Trucker SF

Trucker Themed Fiction

Here is a compilation of truck driver themed SF, Fantasy, and Horror films and stories, by Paul Carlson. With thanks to Andy Duncan, plus the folks on the Analog magazine, Asimov's magazine, Realms of Fantasy magazine, Yard Dog Press, and Truckers Road forums, plus some Romance and Mystery discussion forums.

These stories are so very rare that I loosened the criterion for this list, to include all Speculative Fiction genre stories, films, etc., that feature a trucker protagonist and/or a big truck, or (in one case) an armored transport vehicle.
(Sometimes it's a judgment call. There might be trucks around, but are they big-rigs, and central to the plot or protagonist?)

I went on to add a few tales from other genres, such as Romance novels, plus a handful of others.
With one exception, these are all commercially published texts, not 'vanity' or self-published titles.

Major Genre Categories:

Science Fiction

Young Adult/Children's

Trucker Science Fiction novels:

Starrigger, by John DeChancie, and its sequels Red Limit Freeway and Paradox Alley

Damnation Alley, by Roger Zelazny

SF short stories:

"Dead Run," by Greg Bear (In Omni magazine, anthologized in The Collected Stories of Greg Bear.)

"Over Flat Mountain," by Terry Bisson (Collected in Bears Discover Fire.)

"Journey," by Paul Carlson (Collected in Fall and Rise.)

"Shotgun Seat," by Paul Carlson (In Analog magazine's July/August 2008 issue.)
It's available from collectors, and in electronic form from Fictionwise.
[Analog is also available on Amazon's Kindle service.]

"/w/i/t/h By Good Intentions," by Carrie Richerson (In F&SF magazine.)

"Killdozer!" by Theodore Sturgeon (Collected in Killdozer! Volume III )

"Where the Golden Apples Grow," by Kage Baker (Collected in The Year's Best Science Fiction: 24th Annual Collection.)

"On the Storm Planet," by Cordwainer Smith

"Bringing It All Back Home," by Bud Webster (In Analog magazine.)

"Catalyst Run," by Jesse Miller (In Analog magazine.)

"Over the Long Haul," by Martha Soukup (Collected in The Arbitrary Placement of Walls.)

"Jubilee," by Wynne Whiteford (Collected in Alien Shores.)

"The Distant Sound of Engines," by Algis Budrys (In F&SF magazine, collected in Entertainment.)

"Juggernaut Jones, Trucker," by A. R. McKenzie (In Amazing magazine.)

"Truck Driver," by Robert Chilson. (Collected in Terrorists of Tomorrow.)

[Friendly truckers play bit parts in many Heinlein stories.]

SF movies & TV episodes:

Space Truckers, from Stuart Gordon (Based on a short story???)

Damnation Alley, from Jack Smight (Based on the Zelazny story.)

The Road Warrior, from George Miller, and its sequels

"Parasites Lost," from Matt Groening (A Futurama episode.)

"Dead Run," from Alan Brennert (A New Twilight Zone episode, based on the Greg Bear story.)

'Trucker Science Fiction' Music:

The Truck Stop at the End of the World, by Commander Cody

{Plus hundreds of 'Truck Driving Country' songs}

Trucker Fantasy novels:

The River of the Dancing Gods, by Jack L. Chalker

Fantasy short stories:

None ???

Fantasy movies:

Big Trouble in Little China, from John Carpenter

Trucker Horror novels:

Wolf Flow, by K W Jeter

Lot Lizards, by Ray Garton

The Black Mariah, by Jay Bonansinga

Horror short stories:

"Duel," by Richard Matheson (Collected in Duel, Terror Stories.)

"Trucks," by Stephen King (Collected in Night Shift.)

"West Coast Turnaround," by John Wooley, et. al. (In Eerie magazine.)

Horror movies:

Duel, from Steven Spielberg (Based on the Matheson story.)

Joy Ride, from John Dahl

Maximum Overdrive, from Steven King, and Trucks, from Chris Thomson (Both are based on the King story.)

Mainstream & Literary Trucker Novels:

None ???

Mainstream & Literary Short Stories:

"The Night We Buried Road Dog," by Jack Cady (Also his "The Burning" and "Singleton," etc.)

Trucker Action/Thriller Novels:

Rig Warrior, by William Johnstone (Plus its sequels.)

Action/Thriller Movies:

Convoy, from Sam Peckinpah

Smokey and the Bandit, from Hal Needham (Plus its sequels and knockoffs.)

Le Salaire de la peur ("Wages of Fear"), from Henri-Georges Clouzot

Breakdown, from Jonathan Mostow

Trucker Romance Novels:

Vancouver: the Gem of Canada, by Gail Sattler

Phoenix Rising, by Mary Kirk. (Silhouette Special Edition #524, 1989.)

Driven, by Eve Kenin

Weekend Warriors, by Fern Michaels.
[One of her recent "Sisterhood" novels also features a lady trucker.]

Trucks Driving Woman, by Elizabeth August (Silhouette Romance #590)

Trick My Truck But Don't Mess With My Heart, by LuAnn McLane (Signet Eclipse)

Me and You and a Truck Named Blue, by Robin Stears (2005)

Big Truck, Tender Heart, by Liz MacClintock and Tom Q. MacClintock (2001)

Annie's Hero, by Maggie Shayne (Avon, 1997)

Truck Stop, by Allie McCormack (2001)

The Right Moves, Jan Hudson (Loveswept)

The Bumpy Road of Trucking and Romance, by Helmer Bjerkebek

Romance Short Stories:

"Miracle on I-40," by Curtis Ann Matlock (Collected in Silhouette Christmas Stories, 1988.)

Christian Trucker Novels:

Jesus Trucking Company, by Rick Amidon

Young Adult & Children's Trucker Books:

Truckers, by Terry Pratchett

Truck Dogs, by Graeme Base

Big Rigs (Blastoff Readers: Mighty Machines), by Kay Manolis

Trucks and Trucking, by Mike and Ruth Wolverton

Trucker Mystery Novels:

The Vanishing Gold Truck, by Harry Stephen Keeler (Lulu, reprinted by his fans*)

Mystery Short Stories:

"How's My Driving?" by Loren D. Estleman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Jan./Feb. 2008 issue)

[* Normally I would not include any 'vanity press' or 'self published' works on this list. However, the original editions are nearly sold out, and Mr. Keeler's reprinted novel remains the only book in this category.]

Trucker TV Shows:

Movin' On {starring Claude Akins}

Trucker Video & Board Games

Silent Hill: Origins

Galaxy Trucker

Trucker Nonfiction:

Uncommon Carriers, by John McPhee

Big Rig: Comic Tales from a Long Haul Trucker, by Don McTavish

Three Arm Trucking, by Gary Bricken

A Thousand Miles From Nowhere: Trucking Two Continents, by Graham Coster

Trucking Related Scholarship:

Trucking Country, The Road to America's Wal-Mart Economy, by Shane Hamilton

Trucking in the Age of Information, edited by Dale Belman and Chelsea C. White III

The Big Rigs: Trucks, Truckers and Trucking, by Kathleen S. Abrams

Interested in a copy of your own? We are offering many of these titles for sale, via Amazon.com and other providers. (This site will receive a small percentage, to help defray costs.)

TTF shopping page

Know of any more? Suggestions are welcome. Email us at, CuebonCountry \at\ aol /dot/ com, and please make your subject line distinct.

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