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The Game of Rat and Dragon

Cordwainer Smith

First published October 1955
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story
Series The Instrumentality of Mankind

Synopsis

When humans develop space travel, their vessels come under attack by alien creatures; the most effective means of defense is to utilize cats telepathically linked to the humans, operating the defensive weapons.

External Links

Awards

YearAwardCategoryStatus
1956 Hugo Award Best Short Story Nominee/Finalist
2012 Locus Online 20th Century Short Story Nominee/Finalist

Publications (110)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
October 1955 Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1955 Galaxy Publishing Corporation MAGAZINE 126
1956 The Best Science-Fiction Stories and Novels: 1956 Frederick Fell Anthology 49
January 1956 Galaxy Science Fiction, No. 34 Strato Publications MAGAZINE 106
November 1956 The Best Science-Fiction Stories and Novels: 1956 Frederick Fell / SFBC Anthology 49
June 1958 Best SF Three: Science Fiction Stories Faber and Faber Anthology 206
June 1958 The Third Galaxy Reader Doubleday Anthology 245
December 1958 Six from Worlds Beyond: Selected from The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels, 1956 Crest Book Anthology 31
December 1958 The Third Galaxy Reader Doubleday / SFBC Anthology 245
December 1959 Best SF Three: Science Fiction Stories Faber and Faber Anthology 206
July 1960 The Third Galaxy Reader Permabooks Anthology 218
September 1960 Best SF Three The Science Fiction Book Club (UK) Anthology 206
1962 Best SF Three Faber and Faber Anthology 206
1962 Best SF Three: Science Fiction Stories Faber and Faber Anthology 206
1963 You Will Never Be the Same Regency Books Collection 83
1963 Best SF Three Faber and Faber Anthology 206
1966 Best SF Three: Science Fiction Stories Faber and Faber Anthology 206
1967 Best SF Three Faber and Faber Anthology 206
1970 Under Old Earth and Other Explorations Panther Collection 11
May 1970 The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction Canfield Press Anthology 201
May 1970 The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction Harper & Row Anthology 201
September 1970 You Will Never Be the Same Berkley Medallion Collection 93
July 1971 The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction Sidgwick & Jackson Anthology 201
March 1972 A Science Fiction Argosy Simon & Schuster Anthology 199
May 1972 A Science Fiction Argosy Simon & Schuster / SFBC Anthology 191
November 1972 Supernatural Cats Doubleday Anthology 3
January 1973 The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction Perennial Library / Harper & Row Anthology 187
April 1973 A Science Fiction Argosy Gollancz Anthology
1974 As Tomorrow Becomes Today Prentice-Hall Anthology 279
1974 As Tomorrow Becomes Today Prentice-Hall Anthology 279
January 1974 Supernatural Cats Warner Paperback Library Anthology 19
February 1974 The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction Perennial Library / Harper & Row Anthology 187
July 1975 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Nelson Doubleday / SFBC Collection 67
September 1975 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Ballantine Books Collection 67
September 1975 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Ballantine Books Collection 67
October 1975 You Will Never Be the Same Garland Publishing Collection 93
October 1977 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 67
October 1977 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 67
1978 Science Fiction: Contemporary Mythology: The SFWA-SFRA Anthology Harper & Row Anthology 77
June 1978 Science Fiction: Contemporary Mythology: The SFWA-SFRA Anthology Harper & Row Anthology 77
December 1979 From Heinlein to Here Mentor / New American Library Anthology 273
November 1980 The Great Science Fiction Series Harper & Row Anthology 402
1981 Fantastic Creatures: An Anthology of Fantasy and Science Fictions Franklin Watts Anthology 140
October 1981 The Golden Age of Science Fiction Hutchinson Anthology 222
August 1982 Science Fiction A to Z: A Dictionary of the Great S.F. Themes Houghton Mifflin Anthology 161
1983 The Golden Age of Science Fiction Penguin Books Anthology 223
June 1984 Magicats! Ace Books Anthology 15
September 1984 Magicats! Ace Books Anthology 15
July 1985 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Del Rey / Ballantine Collection 67
July 1985 Magicats! Ace Books Anthology 15
March 1986 Magicats! Ace Books Anthology 15
