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Early Asimov #2
The Early Asimov: Volume 2
Česky dosud nepublikované povídky:
Začal jsem jako spisovatel sci-fi a prvních jedenáct let své literární kariéry jsem psal výhradně vědeckofantastické povídky určené k publikování v časopisech. Myšlenka, že bych mohl vydat skutečnou knihu, mi vzhledem k mé vrozené skromnosti vůbec nepřišla na mysl. Ale pak se dostavily doby, kdy jsem začal psát knihy, a tehdy jsem se pokusil shromáždit materiály, které jsem dříve vytvořil pro časopisy. Mezi lety 1950 a 1969 mi vyšlo deset sbírek. Člověk by si myslel, že je to dost, ale to by nesměl brát v úvahu neukojitelný apetit mých čtenářů (Bůh jim žehnej!). Takže když mi nakladatelé navrhli, abych vytvořil sbírku povídek, které se do těchto sbírek nevešly, a doprovodil je krátkými předmluvami, nedokázal jsem odmítnout.
-Isaac Asimov
Začal jsem jako spisovatel sci-fi a prvních jedenáct let své literární kariéry jsem psal výhradně vědeckofantastické povídky určené k publikování v časopisech. Myšlenka, že bych mohl vydat skutečnou knihu, mi vzhledem k mé vrozené skromnosti vůbec nepřišla na mysl. Ale pak se dostavily doby, kdy jsem začal psát knihy, a tehdy jsem se pokusil shromáždit materiály, které jsem dříve vytvořil pro časopisy. Mezi lety 1950 a 1969 mi vyšlo deset sbírek. Člověk by si myslel, že je to dost, ale to by nesměl brát v úvahu neukojitelný apetit mých čtenářů (Bůh jim žehnej!). Takže když mi nakladatelé navrhli, abych vytvořil sbírku povídek, které se do těchto sbírek nevešly, a doprovodil je krátkými předmluvami, nedokázal jsem odmítnout.
-Isaac Asimov
237 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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292 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,338 books27.7k followersWorks 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...
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...
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 4, 2022
دورگههای سیاره ناهید: 2
موهوم: 2
وراثت: 3
تاریخ: 2
کریسمس در گانیمد: 2
مرد کوچکی در مترو: 2.5
دست انداختن: 3
ابرنوترون: 4
تمام نشده است: 4
روال قانونی: 4 یک بخش از این داستان آخر جا افتاده بود و چاپ نشده بود. مشکل چاپ نبود چون شماره صفحهها درسته ولی یه بخش از داستان نیست. لطفا قبل از چاپ یه دور کتابها رو بخونین! زیاد کار سختی نیست
موهوم: 2
وراثت: 3
تاریخ: 2
کریسمس در گانیمد: 2
مرد کوچکی در مترو: 2.5
دست انداختن: 3
ابرنوترون: 4
تمام نشده است: 4
روال قانونی: 4 یک بخش از این داستان آخر جا افتاده بود و چاپ نشده بود. مشکل چاپ نبود چون شماره صفحهها درسته ولی یه بخش از داستان نیست. لطفا قبل از چاپ یه دور کتابها رو بخونین! زیاد کار سختی نیست
September 28, 2022
6,5 Isaac Asimov was one of the authors who instilled in me a love for science fiction. I think my love of short stories can also be traced back to his work. His stories, along with those by Arthur C. Clarke, taught me what great science fiction is - built on an idea, scientifically plausible or asking questions of science, with a twist that made you look at the idea in a whole new light. Some of his stories like 'Nightfall' or 'The Final Question' do stay in my mind still, just like the Robot stories and more.
But he was not always the experienced SF-author firing on all cylinders. Here some of his early stories are collected, written around 1939 to 1941 - so at the close of the pulp era and the start of the golden age. They belong to the first stories he ever wrote, some were rejected by several magazines or appeared in small magazines. They show an author finding his own voice, being swayed by his editors John W. Campbell en Frederick Pohl and searching for subjects that were fully his. Here his stories are still based on bits of scientific sounding lingo and handwaving (technobabble they call it). The situations are sometimes extreme while the pay off is not that satisfying. Later on Asimov learned to end on a great twist, sometimes even in the last line of the story. Here some stories fizzle out or have a twist that is just so so.
