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Early Asimov #1 of 2
The Early Asimov: Book One
Stories Included:
The Callistan Menace.9
Ring Around the Sun.23
The Magnificent Possession.34
Trends.47
The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use.62
Black Friar of the Flame.76
Half-Breed.109
The Secret Sense.126
Homo Sol.136
Half-Breeds on Venus.151
The Imaginary.169
Heredity.182
History.200
Christmas On Ganymede.210
The Little Man on the Subway.221
The Hazing.230
SuperNeutron.242
Not Final!252
Legal Rites.265
Time Pussy.287
Author! Author!294
Death Sentence.315
Blind Alley.329
No Connection.349
The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline.363
The Red Queen's Race.372
Mother Earth.389
Appendix-The Sixty Stories of the Campbell Years.418
The Callistan Menace.9
Ring Around the Sun.23
The Magnificent Possession.34
Trends.47
The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use.62
Black Friar of the Flame.76
Half-Breed.109
The Secret Sense.126
Homo Sol.136
Half-Breeds on Venus.151
The Imaginary.169
Heredity.182
History.200
Christmas On Ganymede.210
The Little Man on the Subway.221
The Hazing.230
SuperNeutron.242
Not Final!252
Legal Rites.265
Time Pussy.287
Author! Author!294
Death Sentence.315
Blind Alley.329
No Connection.349
The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline.363
The Red Queen's Race.372
Mother Earth.389
Appendix-The Sixty Stories of the Campbell Years.418
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
24 people are currently reading
600 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,337 books27.8k 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 - 30 of 37 reviews
December 24, 2014
A collection of Asimov's earliest publish works, with a commentary
23 March 2013
I expected that this book would be a collection of short stories that Isaac Asimov wrote at the beginning of his career (if you can call it a career) as a science-fiction writer, but as it turns out it is somewhat more than that. While it does contain the first six published stories that he wrote, these stories are broken up with a commentary on how he became a science-fiction writer, the rejections and the acceptances, the amount that he was paid for the piece of work, and also how he developed his own style.
One interesting thing that I noticed was that Asimov does not write to a plan. I have read numerous authors say that you must structure your text and you must put a lot of development into a character, and even a minor character, and you must have a plan which you follow. Asimov will have none of that, yet he is still a famous science-fiction writer. Mind you these stories were written before his more famous works, such as Foundation and the Robot stories (the best of which were collected in I-Robot), and I have noticed that a lot of things have changed since when he first started writing.
One thing that has constantly struck me with Asimov is that he rarely used aliens in his books, however in three of these pieces there are aliens. It seemed that as he matured as a writer, particularly since he wrote 'hard science-fiction', aliens did not really have a part to play in his works. Asimov, as a writer, was somewhat like Verne in that he was interested in realistic possibilities and to date the existence of aliens has yet to be proven (unless of course you are referring to illegal aliens).
It is a shame that the first ever story that he wrote was pretty much binned because it was something I would have liked to read. He says that the first story was about a man who goes into the future and sees that humanity has been wiped out, along with all other living things. He then goes back to the present, is locked up in a lunatic asylum, and then ends up committing suicide. The editors of the magazine that he was submitting it to said that it was too depressing. Well, that may have been the case but as it turns out, years later (over half a century) a movie came out (Twelve Monkeys) that was very much in that vain.
My favourite story in this book (and Asimov used the theme of racism a couple of times because he was a Jew and the final solution was currently being worked out in Germany) was called 'The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use'. Basically it is about how Earth colonised Venus and the Venusians (I won't call them Venitians because, well, they come from Venice, not Venus) have been turned into slave labour. However, they rise up against their tyrants and kick them off the planet, and no matter what Earth does, they just simply cannot defeat these natives. Another one, called 'Black Friar of the Flame' was about how Earth was dominated by a race of lizardine aliens and there was a religion with its headquarter's in New York. However, the aliens defiled the temple and set off a rebellion, which the humans won. Apparently it is based upon the Jewish uprising against the Romans, though the difference is that the Jews lost that particular war. Oh, it has also been voted as the worst story Asimov ever wrote.
