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Earth is Room Enough

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"Earth is Room Enough" is an anthology of Asimov's early short stories centered on the theme that anything can and probably will happen right here on earth. It's likely that Asimov and his editors probably had their collective tongues firmly planted in their cheeks and grins on their faces when they tweaked the noses of Asimov's contemporary authors by proving that you didn't need rocket ships and space opera to write great science fiction.

While he didn't wander too far from home in terms of setting, Asimov used his fertile imagination and probing intellect to weave stories that will touch you in a wide variety of ways. Like all good SF authors, Asimov used his craft to question government, human emotions and fears, our development of and reliance on technology, humour and imagination.

Perhaps a couple of examples will serve to whet the appetite of those who have yet to savour Asimov's talent! What collection of Asimov's short stories would be complete without at least one from his vast repertoire of Susan Calvin's robots? "The Dead Past", like most of the stories he wove around his famous three laws of robotics, is a clever logic puzzle but it also probes deeply into the human psyche and our potential interactions with robots. Asimov's "Multivac", a computer character he returned to over and over again in an enormous variety of stories, appeared in "Jokester", a clever tale that probes the very nature of humour and "Franchise", which takes a very well-aimed poke at political pundits and pollsters. "The Immortal Bard", undoubtedly drawn from Asimov's well-documented non-fictional study of Shakespeare, is a clever jibe at our modern interpretation of this master playwright's work. And on and on it goes ...

For those that have yet to sample science fiction in general or Asimov's work in particular, this would be a fine place to start. Intellectual, thought-provoking, and deeply questioning yet humorous and lightweight enough to be entirely unintimidating! Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

Isaac Asimov was, unquestionably, one of the greatest science fiction writers to ever pick up a pen. As well as his award-winning novels, he also wrote some of the classic short stories of the genre. This collection was one of his earliest such (preceded only by 1955's The Martian Way.) As these are early Asimov, they are not his best or most representative work. Although all are written in Asimov's clever and intimitable style (including the witty poem), there are not real, true classics included - some are very good, some are quite good, and a few merely pedestrian. Personal favorites of mine from this collection are Dreaming Is A Private Thing (concerning which Robert A. Heinlein accused Asimov of making money out of his own psychoses), and Jokester, a highly original and clever story. Pick this up if you are an Asimov fan and have already made headway into his works; otherwise, read a few of his better, more classic collections (such as Nine Tomorrows), first.

Very dated material, but nice set of short stories by the master of sci-fi. Mainly stories from the 1950s, which I actually found interesting as not only were the stories pretty good (as usual) but it was a window into how we felt about the future during this era.

Having read several Asimov novel and one short story collection(I, Robot), I picked up The Earth is Room Enough expecting another great work. I was not dissapointed. Although some of the shortest stories are a little inconsequencial, there are many trully greta ones, including The Dead Past, Franchise, Living Space, The Last Trump, and Dreaming is a Private Thing. As always Asimov's stories represent his own unique philosophies, and require much cognitive effort to fully understand. Some of the stories, especially The Dead Past, are downright scary in their implications. A true must read.

There can be no question that Isaac Asimov deserves his place among the legends of science fiction. The original Foundation trilogy and the Robot series are canon deservedly so. Unfortunately, Earth Is Room Enough does not do justice to the Grand Master. The stories collected range from the fairly decent to the deadly dull. The sole stand-out is the brief "An Immortal Bard," answering the amusing question, "What if Shakespeare were alive today and taking a Shakespeare class?" Otherwise, the collection is largely forgettable.

Some of Asimov's best short stories, including some funny ones.

This is one of Asimov's earlier books, so he hadn't worked out yet all the details of making complex subjects understandable for the average reader. If you've got a strong background in the sciences, or are willing to pick up a physic textbook or two to help you through the rough spots, this collection is a must read.

However, if all you're into is escapist sci fi, this book doesn't have much to interest you.

Also note: if you're one of the thinking people, and know very much about Dr. Feinman's research, the first story in the collection will scare the hell out of you.