Then he turned and headed straight for home, but he took the long way, around the world.
Great story, even though I’ve never completely understood it. You can find a copy here.
From Ursula K. Le Guin:
*But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.
*
Alfred Bester’s “Adam and No Eve.” It even impressed John Updike, who hated science fiction.
Wow, the bolded part of the OP lasted a whole 18 posts. That must be a record for the SDMB.
Shit.
Mods, please edit - or delete - my posts.
I forget the name of the story and the author’s name… A space mission is exploring Mars, mostly from orbit, and they discover a third moon quite close to the surface of the planet. Unfortunately, all three members of the expedition have a fondness for horrible puns and the final line–the final word of the story, in fact–is the name one of them gives the third moon.
The Holes Around Mars by Jerome Bixby
That’s the one!
The OP’s directive was not to spoil the stories by giving the last lines. While some last lines have been given, they mostly haven’t been spoilers.
I see Harlan Ellison’s stories have been mentioned, but…
No mention of A Boy and His Dog?
The complete works of Grendel Briarton and his adventures of Ferdinand Feghoot. Indeed, the stories are usually identified by their last lines.
Definitely Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.
Is Theodore Sturgeon’s “It” SF, or just straight-out horror? (“Babe” is a young farm girl)
“…And Babe screams at night, and has grown very thin.”
Same question: Ronald Dahl’s “Royal Jelly.”
“Come and cover up our little Queen.”
The Giver, by Lois Lowry.
“The Mountains of Mourning”, by Lois McMaster Bujold
“Founding Father” by Isaac Asimov
The last line of The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin is of a piece with the rest of the work, and therefore both haunting, and beautiful.
As I have mentioned before, I will be a better person the rest of my life because I read that book.
Regards,
Shodan
Another Isaac Asimov short containing a last line with teeth: “The Ugly Little Boy”
The best last line in a science fiction story is in Duane Ackerson’s “Sign At The End of The Universe”.
It is also the best first line in a science fiction short story.
Came in here after a day’s rumination to add The Ugly Little Boy (the short story, don’t know about the later novel), but AHunter3 beat me to it. :o
Arthur C. Clarke in the book version of 2001: A Space Odyssey