Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection (Paperback)

by Isaac Asimov (Author) "I am a robot..." (more)
Key Phrases: robot stories, robot story, magazine science fiction, Other Sam, Foundation's Edge, Three Laws of Robotics (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Gold is the final and crowning achievement of the fifty-year career of science fiction's transcendent genius, the world-famous author who defined the field of science fiction for its practitioners, its millions of readers, and the world at large.

The first section contains stories that range from the humorous to the profound, at the heart of which is the title story, "Gold," a moving and revealing drama about a writer who gambles everything on a chance at immortality: a gamble Asimov himself made -- and won. The second section contains the grand master's ruminations on the SF genre itself. And the final section is comprised of Asimov's thoughts on the craft and writing of science fiction.

About the Author
To list Isaac Asimov's honors, as to list his books, would be excessive. Let it simply be noted that Isaac Asimov was the most famous, most honored, most widely read, and most beloved science fiction author of all time. In his five decades as an author, he wrote more than four hundred books, won every award his readers and colleagues could contrive to give him, and provided pleasure and insight to millions. He died in 1992, still at work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Eos (October 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060556528
• ISBN-13: 978-0060556525
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #375,102 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Collection of Asimov's Work, January 17, 2004

By	Zac Hanscom (Chula Vista, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're a diehard Asimov fan like I am, you'll probably like this book. The main story, "Gold," details a filmmaker realizing the second part of ...And the Gods Themselves. For that alone, it's worth a look.

Asimov's more famous collections are a little more fun. If you're becoming an Asimov fan, it's best to start with his early science-fiction and then move through his career.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An author's gamble, September 12, 2002

By	Andrew McCaffrey "The Grumpy Young Man" (Satellite of Love, Maryland) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Gold" is an interesting piece of fiction. Clearly turning autobiographical at times, Isaac Asimov tells the story of an author determined to see one of his more famous works turned into something greater -- a "compu-drama", the brand-new visual medium of the future. It's an engaging story that uses its science fiction trappings to tell a tale about authors, stories, and the place the both of them hold in history. It is this theme along with the ways that different characters interpret the same piece of fiction that give this work its bite.

The fictional author would appear to be based, at least somewhat, on Asimov himself. The biggest clue to this is the book that the writer is looking to have produced bears a striking resemblance to one of Isaac Asimov's more celebrated novels. In fact, "resemblance" probably isn't going far enough -- for all intents and purposes, the book being discussed in "Gold" categorically is one of Asimov's more famous stories, at least, in most important respects (there is one section that is hinted to be different, but it seems clear that the bulk of the stories are identical in theme, plot, and characters). Readers who have already read that book will no doubt enjoy picking up some of the references. I had personally greatly enjoyed that book, and I found it quite interesting to get another interpretation of some of the more abstract concepts presented there. Not to say that Asimov explains them away; he merely presents an interpretation of the facts in a way that would be natural to someone trying to produce something so intangible in a visual context.

"Gold" isn't the best piece of fiction that Asimov wrote during his long and celebrated career, but it should definitely be considered worth reading. The science fiction portions are engaging, but that is really just the backdrop to a more fundamental story. The fictional author's comments on his own work were particularly interesting, especially as one attempts to figure out when he was talking from his own character, and when he was voicing the thoughts of Asimov contemplating his own place in literary history. As I wrote this review, my mind went over the events and I found myself appreciating the story even more. That is always a good sign, and "Gold" is definitely a story worth thinking about.

8 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not quite sure what the other reviewers read, July 28, 2004

By	C. Green "CJ Green" (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It doesn't seem like the other reviewers read the same book that I did. The book I read consisted of a lot of self-congratulatory essays on Asimov's creation of the Three Laws of Robotics (which aren't really laws, but that's a topic for a different rant) punctuated by a bunch of shaggy-dog stories (MAYBE they were funny in 1955) and a couple of lame science-fiction stories. I know Dr. Asimov was a brilliant man, but this book in no way offers him tribute to his genius. For fans only. Maybe.