Customer Reviews

The Early Asimov, Book I

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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: A Science Fiction Anthology of the 1930s, 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.

When one opens the cover to The Early Asimov - Book One there will be found a half a page story on how Asimov's writing career began. When on June 21, 1938 a very young and scared Isaac Asimov took a manuscript to the editor of Astounding Science Fiction. This is where the legendary career began. And this book contains 13 of the stories from the grand master's earliest days as a writer. Some of the stories are good, some are average, but they are all worth reading. It's interesting to read these early stories and follow the growing talent of Asimov. Even in these early stories one can see the promise of what is to come. Following each story is a literary history containing the dates and details. These histories may be the best part of the book. While the stories are enjoyable, the stories behind the story are intriguing. Reading about what was going on in Asimov's life, what was going on in the world, and how and why the story was written and published is incredibly interesting. This is a good book to read if you want to see the early works of one of the best science fiction writers of all time.

For you Asimov fans, it is very interesting to learn about his beginnings in writing science fiction. In fact, one learns that for years he did not consider writing a possible means of sole income! He writes introductions to each of the short stories in this collection (which were originally published in various SciFi magazines) & gives one insight into the man behind the pen. A must for anyone who has any curiosity about just how he got started.