinted more often than any other SF story. Unfortunately, the 2005 movie adaptation did not do it justice, and if that film is your experience of "A Sound Of Thunder" you really should read the short story.
6. An architect named Quintus Teal builds a unique home in Hollywood, with eight cubical rooms - which collapse into a tesseract when hit by an earthquake. Which Heinlein short story begins with the line: "Americans are considered crazy anywhere in the world"?

Answer: '-And He Built a Crooked House'

Quintus Teal's fictional address was 8775 Lookout Mountain Avenue, Hollywood directly opposite Robert A Heinlein's real home. Heinlein describes Teal's neighbour across the street as "the Hermit, the original Hermit of Hollywood" in reference to his own solitary habits.
7. Beowulf Shaeffer takes a theoretically indestructible starship to find what happened to earlier researchers who died investigating a strange astronomical object - and is nearly killed himself, by the same mysterious force. Which Larry Niven story am I talking about?

Answer: Neutron Star

Winning the 1967 Hugo for Best Short Story, "Neutron Star" is famous for bringing the titular object to the attention of science fiction readers, correctly postulating the enormous tidal forces created by its intense gravitational field.
8. A "dark star" has pulled the Earth out of its orbit into the cold of interstellar space. Yet a human family manages to survive, eking out a grim existence in their Nest. Which story is this?

Answer: A Pail of Air

Told from the point of view of a young boy, this was one of those stories I remember reading in one of those SF short story collections for young people when I was at school. It remains one of Fritz Leiber's most well known short stories. That said, Fritz Leiber is probably rather more famous as a writer of Sword & Sorcery fantasy (as he invented the term) and for giving the tales of Fafhrd and Grey Mouser to the world.
9. In this future, a talking dog, named Surplus, may seek an audience of a Queen...even if "Her name was Gloriana the First, and she was a hundred years old and still growing". So which story am I talking about?

Answer: The Dog Said Bow-Wow

Michael Swanwick's story is set in a very strange bio-technological future, centuries from now, and after a war between humans and electronics. It won the 2002 Hugo Award for best short story. (And, yes, all of those are real short story titles by Michael Swanwick).
10. It involves Tibet, monks and a computer. It ends with the classic line, "Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out." Which Arthur C. Clarke story is this?

Answer: The Nine Billion Names of God

The Hugo Award for the best short story wasn't awarded until 1955 so it wasn't until 2004 that "The Nine Billion Names of God" was given its deserved recognition, by being awarded the retrospective Hugo for 1954.
Source: Author Flamis

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
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