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 spec-fic genre stories, films, etc., that feature a trucker protagonist and/or a big truck, or an armored transport vehicle. (Sometimes it's a judgment call. There might be trucks around, but are they central to the plot or protagonist?)
I went on to add a few tales from other genres -- all that I could find. Several Romance novels, plus a handful of others.
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.)
"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 in major book stores, and in electronic form from Fictionwise.
Analog is also one of the very first periodicals to sign up with Amazon's Kindle service.
"/w/i/t/h By Good Intentions," by Carrie Richerson (In F&SF magazine.)
"Killdozer!" by Theodore Sturgeon
"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.)
"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 and 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
Know of any more? Suggestions
are welcome. Email us at, CuebonCountry \at\ aol
/dot/ com, and please make your subject line distinct.