23 March 2013
I expected that this book would be a collection of short stories that Isaac Asimov wrote at the beginning of his career (if you can call it a career) as a science-fiction writer, but as it turns out it is somewhat more than that. While it does contain the first six published stories that he wrote, these stories are broken up with a commentary on how he became a science-fiction writer, the rejections and the acceptances, the amount that he was paid for the piece of work, and also how he developed his own style.
One interesting thing that I noticed was that Asimov does not write to a plan. I have read numerous authors say that you must structure your text and you must put a lot of development into a character, and even a minor character, and you must have a plan which you follow. Asimov will have none of that, yet he is still a famous science-fiction writer. Mind you these stories were written before his more famous works, such as Foundation and the Robot stories (the best of which were collected in I-Robot), and I have noticed that a lot of things have changed since when he first started writing.
One thing that has constantly struck me with Asimov is that he rarely used aliens in his books, however in three of these pieces there are aliens. It seemed that as he matured as a writer, particularly since he wrote 'hard science-fiction', aliens did not really have a part to play in his works. Asimov, as a writer, was somewhat like Verne in that he was interested in realistic possibilities and to date the existence of aliens has yet to be proven (unless of course you are referring to illegal aliens).
It is a shame that the first ever story that he wrote was pretty much binned because it was something I would have liked to read. He says that the first story was about a man who goes into the future and sees that humanity has been wiped out, along with all other living things. He then goes back to the present, is locked up in a lunatic asylum, and then ends up committing suicide. The editors of the magazine that he was submitting it to said that it was too depressing. Well, that may have been the case but as it turns out, years later (over half a century) a movie came out (Twelve Monkeys) that was very much in that vain.
My favourite story in this book (and Asimov used the theme of racism a couple of times because he was a Jew and the final solution was currently being worked out in Germany) was called 'The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use'. Basically it is about how Earth colonised Venus and the Venusians (I won't call them Venitians because, well, they come from Venice, not Venus) have been turned into slave labour. However, they rise up against their tyrants and kick them off the planet, and no matter what Earth does, they just simply cannot defeat these natives. Another one, called 'Black Friar of the Flame' was about how Earth was dominated by a race of lizardine aliens and there was a religion with its headquarter's in New York. However, the aliens defiled the temple and set off a rebellion, which the humans won. Apparently it is based upon the Jewish uprising against the Romans, though the difference is that the Jews lost that particular war. Oh, it has also been voted as the worst story Asimov ever wrote.
December 18, 2017
اسکلنون بی هدف در خیابانهای خالی شهرک تویینی نشین پرسه میزد دیروز او چهلمین سالروز تاسیس شهرک را جشن گرفته بور ولی امروز آنجا مانند شهر ارواح بود ..... از متن کتاب
Want to read
September 9, 2025extract: My favourite story in this book (and Asimov used the theme of racism a couple of times because he was a Jew and the final solution was currently being worked out in Germany) was called 'The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use'. Basically it is about how Earth colonised Venus and the Venusians (I won't call them Venitians because, well, they come from Venice, not Venus) have been turned into slave labour. However, they rise up against their tyrants and kick them off the planet, and no matter what Earth does, they just simply cannot defeat these natives. Another one, called 'Black Friar of the Flame' was about how Earth was dominated by a race of lizardine aliens and there was a religion with its headquarter's in New York. However, the aliens defiled the temple and set off a rebellion, which the humans won. Apparently it is based upon the Jewish uprising against the Romans, though the difference is that the Jews lost that particular war. Oh, it has also been voted as the worst story Asimov ever wrote.
March 6, 2011
I like short stories. I like fiction written before and during WWII. I like Asimov. That's a trifecta for this book, then. I'm pretty much guaranteed to like it.
