Customer Reviews

The Early Asimov or Eleven Years of Trying

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Some of these stories are dreadful. You will read them and wonder about the standards of the magazines they appeared in. After a little thought, you will wonder all the more because many of them really aren't so dreadful as all that. "Ring Around the Sun" had a hard time being published despite that fact that it was probably a lot better than most of its competition - and no worse than a lot of stuff finding its way into magazines today. We don't live in a golden age now, either. The bad stories of today are merely bad in a different way.

But the real story is the story of how Asimov came to be a science fiction writer, with samples of his work thrown in at the relevant moments. It was a departure for him. He'd published short story collections before this: but, for some reason, he thought, "Why not publish a collection of EVERY SURVIVING story from 1938 to 1949, and make an autobiography out of it?" Unfortunately it leaves out those stories which were otherwise in print at the time the book was published - a serious omission, I think. The book surely ought to have included "Nightfall", for historical reasons, at least.

But despite what I said about the fiction being dreadful, despite the fact that he left out all stories that he'd previously decided were worth reprinting, some nice pieces remain. "Author! Author!" is Asimov's funniest work and this is the only place you're likely to find it. "The Red Queen's Race" and "Mother Earth" are also very good.

This book had more of an impact on science fiction than most people realise. Its immediate effect must have been to make editors swear. I'll bet that when it was published, "Analog", "Galaxy", "Fantasy and Science Fiction" and "If" were innundated with hundreds of extra manuscripts from young writers who had fallen in love with the era Asimov described.

A combined, or original, or however you like to look at it volume of the stories that could also be obtained from Panther etc. in 3 volumes.

The First Eight :

The stories here are pretty woeful, barring a couple (and one cheesy space opera that makes you laugh), but volume 2 improves, and volume 3 again, so you see how he is getting better. More interesting are his interactions with editors and story genesis anecodotes, again.

He freely admits some of these ain't good, too.

The Next Twelve :

Not much in here is worth reading in the fictional sense, it is an exercise in Asimovian completion. The fun stories Christmas on Ganymede and the ghost in court tale of Legal Rites being exceptions, and the collaboration with Pohl.

What is much more interesting is Asimov recounting the situation surrounding each story, and his relationships with editors - such as making up Foundation to appeal to Campbell with all humans in the universe, because Campbell didn't like stories where aliens beat up the monkey boys and girls.

People now will find some of these truly horrible, but the autobiographical bits will be of interest.


The Final Seven :

This is part of a three volume collection, it seems, and here is what Asimov stars his introduction with, talking about the early forties :-

"After 'Time Pwssy' there followed a two-month period during which I wrote nothing. The reasons were twofold. In the first place, Pearl Harbor put the United States in the war the day I wrote Time Pwssy,' and those debacle were too disastrous and heartbreaking to allow much in the way of fiction composing.

If that in itself weren't enough, the time had come to try, once again, the qualifying examinations that would, or would not, grant me very much felt myself to be dangling over the abyss. A second failure to pass would probably mean an end for me at Columbia. Hours when I wasn't working in my father's candy store or hanging over the radio, I had to be studying. There was time for nothing else
Hedging my bets rather desperately, I registered for graduate work at New York University, just in case I did not pass once again examinations, at the end of January 1942, I actually attended a few classes at N.Y.U. while waiting for the results to be announced suspense. On Friday, the thirteenth of February, the results were announced. I had passed, this time."

Early Asimov : The Callistan Menace - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Ring Around the Sun - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : The Magnificent Possession - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Trends - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Black Friar of the Flame - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Half-Breed - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : The Secret Sense - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : H0m0 Sol - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Half-Breeds on Venus - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : The Imaginary - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Heredity - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : History - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Christmas On Ganymede - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : The Little Man on the Subway - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : The Hazing - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Super-Neutron - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Not Final! - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Legal Rites - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Time Pwssy - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Author! Author! - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Death Sentence - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Blind Alley - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : No Connection - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : The Red Queen's Race - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov : Mother Earth - Isaac Asimov

One stowaway kid, and a few giant space centipedes.

2.5 out of 5


Space Mail service Brains.

2 out of 5


New metal job.

3 out of 5


Cheap tub-thumping revivalist anti-space anti-science moron defiance moonshot success plaudits.

