Educated at Columbia High School in New Jersey, Sheckley traveled to California after graduating and worked at a variety of jobs until entering military service in 1946. He served in Korea and was discharged in 1948. he returned to New York and received a degree from NYU in 1951. It was also that year that he sold his first story, Final Examination, to Imagination magazine. The 1950's were a prolific time in Sheckley's writing career, producing a number of novels and short story collections. He also wrote for TV, including episodes for Captain Video. His first collection of short stories, Untouched by Human Hands appeared in 1954 to critical acclaim. By the 1960's, Sheckley was one of the premier writers of science fiction and many consider him to be the best short story writer in the field. He moved to Ibiza in the 1970's and did not return to America until the 1980's. He became editor of OMNI Magazine in 1981. Sheckley's success as a writer did not extend to success as a husband. He was married five times. In addition to his SF work, he also produced seven crime fiction novels and some non-fiction. He died after suffering a brain aneurysm in 2005. His works include Pilgrimage to Earth (1957), Immortality, Inc. (1958), Nations: Unlimited (1960), Calibre .50 (1961), White Death (1963), The 10th Victim (1966), Dimension of Miracles (1968), The Robot Who Looked Like Me (1978), Dramocles (1983), Victim Prime (1987), Minotaur Maze (1990), Draconian New York (1996) and Uncanny Tales (2003). |
