Customer Reviews

Science Fiction Favorites Isaac Asimov/Audio Cassettes/Cxl 505

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This collection is a little more uneven than the Ray Bradbury collection ("Fantastic Tales of Ray Bradbury"), because the stories (and opening poem) vary more in quality. There are also 1950s SF tropes that haven't dated well, such as a preoccupation with gigantic (planet-sized or larger) computers, and recurrent mention of the antagonists of World War II. There are no great surprises or changes in story interpretation (as I got from Bradbury's reading of "John Huff's Leavetaking"). Finally, Asimov's after-comments occasionally come too close to the end of the story or make it seem trite by "explaining" the story or drawing attention to side details (such as the "prediction" of hand-held calculators in "The Feeling of Power").

Given all this, why do I still think this is an outstanding collection? Because Asimov has such a warm and ingratiating reading style. You feel as if you are in the room with a good friend who wants to tell you some good stories. Asimov isn't a great voice actor, but he obviously regards these stories with genuine affection, and isn't afraid to cry at the end of "The Ugly Little Boy." (His after-remark notes that he has gotten letters from people who said the story made them cry, and he says that's perfectly all right, since he cried when writing it and cried again just now when reading it.) The affection for the stories feels like an affection for the reader as well, making this a very charming collection of stories by a late Grandmaster of Science Fiction.

CONTENTS: Introduction; I Just Make Them Up, See; Someday; The Feeling of Power; Living Space; Satisfaction Guaranteed; The Last Question; Jokester; The Immortal Bard; Spell My Name With an "S"; The Ugly Little Boy

Isaac Asimov's short stories are oldies but goodies. These are great to listen to on your commute to work. They focus on robotics and computers to an extent modern listeners might find anachronistic. I can't help but laugh at the thought of Multi-Vac, the huge computer that takes Grand Masters to operate. Nonetheless, the stories are charming and illuminate quirks of human nature. Isaac Asimov does a great reading, adding a lot of passion and character to the stories.