This book is an interesting phenomena of the publishing world, though-- it's not published because the stories themselves are of extraordinary merit-- there is a reason why they haven't been anthologized before. These stories are collected more as an autobiography, of witnessing the growth of his writing and his identity of an author through the relation of how he got his start in publishing. While many of the stories are very good ("Homo Sol," "Super-Neutron," "Author! Author!" and "The Red Queen's Race" being some of my favorites), the focus of these volumes are not on the stories themselves but on the process of writing them.
I especially loved his revelation of how the editor John Campbell-- an industry legend and an author in his own right-- was key to the creation of the man we all know as Isaac Asimov, the Father of Modern Science Fiction.
This book is an interesting phenomena of the publishing world, though-- it's not published because the stories themselves are of extraordinary merit-- there is a reason why they haven't been anthologized before. These stories are collected more as an autobiography, of witnessing the growth of his writing and his identity of an author through the relation of how he got his start in publishing. While many of the stories are very good ("Homo Sol," "Super-Neutron," "Author! Author!" and "The Red Queen's Race" being some of my favorites), the focus of these volumes are not on the stories themselves but on the process of writing them.
I especially loved his revelation of how the editor John Campbell-- an industry legend and an author in his own right-- was key to the creation of the man we all know as Isaac Asimov, the Father of Modern Science Fiction.
July 15, 2015
This is really one for the completists, containing the first (previously uncollected) stories Asimov wrote way back in 1940-1942. if you want a better indication of his skill as a writer, check out his robots short stories or his foundation series, as the focus here seems to be Asimovs autobiographical interludes detailing each story's genesis, revision, acceptance or rejection as well as the authors developing relationship with editors and the gradual building of his skill and confidence as a writer. Taken without these asides, the collection is rather dull. There's no one story that is in any way memorable and Asimov himself seems to think so too a lot of the time, citing other authors at the time such a Heinlein who write circles around his own efforts and detailing the numerous rejections each story received before eventually being published.
If you're interested in the early days of sci fi and want to hear about it from the horse mouth, or if you're a die-hard Asimov fan you might find something here, otherwise you might want to look elsewhere
If you're interested in the early days of sci fi and want to hear about it from the horse mouth, or if you're a die-hard Asimov fan you might find something here, otherwise you might want to look elsewhere
August 1, 2021
A collection of his early published pieces, this first of two compilations is interesting mostly for his self effacing and humorous commentary on each of the stories. It also has interest for Asimovphiles who look for the seeds of the Foundation series in early writings, and there are several examples in this collection. It is not however, great writing and he admits this readily and often in his commentary. So for those interested in yet more Asimov to read, here you go. For those who have never read him at all, try Foundation or the Robot series (Robots of Dawn etc), or I Robot, or, for something completely different, Tales of the Black Widowers or Murder at the ABA.
February 28, 2018
The stories are okay to good. But the autobiographical stuff is just wonderful. 9/10
June 19, 2020
In the Foreword to the republication of ‘The Early Asimov’, the author writes:
“Between 1950 and 1969, ten collections appeared (all of which were published by Doubleday).
These contained eighty five stories (plus four pieces of comic verse) originally intended for, and published in, the science fiction magazines. ……….
So when Panther Books in England and Doubleday suggested that I make a collection of those of my early stories not already collected in the ten books listed above, with the literary history of each, I could resist no further. ……….”
This republication is dedicated to:
To the memory of
John Wood Campbell Jr. (1910 – 1971)
for reasons that this book will make amply clear.
John Campbell Jr. was the editor of the popular magazine Astounding Science Fiction. He had recently taken over in 1938 and for the next third of century continued as the editor of this magazine and its successor Analog Science Fact – Science Fiction. He gave great encouragement to the young Asimov, was his mentor of sorts and in due course his good friend. He was prompt in his rejections and always accompanied it with a personal letter suggesting changes and improvements – unlike most other magazines with a stereo type letter of rejection.
In probably the late eighties – Fawcett reprinted “The Early Asimov” in two volumes – Book One and Book Two.
This volume Book One according to the introduction comprise of twenty six stories. But the copy in my hand had just thirteen stories with the author’s note on literary history of each story.
At the end of the story History the author has written:
“History was the 24th story, I had written in the hope of possible publication. By 1941 thirteen had been published by early 1941, two were published in 1942. Nine were doomed to extinction.
….. Since the estimable people in Fawcett have, out of consideration of space, have divided this book into two volumes and are ending the first volume here, it turns out that we are at a point in my career at which no one could as yet point to young Isaac (still only 20) as a shining example of greatness to come. ……
So please don’t leave me at this point, folks. There is Fawcett’s second volume coming which will take up the story at this point and you can follow me on through the remaining years, in which I kept on trying.”
All these thirteen stories, have a common thread running through them. The worlds where these stories occur are more or less earth like, with water and oxygen to support forms of earth-like life.
The people of these various worlds are humanoid – in fact genetic relatives to human beings – with whom humans can mate to produce humanoid half breeds.
In every world the humans are the superior race who have conquered and subjected the people of these worlds as their underlings.
Today we know that none of the planets of our Solar System or their satellites support any form of intelligent life – but is it possible that we have missed something – or some aspect in our explorations?
It is true that these thirteen tales of The Early Asimov are extremely interesting and readable. For those who enjoy the genre and tales like Star Wars, Arthur Clarke’s Space Odysseys, earlier tales of Flash Gordon and so on, this book of Asimov is a must read. I enjoyed reading each one of them and I am sure so will all of you.
“Between 1950 and 1969, ten collections appeared (all of which were published by Doubleday).
These contained eighty five stories (plus four pieces of comic verse) originally intended for, and published in, the science fiction magazines. ……….
So when Panther Books in England and Doubleday suggested that I make a collection of those of my early stories not already collected in the ten books listed above, with the literary history of each, I could resist no further. ……….”
This republication is dedicated to:
To the memory of
John Wood Campbell Jr. (1910 – 1971)
for reasons that this book will make amply clear.
John Campbell Jr. was the editor of the popular magazine Astounding Science Fiction. He had recently taken over in 1938 and for the next third of century continued as the editor of this magazine and its successor Analog Science Fact – Science Fiction. He gave great encouragement to the young Asimov, was his mentor of sorts and in due course his good friend. He was prompt in his rejections and always accompanied it with a personal letter suggesting changes and improvements – unlike most other magazines with a stereo type letter of rejection.
In probably the late eighties – Fawcett reprinted “The Early Asimov” in two volumes – Book One and Book Two.
This volume Book One according to the introduction comprise of twenty six stories. But the copy in my hand had just thirteen stories with the author’s note on literary history of each story.
At the end of the story History the author has written:
“History was the 24th story, I had written in the hope of possible publication. By 1941 thirteen had been published by early 1941, two were published in 1942. Nine were doomed to extinction.
….. Since the estimable people in Fawcett have, out of consideration of space, have divided this book into two volumes and are ending the first volume here, it turns out that we are at a point in my career at which no one could as yet point to young Isaac (still only 20) as a shining example of greatness to come. ……
So please don’t leave me at this point, folks. There is Fawcett’s second volume coming which will take up the story at this point and you can follow me on through the remaining years, in which I kept on trying.”
All these thirteen stories, have a common thread running through them. The worlds where these stories occur are more or less earth like, with water and oxygen to support forms of earth-like life.
The people of these various worlds are humanoid – in fact genetic relatives to human beings – with whom humans can mate to produce humanoid half breeds.
In every world the humans are the superior race who have conquered and subjected the people of these worlds as their underlings.
Today we know that none of the planets of our Solar System or their satellites support any form of intelligent life – but is it possible that we have missed something – or some aspect in our explorations?
It is true that these thirteen tales of The Early Asimov are extremely interesting and readable. For those who enjoy the genre and tales like Star Wars, Arthur Clarke’s Space Odysseys, earlier tales of Flash Gordon and so on, this book of Asimov is a must read. I enjoyed reading each one of them and I am sure so will all of you.
July 3, 2020
The only justification for this collection is the biographic detail that Asimov uses to explain why stories ended up in this publication or that, and his sketches of the publishers of the pre-WWII pulps that gave him his start. Asimov was a first class raconteur, and the opportunity to invent his origin story obviously tickled him pink. A few of the stories published when Asimov was getting started are improved by knowing the background, and a few of them give glimpses of the preoccupations of the more mature author, but in total they remained uncollected until this volume for a reason.
In the biographic sketches I have finally found a firsthand source of stories that has been rolling around for decades about how John Campbell's rabid White Nationalism created problems for the young Asimov. Early on Campbell insisted that Asimov needed to adopt an anglo-saxon pseudonym to be successful as an author, to which Asimov dryly notes that he seems to have made an asset of his odd name. Much more telling though is in the section following the story "Homo Sol" were he politically describes how avoiding Campbell's appalling racism forced Asimov to invent the human-only galaxy as a work-around.
In the biographic sketches I have finally found a firsthand source of stories that has been rolling around for decades about how John Campbell's rabid White Nationalism created problems for the young Asimov. Early on Campbell insisted that Asimov needed to adopt an anglo-saxon pseudonym to be successful as an author, to which Asimov dryly notes that he seems to have made an asset of his odd name. Much more telling though is in the section following the story "Homo Sol" were he politically describes how avoiding Campbell's appalling racism forced Asimov to invent the human-only galaxy as a work-around.
July 10, 2018
The first Asimov I have read... I like his whimsical style sometimes. It reminded me of Philip K. Dick stories I liked, and I'll bet he had read the magazines these Asimov stories were in too. I think my favorite was the Ring Around the Sun, so silly. The notes connecting the stories about where he was at in life and his dealings with the publishers tied the stories together nicely and in chronological order. I've got to read some more Asimov now!
August 7, 2017
Un libro interesante, quizás más para fanáticos que para cualquier otra persona. Los primeros cuentos no son gran cosa, pero precisamente esa es la idea, ver como el autor fue evolucionando a medida que escribía, contando sus victorias, sus derrotas y sus errores. Quizás me hubiese gustado más que el buen doctor se diera más tiempo en sus comentarios.
December 19, 2021
A interesting collection of short stories , my two favorites were Half Breeds and the follow-up Half Breeds on Venus.
The stories behind each of the short stories were very interesting , especially some of the pay Asimov received, and how often he was rejected and had to redo the story to get it published elsewhere.
The stories behind each of the short stories were very interesting , especially some of the pay Asimov received, and how often he was rejected and had to redo the story to get it published elsewhere.
January 14, 2024
10 pages of Author Comments. Some bio but mostly literary. 13 stories written in the late 1930’s when he was a teen. All are somewhat interesting, a few are now “classics”. Interesting concepts and characters. Slight Christophobic slant to some. Or at least the author is clear that he thinks religions are for primitive, non-scientific and intellectually inferior people.
April 16, 2021
Good stuff, interesting ideas as usual and a peak into the world of scifi in the 1940s.
April 26, 2022
There is a reason these stories never made it to any other collection, they're OK at best.
But that's not why, if you're an Asimov fan, you should read it.
There are brief glimpses and beginnings of Foundation and Psychohistory and some themes that show up countless times in his future works.
But that's not why, if you're an Asimov fan, you should read it.
You read it for the fore- and after- wards. Asimov takes a page or two after each story to offer a little extra context for the story. Where he was in his life. Was it before or after he met Gertrude? How has his opinions of his own writings and his contemporaries changed over 30 years since their initial publication.
It's fun to read Asimov write personally and very frankly. And so, if you're an Asimov fan, you should probably give it a go.
But that's not why, if you're an Asimov fan, you should read it.
There are brief glimpses and beginnings of Foundation and Psychohistory and some themes that show up countless times in his future works.
But that's not why, if you're an Asimov fan, you should read it.