Still, some stories show the talent that was to break through, like 'Not final!' (translated as 'Niet definitief!'). This one, about human colonists on Ganymede worrying about an invasion by Jupitercreatures had a very well executed ending, that left me with a big grin. 'Christmas on Ganymede' also takes place on Ganymede and plays with the notion that a year on Ganymede is a bit shorter than a year on Earth. There are some stories in a shared universe where psychology is a mathematical science (the roots of psychohistory perhaps), but they were a bit too colorful to my tastes to really work. What is interesting, is how Asimov didn't want to follow Campbells route to portray humans as creatures better than other inhabitants of the galaxy, the plucky upstarts who will conquer everybody. He shows humans as prone to panic and groupthink, which is interesting.
He tells of his relationship with Campbell and his tendency towards racism in a quite honest autobiographical section. Honestly the little insights into the early career of Asimov, how he struggled to sell stories and how he worked with several editors are the best part of this little book. So, for Asimovfans this is probably of interest. To more general readers of sciencefiction these are quite typical early golden age stories by an author finding his voice, so maybe not a great place to start. Read 'I, robot' or 'A robot dreams' for his short stories, or 'Foundation' instead!
But he was not always the experienced SF-author firing on all cylinders. Here some of his early stories are collected, written around 1939 to 1941 - so at the close of the pulp era and the start of the golden age. They belong to the first stories he ever wrote, some were rejected by several magazines or appeared in small magazines. They show an author finding his own voice, being swayed by his editors John W. Campbell en Frederick Pohl and searching for subjects that were fully his. Here his stories are still based on bits of scientific sounding lingo and handwaving (technobabble they call it). The situations are sometimes extreme while the pay off is not that satisfying. Later on Asimov learned to end on a great twist, sometimes even in the last line of the story. Here some stories fizzle out or have a twist that is just so so.
Still, some stories show the talent that was to break through, like 'Not final!' (translated as 'Niet definitief!'). This one, about human colonists on Ganymede worrying about an invasion by Jupitercreatures had a very well executed ending, that left me with a big grin. 'Christmas on Ganymede' also takes place on Ganymede and plays with the notion that a year on Ganymede is a bit shorter than a year on Earth. There are some stories in a shared universe where psychology is a mathematical science (the roots of psychohistory perhaps), but they were a bit too colorful to my tastes to really work. What is interesting, is how Asimov didn't want to follow Campbells route to portray humans as creatures better than other inhabitants of the galaxy, the plucky upstarts who will conquer everybody. He shows humans as prone to panic and groupthink, which is interesting.
He tells of his relationship with Campbell and his tendency towards racism in a quite honest autobiographical section. Honestly the little insights into the early career of Asimov, how he struggled to sell stories and how he worked with several editors are the best part of this little book. So, for Asimovfans this is probably of interest. To more general readers of sciencefiction these are quite typical early golden age stories by an author finding his voice, so maybe not a great place to start. Read 'I, robot' or 'A robot dreams' for his short stories, or 'Foundation' instead!
November 19, 2020
This book does exactly what it says on the tin, acting as a sequel to The Early Asimov: Volume I and continuing to share Asimov’s early work along with his commentary on each of the stories. Interestingly enough, I think the original collection was also published in hardback as a single edition, but it was printed as three separate paperbacks for reasons of (I guess) economy.
Still, you can enjoy it just fine as a standalone if you spot a copy of it going second hand, and the stories are pretty solid here even though they were written towards the start of his career. His commentary is fascinating too, although it always is, and I liked the fact that a few of the stories acted as direct sequels to each other. That’s actually mostly because occasionally an editor would encourage him to do so or to ask for more of the same, and he was only too happy to do so.
