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Tales from Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: Short Stories for Young Adults
A collection of seventeen science fiction stories by authors including Frederik Pohl, Isaac Asimov, Pamela Sargent, and Octavia E. Butler.
- GenresShort Stories
298 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1986
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About the author
Sheila Williams
276 books66 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Sheila Williams is the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. She is also the recipient of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form.
Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms. Williams received a bachelor's degree from Elmira College in Elmira, New York, although she studied at the London School of Economics during her junior year. She received her Master's from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to David Bruce and has two daughters.
She became interested in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (as it was then titled) while studying philosophy at Washington University. In 1982 she was hired at the magazine, and worked with Isaac Asimov for ten years. While working there, she co-founded the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (at one time called the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing). In 2004, with the retirement of Gardner Dozois, she became the editor of the magazine.
Along with Gardner Dozois she also edited the "Isaac Asimov's" anthology series. She also co-edited A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women (2001) with Connie Willis. Most recently she has edited a retrospective anthology of fiction published by Asimov's: Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: 30th Anniversary Anthology. Booklist called the book "A gem, and a credit to editor Williams."
She has been nominated for 4 Hugo Awards as editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
See also Sheila Williams's entry in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
Sheila Williams is the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. She is also the recipient of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form.
Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms. Williams received a bachelor's degree from Elmira College in Elmira, New York, although she studied at the London School of Economics during her junior year. She received her Master's from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to David Bruce and has two daughters.
She became interested in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (as it was then titled) while studying philosophy at Washington University. In 1982 she was hired at the magazine, and worked with Isaac Asimov for ten years. While working there, she co-founded the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (at one time called the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing). In 2004, with the retirement of Gardner Dozois, she became the editor of the magazine.
Along with Gardner Dozois she also edited the "Isaac Asimov's" anthology series. She also co-edited A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women (2001) with Connie Willis. Most recently she has edited a retrospective anthology of fiction published by Asimov's: Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine: 30th Anniversary Anthology. Booklist called the book "A gem, and a credit to editor Williams."
She has been nominated for 4 Hugo Awards as editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
See also Sheila Williams's entry in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 11, 2025
Decent enough collection, the Octavia Butler short, which understandably won a Hugo, was by far the best.
July 2, 2017
This book was a task to get through. Some stories seem to go on and on (e.g. 'Realtime') and afterward, I went "huh?" Others seem to have good ideas but didn't expand on them, or ideas that were incomprehensible. The only story that really stood out was one by author Pamela Sergeant called 'Shrinker,' a story that could fit perfectly for a "Twilight Zone"-like anthology; a story that had a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Would I come back to this book? Definitely not. However, I would like to revisit Sergeant's story.
Edit: 7/1/17:
I'm currently revisiting Sergeant's story and one aspect is bothering me: The height of the husband, when he's shrunken in the story, doesn't add up.
You see, the husband gives the wife an idea to shrink him to save costs while he works on a novel. He's shrunk to 5 inches, about the size of an Arizona Ice Tea can....but his wife picks him up via him standing on her palm (as if he's about half an inch rather than five). And the husband claims that she sounds like she's screaming when they converse, which may be true, but he doesn't seem that small to have major, major changes in regards to them talking to one another. I assume they are in close proximity.
Not too mention, the dollhouse that he lives in temporarily must be huge! It's said it has a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen...without the running water, obviously.
The wife should have carried him with cupped hands as if she was carried a mug(or a can, like an Arizona Tea can) I think. And maybe a hand under him so she's sure not to drop him since he's her spouse and all.
Would I come back to this book? Definitely not. However, I would like to revisit Sergeant's story.
Edit: 7/1/17:
I'm currently revisiting Sergeant's story and one aspect is bothering me: The height of the husband, when he's shrunken in the story, doesn't add up.
You see, the husband gives the wife an idea to shrink him to save costs while he works on a novel. He's shrunk to 5 inches, about the size of an Arizona Ice Tea can....but his wife picks him up via him standing on her palm (as if he's about half an inch rather than five). And the husband claims that she sounds like she's screaming when they converse, which may be true, but he doesn't seem that small to have major, major changes in regards to them talking to one another. I assume they are in close proximity.
Not too mention, the dollhouse that he lives in temporarily must be huge! It's said it has a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen...without the running water, obviously.
The wife should have carried him with cupped hands as if she was carried a mug(or a can, like an Arizona Tea can) I think. And maybe a hand under him so she's sure not to drop him since he's her spouse and all.
January 15, 2010
Science Fiction is a way of stepping out of the world and viewing humanity from a different perspective. The thing I like about Star Trek is the optimistic, hopeful glimpse it gives us of the future. This book, I'm afraid, contained many stories of dystopic communities with somewhat twisted glimmers of hope. Kind of depressing. A few quirky stories were fun. Some stories I fear I was not bright enough to comprehend and could only scratch my head and say, "huh?" when I reached their conclusion. Okay, maybe I'm not smart enough for science fiction. Anyway my favorite quote is in honor of my three left-handed children:
"Left-handed people tended to be less impaired, more reasonable and comprehending, less driven by frustration, confusion, and anger."
"Left-handed people tended to be less impaired, more reasonable and comprehending, less driven by frustration, confusion, and anger."
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews