The Seven Deadly Sins and Cardinal Virtues of Science Fiction

by Isaac Asimov (Editor, Contributor), Charles G. Waugh (Editor), Michael G. Coney (Contributor)

Science fiction short stories illustrating the seven deadly sins - Sloth, Lust, Envy, Pride, Anger, Gluttony, Avarice and the seven cardinal virtues - Temperance, Justice, Faith, Prudence, Fortitude, Hope and Charity. Interesting collection includes stories by Jack Vance, Roger Zelasny, Poul Anderson, Frederick Pohl etc. 317 pages of sins, 350 pages of virtues.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

350 pages, Hardcover

First published December 12, 1988

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

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology of science fiction stories explores the themes of the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues. Perhaps more interesting to me is that the stories sit right at the cusp between the Golden Age of science fiction and the New Wave. Interestingly, most of the seven deadly sins were explored with Golden Age stories while the virtues were generally explored with New Wave stories. Some of these stories have aged better than others and some are especially charming because of what they say about the age they were written in. The stories that grabbed me most were: "Sail 25" by Jack Vance about cadets making a voyage through the solar system on an old solar sail; "Divine Madness" by Roger Zelazny about a man who finds himself slipping backward through time toward a tragic moment; "Margin of Profit" which is a great space pirate tale by Poul Anderson; "Riding the Torch" by Norman Spinrad in which humans search for a new world to call home; and "The Sons of Prometheus" by Alexei Panshin about colonists on a distant world and their superstitious relationship to their former shipmates. Overall, a collection I enjoyed a great deal.

[Samwise Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I logged the sins and virtues anthologies as separate books (for my own sanity) since the page count given is erroneous. Anyways, here are my ratings for the cardinal virtues anthology: Superiority by Arthur C. Clarke 4/5
Whosawhatsa by Jack Wodhams 1/5
Riding the Torch by Norman Spinrad 4/5
The Nail and the Oracle by Theodore Sturgeon 3/5
Jean Duprès by Gordon R. Dickson 4/5
Nuisance Value by Eric Frank Russell 2/5
The Sons of Prometheus by Alexei Panshin 2.5/5
The Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov 3/5

[Chris Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good collection of stories from some famous names in science fiction.

[Sameerah El-amin]

I loved it. It turned out I'd read some of them years ago.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember I liked some of the stories at least. There was one in particular about some humans breaking out of an alien prison that I remember was my favorite, "Nuisance Value" by Eric Frank Russell. Overall, I think this book was a good read. It was 5 years ago though so this review is tricky to write.

[epstuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The theme is fantastic. Each of the stories is fantastic, most of which I had never read even though they're by some of the top names. Probably one of the best collections I've ever read.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, classic sci-fi stories.