1987 Roger Caras' Treasury of Great Cat Stories Truman Talley Books / Dutton Anthology 314
1988 Science Fiction: The Science Fiction Research Association Anthology Harper & Row Anthology 261
January 1988 The Great SF Stories #17 (1955) DAW Books Anthology 254
January 1988 The Great SF Stories #17 (1955) DAW Books Anthology 254
April 1988 Space-Fighters Ace Books Anthology 6
June 1988 The Rediscovery of Man VGSF / Gollancz Collection 67
September 1988 The Rediscovery of Man Gollancz Collection 67
1990 Roger Caras' Treasury of Great Cat Stories Galahad Books Anthology 314
May 1992 Cats in Space and Other Places Baen Books Anthology 3
June 1993 The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith NESFA Press Collection 163
July 1996 From Heinlein to Here Borealis / White Wolf Publishing Anthology 223
February 1997 A Century of Science Fiction 1950-1959 MJF Books Anthology 197
1998 Science Fiction: Contemporary Mythology: The SFWA-SFRA Anthology HarperCollins Anthology
May 1999 The Rediscovery of Man Millennium / Orion Collection 67
May 2001 The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century Del Rey / Ballantine Anthology 263
March 2002 From Heinlein to Here Scarecrow Press Anthology 240
September 2002 The Ultimate Cyberpunk ibooks Anthology 27
2003 The Rediscovery of Man Gollancz / Orion Collection 67
May 2004 The Ultimate Cyberpunk ibooks Anthology 27
July 2006 The Space Opera Renaissance Tor Anthology 139
August 2006 The Space Opera Renaissance Tor / SFBC Anthology 139
July 2007 The Space Opera Renaissance Orb Anthology 139
July 2007 The Space Opera Renaissance Tor Anthology |5
September 2007 When the People Fell Baen Books Collection
September 2007 When the People Fell Baen Books Collection 11
January 2009 The Game of Rat and Dragon Wonder eBooks Chapbook
August 2009 The Game of Rat and Dragon Project Gutenberg Chapbook
September 2009 Short Science Fiction Collection 25 LibriVox Anthology |1
February 2010 The Rediscovery of Man Gollancz / Orion Collection
March 2010 Short Science Fiction Collection 33 LibriVox Anthology |6
April 2010 Scanners and Others: Three Science Fiction Stories Wildside Press Collection 44
August 2010 The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction Wesleyan University Press Anthology 309
August 2010 The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction Wesleyan University Press Anthology 309
June 2011 Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction Wildside Press Anthology |176
December 2011 Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction Wildside Press Anthology |176
May 2012 The Mammoth Book of SF Wars Robinson Anthology 365
May 2012 The Mammoth Book of SF Wars Robinson Anthology |19
June 2012 The Mammoth Book of SF Wars Running Press Anthology 365
August 2012 When the People Fell Baen Books Collection 275
November 2012 The Rediscovery of Man Gateway / Orion Collection
March 2013 Magicats! Baen Books Anthology
July 2016 The Big Book of Science Fiction: The Ultimate Collection Vintage Crime / Black Lizard / Vintage Books Anthology 290
July 2016 The Big Book of Science Fiction: The Ultimate Collection Vintage Crime / Black Lizard / Vintage Books Anthology |27
July 2016 The Big Book of Science Fiction: The Ultimate Collection Vintage Crime/Black Lizard / SFBC Anthology 290
November 2016 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Blackstone Audio Collection |67
November 2016 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Blackstone Audiobooks Collection |5
November 2016 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Blackstone Audiobooks Collection |5
November 2016 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Blackstone Audiobooks Collection |5
April 2017 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Phoenix Pick Collection
April 2017 The Best of Cordwainer Smith Phoenix Pick Collection
October 2017 Infinite Stars: The Definitive Anthology of Space Opera and Military SF Titan Books Anthology 108
October 2017 Infinite Stars Titan Books Anthology 108
October 2017 Infinite Stars Titan Books Anthology
November 2017 The Game of Rat and Dragon Super Large Print Chapbook
January 2018 The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith NESFA Press Collection 179
May 2018 Infinite Stars Titan Books Anthology
October 2020 A Cat of Space and Time WMG Publishing Anthology |4
October 2020 A Cat of Space and Time WMG Publishing Anthology |4
December 2022 Audiobook Collection MotionAudiobooks Omnibus |45
May 2024 The Game of Rat and Dragon Zinc Read Chapbook