The Science Fiction Weight Loss Book

by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), George R.R. Martin (Editor)

Contents:
Introduction: Fat! / Isaac Asimov --
Sylvester's revenge / Vance Aandahl --
Fat farm / Orson Scott Card --
The Stretch / Sam Merwin, Jr. --
Camels and dromedaries, Clem / R.A. Lafferty --
The Champ / T. Coraghessan Boyle --
The Truth about Pyecraft / H.G. Wells --
The Iron Chancellor / Robert Silverberg --
The Man who ate the world / Frederik Pohl --
Gladys's Gregory / John Anthony West --
Abercrombie Station / Jack Vance --
Shipping clerk / William Morrison --
The Malted milk monster / William Tenn --
The Food farm / Kit Reed --
The Artist of hunger / Scott Russell Sanders --
Quitters, Inc. / Stephen King

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Anthologies, Short Stories

249 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thinly conceived (ha!), this anthology has yielded stories that are silly and antiquated ("The Stretch"), banal genre fare ("Quitters, Inc."), pretentious and insubstantial (Boyle and Lafferty's contributions), and the single most monstrously stupid story I have ever read (Vance Aandahl's awful, stupid and worthless "Sylvester's Revenge", which has got to be the dumbest piece of shit ever submitted for publishing; your auntie's "Scrubs" fan fiction is better literature). There may be winners I have not yet delved into, but I thought Orson Scott Card's story was good.

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this anthology 4 stars practically just on the strength of the story "Fat Farm" by Orson Scott Card. I read this more than 30 years ago and still remember it. I recall it being a strong collection overall, though with stories by Asimov, Steven King, H.G. Wells, and T. Coraghessan Boyle to boot. Asimov dug deep for this anthology.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something I would not normally be drawn to read but ended up really enjoying it. Reminds me to stay open to all genres of fiction.

[Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://gnomeship.blogspot.com/2015/01...

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a while ago and vaguely remembered really liking it, and clearly remembered LOVING 'The Iron Chancellor.' I finally found a used copy to re-read.

Thoughts now:

Isaac Asimov starts off the collection with an introductory essay briefly covering the science and history of fat in that oh so dry way he was so good at that makes me wish he (on top of the million things he actually did) had also made history documentaries a la David Starkey style.

Sylvester's Revenge by Vance Aandahl – It’s like The Island of Dr. Moreau but with fat rather than animal parts. Points for evil scientist gender equality.

Fat Farm by Orson Scott Card – The seeds are sown here for Sci-Fi stories other authors would write decades later like Altered Carbon as it deals with copying and pasting memories into upgraded clones, as well as the rather awkward question of what to do with unwanted extras.

Stretch by Sam Merwin, Jr. – Since we’re dealing with weight and mass, why not throw in dimension as well? Think Flatlands meets Mad Men, with all the sexism that implies.

Camels and dromedaries, Clem by R.A. Lafferty – This was only tangentially related to the anthology theme and too weird to be interesting.

The Champ by T. Coraghessan Boyle – While the framing device of boxing was entertaining, real life eating competitions have far outstripped the speculation here.

The Truth About Pyecraft by H.G. Wells – Oh Victorian Sci-Fi. You so racist.

The Iron Chancellor by Robert Silverberg – Now this is some good old fashioned Atomicpunk! Bring on the gadgets and gizmos and G-rated family dramas! Oh Silverberg, you silver fox, you can trap me in the kitchen anytime. ;-) This is hands down the best in the collection and the most on point.

The Man Who Ate The World by Frederik Pohl – Pohl brilliantly puts his fingers on the pulse in that not only has rich become thin and poor become fat, but in our society the rich have become able to be Spartan with their possessions and the poor have become overwhelmed with a need for too much stuff, partly to keep certain economic systems going. But instead of a larger dystopia, we focus on what this does to a child’s mind, and the consequences for everyone.

Gladys's Gregory by John Anthony West – Well that was weird. Can’t decide if it was sexist or subversive. Either way – weird. Like The Lottery but with…. weigh ins…and trophies… question mark?

Abercrombie Station by Jack Vance – To flip the standards of pretty and ugly isn’t a new idea, but it’s used well here. However, Jean’s 180 flip from flint hearted dame to crying damsel was either a brilliant portrayal of how people are complicated or a very clumsily handled attempt at in-depth characterization. I really can’t say which.

Shipping Clerk by William Morrison – Interesting to see what a long shadow the Great Depression cast on everything, even Sci-Fi of later eras.

The Malted Milk Monster by William Tenn – The creepy kid with super powers pops up all over the place (especially Star Trek) but I liked the Madison Ave pop-psych angle the writing of this era came with.

The Food Farm by Kit Reed – Ummm, I don’t really get the musician part of the story, and all the rest would be done better in later stories that tackle the revolt-against-the-system idea.

The Artist of Hunger by Scott Russell Sanders – Oh boy does this ever predict the present of advertising bombardment and the fat-thin cycle being sold everywhere right now.

Quitters, Inc. by Stephen King – Well, it’s Stephen King, so it’s scary and the characters are f*cked up and I was completely sucked in and horrified at the same time. Not sure it qualifies as Sci-Fi, but obviously still a well written story to end the collection on.


Overall, I don’t think these boys pushed the theme far enough. Real life has long since overtaken most of these stories, but it was a fairly entertaining fruit salad of ideas.

Speaking of which – please read this for a hilarious look into the culture these writers were coming from: http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards/ins...

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of largely mediocre stories, Wells' Truth about Pryecraft and an early version of Orson Scott Card's "Fat Farm" (much better version appeared in Omni Magazine years latter) being two exceptions.

[Herman Schmitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boa ideia mas na prática não convence muito... Os contos são desiguais e a tradução é deplorável. Vale pela introdução do Asimov que é bastante irônica e típica do mestre!

[Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing collection of stories. It's worth reading one or two before heading into a situation where one is tempted to overeat.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, George R.R. Martin did once collaborate with Asimov on (editing) a book. You might win a bet in a con suite with that trivia question. It's something of an unusual and uneven collection... good stories by Orson Scott Card, Frederik Pohl, and Kit Reed... the H.G. Wells was an interesting curiosity... there's a nice story by Stephen King, though an excerpt from Thinner would have been a better choice.

[Katherine]

12/15/86. No library.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dated but still relevant collection of amusing, horrific, satisfying, and boring short stories on fat with a science fiction backdrop.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains some really great stories from some of the greatest science fiction authors.