3.5 out of 5


Venusians do cool and crazy stuff too, so we maybe shouldn't annihilate them.

2.5 out of 5


This one is awesomely cheesy, the further it goes on. :) :

"You wish a Total War'a Galactic Crusade," Kane spoke in a whisper, "yet who should know better than I that a Total War has been impossible for these thousand years."

...

"Oh, pink devils of Sirius! I'm afraid to look. Is that old hag actually moving in our direction?"

...

"By Vega! Blast me, if you're not right. Good! Storm the Memorial!"

...

"The entire Sector is patrolled by the lizards. All avenues of approach to the Memorial have been shut off."

...

"The Lhasinu aren't defeated, or anywhere near defeated; make no mistake about that Even now the Solar Guard is flashing to Earth, and the forces on the outer planets are being called back. In no time at all, the entire Lhasinuic Empire will converge upon Earth and the reckoning will be a terrible and bloody one. We must have help!"

...

"In two hours, the Lhasinuic demand for surrender had been scornfully rejected and the hundred ships of the Human squadron spread outwards on the expanding surface of an imaginary sphere'the standard defense formation of a surrounded fleet'and the Battle for Earth was on."

...

"At the prow, a section of armor plate had slid aside and a glittering shaft of metal had lunged outward viciously. One hundred feet long, it narrowed gracefully from a base ten feet in diameter to a needle-sharp diamond point. In the sunlight, the chrome-steel of the shaft gleamed in flaming splendor. And every other ship of the Human squadron was likewise equipped. Each had become ten, fifteen, twenty, fifty thousand tons of driving rapier. Swordfish of space!"

3.5 out of 5


Tweenie friends.

3 out of 5


Racial ability.

2 out of 5


Earth joines the Federation.

2 out of 5


Finding the local Earthmen.

2.5 out of 5


Squid and shrink tests.

2 out of 5


Twin experiment planet problems. With bad singing.

2.5 out of 5


A spot of interplanetary war weaponry.

3 out of 5


Santa impersonation for the Jovian natives

3.5 out of 5


Gud training train.

3.5 out of 5


New Solarian student sacrifice stunt.

2.5 out of 5


Solar System end story surprise.

3 out of 5


Jovian attack force field solution.

3 out of 5


Ghost defense property case.

3.5 out of 5


Four dimension cat warm freeze.

3 out of 5


Mystery character life.

3.5 out of 5


Robot world experiment.

3 out of 5


Trinket exchange empathy escape.

4 out of 5


Monkey people maladjustment.

3 out of 5


Chemical time properties.

3 out of 5


Atomic energy time depletion.

3 out of 5


Problems fitting in.

3 out of 5

This is part of a three volume collection, it seems, and here is what Asimov stars his introduction with, talking about the early forties :-

"After 'Time Poossy'* there followed a two-month period during which I wrote nothing.
The reasons were twofold. In the first place, Pearl Harbor put the United States in the war the day I wrote Time Poossy,' and that debacle were too disastrous and heartbreaking to allow much in the way of fiction composing.
If that in itself weren't enough, the time had come to try, once again, the qualifying examinations that would, or would not, grant me very much felt myself to be dangling over the abyss. A second failure to pass would probably mean an end for me at Columbia. Hours when I wasn't working in my father's candy store or hanging over the radio, I had to be studying. There was time for nothing else.
Hedging my bets rather desperately, I registered for graduate work at New York University, just in case I did not pass once again examinations, at the end of January 1942, I actually attended a few classes at N.Y.U. while waiting for the results to be announced suspense. On Friday, the thirteenth of February, the results were announced. I had passed, this time."

Early Asimov 3 : Author! Author! - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov 3 : Death Sentence - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov 3 : Blind Alley - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov 3 : No Connection - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov 3 : The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov 3 : The Red Queen's Race - Isaac Asimov
Early Asimov 3 : Mother Earth - Isaac Asimov


Mystery character life.

3.5 out of 5


Robot world experiment.

3 out of 5


Trinket exchange empathy escape.

4 out of 5


Monkey people maladjustment.

3 out of 5


Chemical time properties.

3 out of 5


Atomic energy time depletion.

3 out of 5


Problems fitting in.

3 out of 5