You read it for the fore- and after- wards. Asimov takes a page or two after each story to offer a little extra context for the story. Where he was in his life. Was it before or after he met Gertrude? How has his opinions of his own writings and his contemporaries changed over 30 years since their initial publication.
It's fun to read Asimov write personally and very frankly. And so, if you're an Asimov fan, you should probably give it a go.
July 13, 2019
Though published a couple of years earlier, this collection with it's delightful reminiscences can almost be seen to function as a sequel to the author's wonderful BEFORE THE GOLDEN AGE in which Dr. Asimov traces his life - and his interest in the genre that he would have so much impact on - from his birth in 1920 up through his first professional sale in 1938. That book is a collection of the stories that he loved from his personal "golden age" of the 1930s, from obscure and forgotten writers to those who retained their popularity well into the "Campbell years" and beyond, like Edmond Hamilton, Murray Leinster, Jack Williamson and Clifford D. Simak.
In THE EARLY ASIMOV, we get to see Asimov's early and halting attempts to follow those luminaries; by the end of this volume he is well on his way, despite a flurry of rejections - especially from his mentor, the great editor of ASTOUNDING, John W. Campbell Jr. He presents us with 13 previously uncollected stories, all written between 1938 and 1940 and published between 1939 and 1942; only two were published in ASTOUNDING, the class act of the field. Asimov's star, unlike those of his contemporaries Van Vogt and Heinlein, didn't burst forth in instant brilliance, as he is quick to admit. The stories are presented in chronoligical order of writing, not of publication, and are:
"The Callistan Menace" (first published in ASTONISHING STORIES April 1940)
"Ring Around the Sun" (AMAZING STORIES March 1939)
"The Magnificient Possession" (FUTURE FICTION March 1940)
"Trends" (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION JULY 1939)
"The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use" (AMAZING STORIES MAY 1939)
"Black Friar of the Flame" (PLANET STORIES Spring 1942)
"Half-Breed" (SUPER SCIENCE STORIES September 1940)
"The Secret Sense" (COSMIC STORIES March 1941)
"Homo Sol" (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION September 1940)
"Half-Breeds on Venus" (ASTONISHING STORIES December 1940)
"The Imaginary" (SUPER SCIENCE STORIES November 1942)
"Heredity" (ASTONISHING STORIES April 1941)
"History" (SUPER SCIENCE STORIES March 1941)
None of the stories are brilliant, though several are interesting; "Trends" and "Black Friar of the Flame", dealing respectively with the conflict between religious intolerance and science, and galactic empire, are probably my favorites, and the two that most clearly anticipate later Asimov works. What's best about the book, and what really elevates it to something really worth reading, is Asimov's commentary about the stories, often humorous, typically quite modest and self-effacing, and valuable for the insights it provides into the mind of a young writer, and the state of the field in those years as World War II began.
For those looking for the very best in science fiction of this period, then, probably not a priority read - you'd do better with Healy & McComas' FAMOUS SCIENCE FICTION STORIES: ADVENTURES IN TIME AND SPACE, or one of Heinlein's early collections. But for fans of this writer, and those interested in personal reminiscences of this now remote-seeming era, a must.