This isn’t going to be a good book to pick up if you’re new to Isaac Asimov, although the stories are still pretty good and definitely worth reading. It’s just kind of funny because in his essays he’s talking about some of his classics, and this was what else he was writing around that time.
Still, you can enjoy it just fine as a standalone if you spot a copy of it going second hand, and the stories are pretty solid here even though they were written towards the start of his career. His commentary is fascinating too, although it always is, and I liked the fact that a few of the stories acted as direct sequels to each other. That’s actually mostly because occasionally an editor would encourage him to do so or to ask for more of the same, and he was only too happy to do so.
This isn’t going to be a good book to pick up if you’re new to Isaac Asimov, although the stories are still pretty good and definitely worth reading. It’s just kind of funny because in his essays he’s talking about some of his classics, and this was what else he was writing around that time.
February 1, 2023
On rereading, I do not think my 5-star rating was right. I change it to 3. Actually, not one of the stories is really good. And the autobiographical stuff is not enough. Really, only for fans of the man.
July 30, 2024
The second collection of the Early Asimov paperback trilogy, this one lacks some of the wonder of the first. There are certainly more misses than there are hits, but Asimov's editorial commentary of each story shows that he doesn't think he's presenting anything ground breaking either. The content represents the work of a young writer honing his craft and gaining some notoriety in the genre.
The most intriguing stories in this book are Homo Sol and The Imaginary, in which we see psychology applied and recognised as having a place in galactic colonisation. Quite clearly a precursor to Foundation and Hari Seldon's psychohistory. Asimov even remarks on the link to (arguably) his most famous work.
Other highlights include Heredity, which has an interesting concept; identical twins separated at birth, raised on different planets. It's a great idea, but unfortunately executed poorly as it devolves into something less substantial. Also, Super-Neutron explores the idea of a particle which has the power to destroy the sun, but told in a really unique way.
Half-Breeds on Venus is a sequel to Half-Breed, but lacking the weight and emotion of the original. Asimov dabbles in the fantasy genre with The Little Man on the Subway and Legal Rites (collaborations with Fred Pohl), which are disappointingly forgettable. Then there are two silly pieces which are probably only in the collection for Asimov completionists: Christmas on Ganymede and Time Pussy.
Much like the first volume, the semi-autobiographical sections from Asimov are the highlight. The stories themselves are a real mixed bag. Definitely one for the diehard fans only.
The most intriguing stories in this book are Homo Sol and The Imaginary, in which we see psychology applied and recognised as having a place in galactic colonisation. Quite clearly a precursor to Foundation and Hari Seldon's psychohistory. Asimov even remarks on the link to (arguably) his most famous work.
Other highlights include Heredity, which has an interesting concept; identical twins separated at birth, raised on different planets. It's a great idea, but unfortunately executed poorly as it devolves into something less substantial. Also, Super-Neutron explores the idea of a particle which has the power to destroy the sun, but told in a really unique way.
Half-Breeds on Venus is a sequel to Half-Breed, but lacking the weight and emotion of the original. Asimov dabbles in the fantasy genre with The Little Man on the Subway and Legal Rites (collaborations with Fred Pohl), which are disappointingly forgettable. Then there are two silly pieces which are probably only in the collection for Asimov completionists: Christmas on Ganymede and Time Pussy.
Much like the first volume, the semi-autobiographical sections from Asimov are the highlight. The stories themselves are a real mixed bag. Definitely one for the diehard fans only.
October 29, 2025
This was my first introduction to Asimov, and it has definitely inspired me to read some more.
While I understand that these stories are neither his best work, nor his worst, it is refreshing to read stories which seem more approachable in both length and complexity to write myself.
That meaning, for most of the books I read, I see them as this unfeasible and grand undertaking to write. I cannot imagine how one would go about writing them without a lot more skill and experience.
That, I believe is the merit of these books of early stories. While these stories by no means are bad or very amateur, they still seem more approachable to write, and as such, served to me as a greater inspiration.
While this certainly will not inspire everyone, nor will it increase the merit of the reading to most people, I found the strange approachability of the books to be something I appreciated.
