Ugly Little Boy
by Isaac Asimov
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
discuss this book
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 240)
Read in August, 2008
I love it when a book sneaks up on you and holds you in it's grasp as thoroughly as this one did with me. A simple pairing of stories, really, made fascinating by the 40,000 year time span and the numerous endings that could have been.
I loved Asimov's robot short stories and novels for the moral and ethical dilemmas the author tackles. This novel was similar, in that the scienctific underpinnings are secondary to the unforseen consequences of their implementation.
It was refreshing to s...more
I loved Asimov's robot short stories and novels for the moral and ethical dilemmas the author tackles. This novel was similar, in that the scienctific underpinnings are secondary to the unforseen consequences of their implementation.
It was refreshing to s...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in August, 2008
Wonderful story with interesting characters. Predictable yet very fun to read. I get the impression that Silverberg wrote the book based on a short story by Asimov.
At one point in the story some scientists complain that though the transfer of a prehistoric boy is miraculous it still is not good enough. This rings true this pattern of expectations always outpacing abilities.
"If only they had managed to bring a child who was older than this across time!" the anthropologists ke...more
At one point in the story some scientists complain that though the transfer of a prehistoric boy is miraculous it still is not good enough. This rings true this pattern of expectations always outpacing abilities.
"If only they had managed to bring a child who was older than this across time!" the anthropologists ke...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 1999
With apologies to the initiated, Isaac Asimov never did better and Robert Silverberg is to be applauded for expanding the original work, a short story by Asimov, into this hard sci-fi novel par excellence. Credited with writing over 500 books, Asimov only hit two bottom-of-the-ninth walk-off grand slams in his fantastically prolific career: A 5-page short story called "The Last Question" and this perfect 10 right here.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Asimov wrote this novel as an expansion of his short story of the same name. A little prehistoric boy is transported through time to earth, some time in the near future, where he is nurtured by the novel's protagonist even while being studied by scientists.
The conflict comes when they are done studying him--what is to become of him then? I fell in love with the ugly little boy.
The conflict comes when they are done studying him--what is to become of him then? I fell in love with the ugly little boy.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
Nothing but love for this story. The short story is good, but the novel is just so... complete. It makes each character human. I've read this book so many times, I can pick it up, open any part of it, and just start reading it and know where I'm at.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This was originally a short story by Asimov, then expanded into novel length by Silverberg. I really enjoyed what Silverberg added to the original story. He really gave more depth to the characters and made them more interesting and real to me.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1992
recommends it for:
sci fi fans, anthropologists
Read this book pursuing good Asimov reads and loved it, as an anthropologists the themes were intriguing and as a geologist it satisfied my scientific curiosities. Try to squeeze it in.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Yet another short story -> novel conversion. The short story was quite good on its own. I confess to not really caring for the lengthier version.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
One of my favorite Asimov books; the short story it was based on was one of Asimov's personal favorites of all the stories he wrote.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