In THE EARLY ASIMOV, we get to see Asimov's early and halting attempts to follow those luminaries; by the end of this volume he is well on his way, despite a flurry of rejections - especially from his mentor, the great editor of ASTOUNDING, John W. Campbell Jr. He presents us with 13 previously uncollected stories, all written between 1938 and 1940 and published between 1939 and 1942; only two were published in ASTOUNDING, the class act of the field. Asimov's star, unlike those of his contemporaries Van Vogt and Heinlein, didn't burst forth in instant brilliance, as he is quick to admit. The stories are presented in chronoligical order of writing, not of publication, and are:
"The Callistan Menace" (first published in ASTONISHING STORIES April 1940)
"Ring Around the Sun" (AMAZING STORIES March 1939)
"The Magnificient Possession" (FUTURE FICTION March 1940)
"Trends" (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION JULY 1939)
"The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use" (AMAZING STORIES MAY 1939)
"Black Friar of the Flame" (PLANET STORIES Spring 1942)
"Half-Breed" (SUPER SCIENCE STORIES September 1940)
"The Secret Sense" (COSMIC STORIES March 1941)
"Homo Sol" (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION September 1940)
"Half-Breeds on Venus" (ASTONISHING STORIES December 1940)
"The Imaginary" (SUPER SCIENCE STORIES November 1942)
"Heredity" (ASTONISHING STORIES April 1941)
"History" (SUPER SCIENCE STORIES March 1941)
None of the stories are brilliant, though several are interesting; "Trends" and "Black Friar of the Flame", dealing respectively with the conflict between religious intolerance and science, and galactic empire, are probably my favorites, and the two that most clearly anticipate later Asimov works. What's best about the book, and what really elevates it to something really worth reading, is Asimov's commentary about the stories, often humorous, typically quite modest and self-effacing, and valuable for the insights it provides into the mind of a young writer, and the state of the field in those years as World War II began.
For those looking for the very best in science fiction of this period, then, probably not a priority read - you'd do better with Healy & McComas' FAMOUS SCIENCE FICTION STORIES: ADVENTURES IN TIME AND SPACE, or one of Heinlein's early collections. But for fans of this writer, and those interested in personal reminiscences of this now remote-seeming era, a must.
August 27, 2009
Title: "The Early Asimov or ,Eleven Years of Trying
1972
Dutch Title: "Vroege Werken 1 - 1939-40 : De Dreiging van Callisto"
The Early Asimov series contains short stories written by Isaac Asimov that didn't got bundled before (1972) in other books. None of the stories are part of this Robot or Foundation universe. Most of them he sold to the sci-fi magazine 'Astounding', lead by John Campbell; others were published by other magazines of that era. Asimov follows each story with a history and details.
The Dutch version of this first book contains the following short stories:
1) The Callistean Menace (De Dreiging van Callisto)
2) Ring around the Sun (Ring om de Zon)
3) The Magnificent Possession (Het luisterrijke bezit)
4) Trends
5) The Weapon too Dreadful to Use (Een wapen, te vreselijk om te gebruiken)
6) Black Friar of the Flame (Zwarte broeder van de Vlam)
7) Half-breed (Halfbloed)
8) The Secret Sense (Het geheime zintuig)
1972
Dutch Title: "Vroege Werken 1 - 1939-40 : De Dreiging van Callisto"
The Early Asimov series contains short stories written by Isaac Asimov that didn't got bundled before (1972) in other books. None of the stories are part of this Robot or Foundation universe. Most of them he sold to the sci-fi magazine 'Astounding', lead by John Campbell; others were published by other magazines of that era. Asimov follows each story with a history and details.
The Dutch version of this first book contains the following short stories:
1) The Callistean Menace (De Dreiging van Callisto)
2) Ring around the Sun (Ring om de Zon)
3) The Magnificent Possession (Het luisterrijke bezit)
4) Trends
5) The Weapon too Dreadful to Use (Een wapen, te vreselijk om te gebruiken)
6) Black Friar of the Flame (Zwarte broeder van de Vlam)
7) Half-breed (Halfbloed)
8) The Secret Sense (Het geheime zintuig)
April 5, 2012
Una selección de cuentos de los inicios del Buen Doctor, incluyendo su primer cuento publicado. Tienen bastante más valor nostálgico que literario. No dejan de mostrar, sin embargo, las buenas ideas - como Opinión Pública o Un Arma Demasiado Terrible... - que la maestría en ciernes de Asimov convierte en entretenidas historias. Las leí con gran alegría, aún consciente que no son sus mejores invenciones. Además, están generosamente aderezadas con amplios comentarios del mismo Asimov sobre la génesis de cada cuento y sus circunstancias del momento, en las cuales es recurrente la enorme figura de John Campbell Jr, el editor que fue clave en crear la Edad de Oro de la CF formando a los grandes escritores de la época. Los comentarios sólo ayudaron a incrementar el placer inocente de leer el libro.
