Asimov's Mysteries [Mass Market Paperback]

Isaac Asimov (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Fawcett (May 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449210758
• ISBN-13: 978-0449210758
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,310,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mysteries for the scientific mind, December 5, 2001

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Asimov's Mysteries (Paperback)

I love cerebral mysteries, so when I read this book, I was rapturous. The mysteries involve scientific principles, so as a scientist, I was pleased with that as well. As you read the thirteen short stories in the book, your brain cells are exercised, as you try to mix the clues with scientific facts to piece together the solution. The only drawback is that the stories were written before 1970, so some of the facts about the planets have been shown to be inaccurate. However, that does not detract from the quality of the story, it just requires you to set aside some of the knowledge that you may have.
To many, these mysteries will be of marginal interest, in that there is no sex whatsoever, very little in the way of violence and the mildest of harsh language. I found that appealing, not out of a sense of being prudish, but because their absence forces the story to succeed without titillating distractions, and Asimov has certainly accomplished that admirable feat.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery and Science Theater, April 2, 2008

By 

Andrew McCaffrey "The Grumpy Young Man" (Satellite of Love, Maryland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Asimov's Mysteries (Mass Market Paperback)

Many of Isaac Asimov's science-fiction stories contained elements of mystery tales, even if they were not full blown mystery stories themselves. Indeed, I remember reading a quote from the Good Doctor in which he pointed out that scientific discovery and the unfolding of many fictional plots held similarities to detective stories. But ASIMOV'S MYSTERIES is a collection of straight up science-fiction/mystery hybrids. Fourteen such short stories make up this anthology which range in publication date from 1939 (his first published short story) to 1967.

Note that while Asimov did occasionally write mysteries with no science fiction aspects to the story -- his Black Widowers series -- no such stories appear in this collection. These stories are mysteries which usually turn on a point of science. Criminals are caught up by Newton's Laws. Murderers take full advantage of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. By the way, don't be intimidated. Even if you struggled with your Middle School science classes, Asimov always had the ability to convey the more esoteric scientific concepts in easy to understand language. And -- as he acknowledges in the introduction -- he doesn't try to fool the audience by having the final mystery solved by a random law of nature being revealed to a scientifically-illeterate reader. As with most true detective novels, the audience is not cheated; any scientific knowledge which is necessarily for the climax will have been mentioned (perhaps subtly) by the author during the story's build-up.

Although I've read quite a number of Asimov's stories, this was the first time I encountered the character of Wendell Urth who appears a handful of times here. He's the scientist-turned-detective who is called upon to solve cases in which scientific expertise about extraterrestrial bodies is required. He's a very typical Asimov scientist in that he's logical, extremely intelligent and carries with him a few of Asimov's own personality quirks.

Like the characters, the stories and the prose are exactly what you would expect from Asimov: simple, direct and fun. Asimov's style was always very consistent; this is no exception. I can't really point to any particular standout story from this collection as I enjoyed them all about equally (even the ones I had read in other compilations). For me it was nice to finally read "Marooned Off Vesta" which was the first story Asimov ever had published and which I had never read before. I also enjoyed reading the sequel -- "Anniversary" -- which had been written to celebrate the twentieth year since the story's original publication.

These stories are enjoyable and relaxing. I read the bulk of these while making a couple of airplane flights (the thought of which would have made Asimov's skin crawl) and it's great to read something that can make the reader think while at the same time being genuinely fun and absorbing reads.


For convenience's sake, I'm including the table of contents here:

"The Singing Bell" (1955)
"The Talking Stone" (1955)
"What's in a Name?" (1956)
"The Dying Night" (1956)
"Pāté de Foie Gras" (1956)
"The Dust of Death" (1957)
"A Loint of Paw" (1957)
"I'm in Marsport Without Hilda" (1957)
"Marooned Off Vesta" (1939)
"Anniversary" (1959)
"Obituary" (1959)
"Star Light" (1962)
"The Key" (1966)
"The Billiard Ball" (1967)

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Asimov's Mysteries, February 18, 2000

By 

"shaeun" (San bernardino,, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asimov's Mysteries (Hardcover)

Isaac was the first person to sucessfully blend mystery and science fiction. This book contains most of the mysteries of his best Sci-Fi Detective, Edward Urth. Dr. Urth is a exoterrologist who solves mysteries at his armschair that happened thousands of miles away. Also includes a funny one "I'm In Marsport Without Hilda", the perfect murder with a time machine "Obituary", and more! Dr. Asimov's mysteries are short, well-written, intelligent and as satisfying as a chocolate covered granola bar. A must read for all mystery fans. If you loved the Black Widowers mysteries you'll love this.