Sci-fi collection of short stores VS sci-fi novel?

[Author Robbie]

Depending on your attention span or your pace of life, short stories may be more digestible than full novelS what’s your thoughts?

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Both can be fine, of course, but I lean to short stories. (I also usually avoid extremely long novels and endless series.)

 

[hitmouse]

It is cyclical. I like both. Reading lots of ss recently, but starting to get a hankering for novels again.

 

[Rodders]

I’ve always preferred a novel over a short story. Short stories are quick and punchy, but for the most part I always feel that I’ve left the story before it’s truly finished. I suppose that’s not a bad thing. “Always leave them hungry for more”, eh?

My favourite short stories were the PKD ones (I have three of Gollancz yellow jackets on my shelves) and Galactic North and Diamond Dogs by Alistair Reynolds. I recently read Neal Asher's Lockdown Tales which I also enjoyed a lot more than I was expecting to.

 

[DeathFusion]

I prefer novels, really getting to know the characters and setting. But I aim to read more short-stories, since I write them.

 

[Author Robbie]

I also enjoy both, but the author has to truly hold my attention for a novel, or a get distracted by the smallest things.
For short stories, two of my favorites are
Second variety by Philip K Dick
The veldt by Ray Bradbury
both sci-fi of course!

 

[Author Robbie]

I’ve always preferred a novel over a short story. Short stories are quick and punchy, but for the most part I always feel that I’ve left the story before it’s truly finished. I suppose that’s not a bad thing. “Always leave them hungry for more”, eh?

My favourite short stories were the PKD ones (I have three of Gollancz yellow jackets on my shelves) and Galactic North and Diamond Dogs by Alistair Reynolds. I recently read Neal Asher's Lockdown Tales which I also enjoyed a lot more than I was expecting to.

Philip K Dick Is amazing!

 

[Author Robbie]

It is cyclical. I like both. Reading lots of ss recently, but starting to get a hankering for novels again.

Liking both is fine. I’m the same

 

[BAYLOR]

I like both equally

 

[Randy M.]

Both can be fine, of course, but I lean to short stories. (I also usually avoid extremely long novels and endless series.)

This pretty well describes me, too.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

On the whole, I prefer novels. And sometimes novellas. But a good, well-written story is a pleasure to read, whatever its length.

 

[paranoid marvin]

It depends on the story being told. For a ghost story, short is always better; a chilling tale to be told/read by firelight should be completable in one sitting. For fantasy, I think that I much prefer longer stories, even spread over several books (but not too many); I think that historically fantasy was sagas, or series of adventures for the hero(s), and that is how I prefer it.

For scifi, some of the greatest stories are short ones (in particular I use to love the 'Amazing Stories' etc comicbooks), the short scifi stories told in the tv shows The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits are fantastic, and there are/were a number of great authors able to cram a universe of adventure into a short story.

I think I will opt for novellas of less than 150 pages.

 

[chongjasmine]

For fantasy, I prefer series. For Science fiction, I like short stories.