September 9, 2021
I ordered some cheap used Asimov paperbacks to relive treasured books of my youth. Truth is that between 1939-41 The Master wasn't yet The Master. Indeed, he wasn't much of a writer at all. But it's I enjoyed encountering some future Asimov themes (psychologists/psychohistorians, anyone?) in their earliest iterations.
The biographical recollections that appear between each story are, frankly, the best part of this book. They afford readers a nice sense of the pulp magazine era from which Asimov and many other SF greats emerged. And, writing back in 1972, Asimov recounts frankly the racism and other troublesome beliefs held by the great editor John W. Campbell, Jr., beliefs that most recently sparked the successful effort to rename the SF Best New Writer Award.
Great fun. Look forward to volume 2!
The biographical recollections that appear between each story are, frankly, the best part of this book. They afford readers a nice sense of the pulp magazine era from which Asimov and many other SF greats emerged. And, writing back in 1972, Asimov recounts frankly the racism and other troublesome beliefs held by the great editor John W. Campbell, Jr., beliefs that most recently sparked the successful effort to rename the SF Best New Writer Award.
Great fun. Look forward to volume 2!
December 16, 2010
The Early Asimov Book 1 (pre 1920 - published 1912): Fun to read his early work and discussion about the writing and his struggle to get published. My favorite stories were Half-Breeds and Half-Breeds on Venus. These stories focus on characters called the tweenies whose snow white hair sticks straight up in the air. These highly intelligent people were discriminated against by the earthlings but of course they survive and lead a good life. Asimov came to a point where he never rewrote his stories probably because he was so well known that he didn't have to do so. Good collection to read and the discussions are entertaining and enlightening.
June 14, 2016
These stories are fairly standard late 1930s/1940s science fiction -- a fun and interesting view into the science and preoccupations of the time period (and young men). But the real joy of this book is the essays by Asimov between the stories. As a writer, I found his experiences fascinating and encouraging. Years and years of stubbornness! Never mind that his timing was excellent in terms of finding a paying market and that he's a genius, I still found the essays so helpful for continuing to get out of bed in the morning (most days).
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.
October 21, 2015
A Quickie Review
The late great Isaac Asimov got his start selling stories to magazines, but, in his early days, he hadn't quite honed his craft yet; even he admits in the commentary that the stories in this volume have some serious flaws. Die-hard fans of the grandmaster of science fiction might enjoy this, but, more casual ones should stick to his better-known works.
Score: 2/5
The late great Isaac Asimov got his start selling stories to magazines, but, in his early days, he hadn't quite honed his craft yet; even he admits in the commentary that the stories in this volume have some serious flaws. Die-hard fans of the grandmaster of science fiction might enjoy this, but, more casual ones should stick to his better-known works.
Score: 2/5
October 13, 2013
The stories are not his best. Certainly not classics. In most cases they were published once, in the 30s or 40s. When Asimov gives his impression of each story at the end, even he doesn't seem to like them.
April 16, 2015
An excellent collection of early stories by the Sci-Fi great, Isaac Asimov. Had a very fun time reading his earlier collection, and even more so I enjoyed the commentary between stories about what was going on in his life at the time. This is a must-read for fans of Asimov.
June 25, 2015
Well, Asimov has written many better books with better stories, but it is very interestng to look at the beginings of loved author, to see how he become amazing author. It also gives you look how sci-fi periodics worked at these times.
June 4, 2016
This is an essential collection for any Asimov fans. It showcases his earliest stories that he wrote while attending university, each followed by a brief reflection on the piece and its historical/biographical context. I'm very excited to read Book Two.
September 23, 2007
Those familiar with Isaac Asimov, which should be just about everybody, might find it interesting to see how his writing evolved over time. I know I did.
July 2, 2008
Short stories, worth reading if you are into Asimov's works.
November 9, 2008
My first ever science fiction book, given to me by my father. Great read. Great introduction
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