I could see the way the stories could have been formed, conceptualised and written, and I could imagine myself attempting such a thing. It would likely not go anywhere near as good, but such is the nature of starting something new.
While the pure literary value of this book is (in my opinion) worth 3/5 stars, the beauty of reading slightly more approachable writing, bumps this grade up, and has served as good inspiration for me to start throwing some stories onto paper, to see what sticks.
3.5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ✨ /
5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
(PS: in this house, we round halves upwards)
While I understand that these stories are neither his best work, nor his worst, it is refreshing to read stories which seem more approachable in both length and complexity to write myself.
That meaning, for most of the books I read, I see them as this unfeasible and grand undertaking to write. I cannot imagine how one would go about writing them without a lot more skill and experience.
That, I believe is the merit of these books of early stories. While these stories by no means are bad or very amateur, they still seem more approachable to write, and as such, served to me as a greater inspiration.
While this certainly will not inspire everyone, nor will it increase the merit of the reading to most people, I found the strange approachability of the books to be something I appreciated.
I could see the way the stories could have been formed, conceptualised and written, and I could imagine myself attempting such a thing. It would likely not go anywhere near as good, but such is the nature of starting something new.
While the pure literary value of this book is (in my opinion) worth 3/5 stars, the beauty of reading slightly more approachable writing, bumps this grade up, and has served as good inspiration for me to start throwing some stories onto paper, to see what sticks.
3.5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ✨ /
5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
(PS: in this house, we round halves upwards)
July 14, 2020
Het tweede deel van de drie waarin de eerste (bewaarde) maar nooit eerder gepubliceerde werken van Asimov voorzien worden van een woordje uitleg door de schrijver zelf. Die uitleg is erg leuk om lezen en biedt echt wel een meerwaarde voor de fans, terwijl Asimov zijn klasse toont door beleefd en corrrect te blijven, nederig zonder valse bescheidenheid.
De verhalen zijn gevarieerd, hij had destijds nog niet zijn eigen niche gevonden, wat toch ook wel speciaal is - trouwens hij blijkt in al die genres zijn grote klasse te kunnen tonen. De twee laatste verhalen zijn een buitenbeentje, hij vertelt zelf waarom, waarbij het eerste heel moeilijk te volgen is wegens zeer wetenschappelijk en het tweede een mengeling van humor en horror bevat.
Niet enkel voor de fans, gewoon steengoede scifi.
De verhalen zijn gevarieerd, hij had destijds nog niet zijn eigen niche gevonden, wat toch ook wel speciaal is - trouwens hij blijkt in al die genres zijn grote klasse te kunnen tonen. De twee laatste verhalen zijn een buitenbeentje, hij vertelt zelf waarom, waarbij het eerste heel moeilijk te volgen is wegens zeer wetenschappelijk en het tweede een mengeling van humor en horror bevat.
Niet enkel voor de fans, gewoon steengoede scifi.
October 2, 2023
Despite Asimov's erudition infusing the banter and dialogues in these stories, they have become severely dated due to complete absence of women, overwhelming concern with space (basically white male stargazing), and lack of wit and fun— which shone through his works in 'Buy Jupiter' etc.
Nevertheless, it's Asimov, and hence mostly readable.
Nevertheless, it's Asimov, and hence mostly readable.
March 30, 2022
Here's the continuation of the The Early Asimov: Volume 1 review. Volume 2 contains a lot of my favourite short stories from Asimov, and he definitely hits a stride.
