Kim Stanley Robinson - Short Stories

Short Stories

Robinson published his first two short stories in Orbit 18 in 1976. Most are collected in The Planet on the Table (1986), Remaking History (1991), Down and Out in the Year 2000 (1992), and Vinland the Dream (2001).

Four humorous novellas featuring American expatriates in Nepal are collected in Escape from Kathmandu (1989); the two main characters are the similarly-named George Fergusson and George "Freds" Fredericks. The stories are:

• Escape from Kathmandu - George and Freds attempt to rescue a captured Yeti, who is to be taken to the United States, and during this adventure, the Yeti comes face-to-face with ex-President Jimmy Carter in a hotel; Carter shakes its hand.
• Mother Goddess Of The World - Adventures abound while various people scramble to climb Mount Everest; George believes that the bodies of early climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine should remain buried on the mountain and not returned to England.
• The True Nature of Shangri-La - George and Freds attempt to preserve the sacred, hidden realm of Shambala from outsiders.
• The Kingdom Underground - George wants to help the Nepali people by improving their sewerage, but Freds explains why he must not: a vast secret network of underground tunnels lies below, unguessed at. Rambunctious exploits ensue, including kidnapping the King and fleeing through the tunnels.

The Martians (1999), discussed above, further explores the world of the Mars Trilogy. On August 1, 2010, Night Shade Books released a collection entitled The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson, which includes twenty-two stories and a concluding essay.