Frank M. Robinson. Dream Street. (Imaginative Tales, March 1955.)
I may be late to the party, but a Best SF Huzzah! for the late Robinson.
Algis Budrys. The Man Who Always Knew. (Astounding Science Fiction, April 1956).
A story that doesn’t go much beyond the principal conceit : a man has the uncanny knack of knowing just where and when someone is going to have a brainwave or invent something – and therefore be on hand to licence and exploit it.
Cordwainer Smith. The Game of Rat and Dragon. (Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1955.)
The story has many excellent turns of phrase, and leads the reader through the story introducing background concepts and technology, with the odd clever ‘reveal’.
L. Sprague de Camp. Judgment Day. (Astounding Science Fiction, August 1955).
A minimal SFnal element to a story that peers into the dark recesses of one human mind.
Robert F. Young. Jungle Doctor. (Startling Stories, Fall 1955).
A strong start to Dikty’s anthology, with a story that stands the test of time well.
C.M. Kornbluth. The Cosmic Expense Account. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1956)
A story that would sit nicely in today’s F&SF with only a few changes – blackly comic and satirical, it features two men setting out into zombie-infested territory.
John Bernard Daley. The Man Who Liked Lions. (Infinity Science Fiction October 1956).
Mr. Kemper has been on Earth for millenia and finds little to differentiate the creatures in cages at the zoo from those staring in at them.
Eric Frank Russell. Allamagoosa. (Astounding May 1955)
A fairly weak story for a Hugo Winner.