1. Homo Sol — Psychology has been transferred into mathematics and now that Earth has achieved space flight, the Federation’s psychologists are sent to invite it to join the Federation. It does not go according to the calculation. 4/5
2. Half-Breeds on Venus — direct sequel to Half-Breed in volume 1 (see above). Sweet. 3/5
3. The Imaginary — direct sequel to Homo Sol. Renowned psychologist Tan Porus has to deal with his wife and with the real-life implications of imaginary numbers in the science of psychology. 4/5
4. Heredity - lovely story of twins who grew up in different environment and of people overcoming differences 5/5
5. History
6. Christmas on Ganymede — The Christmas version of whatever Alice was smoking in Wonderland. Can't even rate this.
7. The Little Man on the Subway — one of the few fantasy stories and a collaboration. Something about mind control. 1/5
8. Hazing - The third in the mathematical psychology/Tan Porus universe (more of a spin-off than a sequel) is one of those Human-Ingenuity-Trumps-Extraterrestrial-Might, but fun. It was funnier in Romanian, but that's probably because university students speaking Romanian sound like young idiots in a way English cannot match. 4/5
9. Super-Neutron — the society of liars has two and a half rules: one must tell an absolute lie, one must tell such a great and fabulous lie, that it must sound like the truth. And of course, if one’s colleagues in the society disprove the story, one must pay for the restaurant. 4/5 because I wasn't familiar with the science
10. Not Final! — the theoretical approach versus the practical approach. 5/5
11. Legal Rites — the second fantasy story that I know from Asimov. Scary and good fun 3/5
12. Time Pussy — trying to preserve time-travelling kittens 1/5 kind of sad and bland, but nice theory
1. Homo Sol — Psychology has been transferred into mathematics and now that Earth has achieved space flight, the Federation’s psychologists are sent to invite it to join the Federation. It does not go according to the calculation. 4/5
2. Half-Breeds on Venus — direct sequel to Half-Breed in volume 1 (see above). Sweet. 3/5
3. The Imaginary — direct sequel to Homo Sol. Renowned psychologist Tan Porus has to deal with his wife and with the real-life implications of imaginary numbers in the science of psychology. 4/5
4. Heredity - lovely story of twins who grew up in different environment and of people overcoming differences 5/5
5. History
6. Christmas on Ganymede — The Christmas version of whatever Alice was smoking in Wonderland. Can't even rate this.
7. The Little Man on the Subway — one of the few fantasy stories and a collaboration. Something about mind control. 1/5
8. Hazing - The third in the mathematical psychology/Tan Porus universe (more of a spin-off than a sequel) is one of those Human-Ingenuity-Trumps-Extraterrestrial-Might, but fun. It was funnier in Romanian, but that's probably because university students speaking Romanian sound like young idiots in a way English cannot match. 4/5
9. Super-Neutron — the society of liars has two and a half rules: one must tell an absolute lie, one must tell such a great and fabulous lie, that it must sound like the truth. And of course, if one’s colleagues in the society disprove the story, one must pay for the restaurant. 4/5 because I wasn't familiar with the science
10. Not Final! — the theoretical approach versus the practical approach. 5/5
11. Legal Rites — the second fantasy story that I know from Asimov. Scary and good fun 3/5
12. Time Pussy — trying to preserve time-travelling kittens 1/5 kind of sad and bland, but nice theory
June 15, 2023
Leído: 7/10. Segunda parte de Early Asimov. Son los primeros relatos que escribió cuando tenía unos 20-25 años (el tío ya estaba publicando en alguna revista con 18 años algo que yo no sería capaz de escribir con 44).
11 relatos, algunos pesados, otros regulares y alguno casi brillante.
En conjunto se queda en un 7.
Lo más interesante es que el autor explica la historia de cada relato, cómo se le ocurrió, a quién se lo vendió, quién lo rechazó, etc. Y esto hace que la obra sea más interesante de leer, sobre todo para los fans de Asimov.
11 relatos, algunos pesados, otros regulares y alguno casi brillante.
En conjunto se queda en un 7.
Lo más interesante es que el autor explica la historia de cada relato, cómo se le ocurrió, a quién se lo vendió, quién lo rechazó, etc. Y esto hace que la obra sea más interesante de leer, sobre todo para los fans de Asimov.
June 18, 2023
Reading Asimov when I was growing up made such an impression on me that he felt closer to me in some ways than several distant members of my family. In that spirit, I try to spend a couple of weeks with him every year. I always enjoy the stay! Reading his first 60 stories (minus the 'lost' ones) in chronological order, along with, essentially, his autobiography 1.0, is a perfect way to spend the time.
July 8, 2023
Bought this book in a second hand book market in Madrid. Old 1983 Spanish edition. Partially because the translation wasn’t great, partially because it’s a selection of Asimov’s first short stories (which he even admits had a hard time selling back in the day), I struggle a lot through most of them. The author comments in between each story was fun though.
For my future self, Homo Sol (in which you can see a little of Foundation), Heredity and Super-Neutron were the ones I enjoyed the most
For my future self, Homo Sol (in which you can see a little of Foundation), Heredity and Super-Neutron were the ones I enjoyed the most
April 14, 2024
This collection is of interest for fans of Asimov, less for the stories themselves, which being early Asimov stories are not his best work, but for the essays that accompany them. In those we learn about the circumstances in which they were written and in some cases, the inspiration behind them. We also get to find out about where the ideas for Asimov's Foundation Series and Robots books came from. For someone wanting to research Asimov and his writing, this book is a must have.
July 23, 2025
Actually finished this a while ago but forget to record it.
Sometimes quite entertaining but frustratingly he would often talk about another (more interesting and successful) story and then launch into something else that had ended up in slightly crap magazine. Maybe one for really well-established fans who have read everything else of his.
Sometimes quite entertaining but frustratingly he would often talk about another (more interesting and successful) story and then launch into something else that had ended up in slightly crap magazine. Maybe one for really well-established fans who have read everything else of his.
October 13, 2020
The early Asimov is early for a reason. Not all the stories are very good. But it's still exciting reading something by Asimov for the first time. I don't have many more of those having read nearly all his science fiction.
April 19, 2021
Some great stories, some bad, and some straight up silly stories which are quite amusingly out of character for Asimov.
June 10, 2025
really cool reading about the process behind writing and selling short stories to sci-fi magazines (a largely obsolete career now), as well as how the rise of Hitler and fascism during ww2 contributed to the construction of the stories
December 6, 2013
This book although printed as part of a set of 3, in my eyes was really just a continuation of the firs volume (and I guess a prelude to the 3rd and final one) but considering the huge amount (and range) of material written by Asimov I can imagine there would be enough material to fill this collection the same over again.
Ok but what else - considering what I said in my comments on volume one? Well for one thing it reflected the time - the career of Isaac Asimov spanned a massive and hugely important era of science fiction and is reflected in the contest of this book. So to me this really does hold a window in to the "golden era" of science fiction where wonder was still there and boundaries were firmly in place but ready to be pushed.
Ok but what else - considering what I said in my comments on volume one? Well for one thing it reflected the time - the career of Isaac Asimov spanned a massive and hugely important era of science fiction and is reflected in the contest of this book. So to me this really does hold a window in to the "golden era" of science fiction where wonder was still there and boundaries were firmly in place but ready to be pushed.
July 8, 2016
More collected Asimov short stories that began my journey into reading, so kept mainly for that reason rather than to re-read. These are from his early period (strange to think about how old these stories are given they are from the 1940s). I do like how Asimov gives a short background to each story and what was happening in his life at the time before it is presented. Alas, none of these stories would seem to have stuck in my memory.
May 24, 2024
The first volume was still interesting, but in this volume the format is starting to wear on me, in particular because the author only included stories that weren't published in book form before, i.e. the bad ones, and omitted all the good ones that I'd really want to read, in particular because he describes them here so glowingly, detailing all the successes he had with them. And then you're left with the boring stories that were accepted into magazines grudgingly. Hmm.
March 22, 2007
I believe I read a few of these stories back in high school?
September 9, 2012
See volume 1. Same format, different stories of course. Historically interesting. A book of the story of the making of the legend.
March 28, 2017
Pretty enjoyable. I love short science fiction and I love the brief introduction before each story.
August 3, 2018
Thirty plus years since I read this last - and I loved it. The early pioneering and innocent days of pulp SF ... with a commentary by Asimov himself, covering his struggles to be published.
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