I've never been an Asimov reader - Page 2

lumberjim · 01-25-2005, 09:19 PM

he rocks. behind orson scott card, and maybe poul anderson and larry niven, he's my favorite sci fi guy. i used to get his annual sci fi anthology

Happy Monkey · 01-25-2005, 09:44 PM

I still have a big box o' Asimov's magazines in my basement. If my "to read" shelf wasn't so big, I'd go dig 'em out...

Elspode · 01-25-2005, 11:16 PM

Don't leave out Asimov's non-fiction works as well. A not-even-close-to-complete listing, with *'s indicating those I have read and/or own. Asimov was a mind-bogglingly prolific author, and virtually everything I've ever read was very good. However, his special gift was his ability to render the most achingly complex factual scientific subject matter into easily understandable, entirely illuminating layman's terms. I learned more from reading Asimov's non-fiction than I ever learned in school.

Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (1964)
Asimov's Guide to the Bible (1968-69) *
Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare (1970)
Asimov's Treasury of Humor (1971)
Worlds within Worlds (1972) *
Asimov on Chemistry (1974) *
Asimov on Physics (1976) *
Asimov on Numbers (1977)
A Short History of Chemistry (1979)
A Choice of Catastrophes (1979)
Extraterrestrial Civilizations (1979)
Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (1979) *
Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (1982)
Asimov on Science Fiction (1982)
The Roving Mind (1983)
Asimov's Guide to Halley's Comet (1985)
Past, Present, and Future (1987) *
Asimov's Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan (1988)
Asimov's Galaxy (1989)
The Tyrannosaurus Prescription and One Hundred Other Essays (1989)
Asimov's Chronology of the World (1991)
Asimov's Guide to Earth and Space (1991)
Atom (1991)

Elspode · 01-25-2005, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumberjim

he rocks. behind orson scott card, and maybe poul anderson and larry niven, he's my favorite sci fi guy. i used to get his annual sci fi anthology

Once again, just in case I failed to boast about it enough in an earlier post which I am just too lazy to find...me and Larry Niven.

Happy Monkey · 01-25-2005, 11:51 PM

Cool. I've got just about all of Niven's books.

glatt · 01-26-2005, 09:09 AM

Azimov has written some really great stuff. The robot books, the Foundation trilogy, a lot of his other early stuff. The short stories.

His later stuff gets pretty bad though. I stopped reading his stuff when I read his guide to Halley's Comet back when the comet was coming around. It was rubbish. I could have written a better book, and I'm not a very good writer. In his later years, he was just phoning it in. That Halley's Comet guide read like it was a first draft transcribed dictation. Really bad.

Azimov wrote something like 400 books in his life. I would say that around 20 of them are worth reading.

russotto · 01-26-2005, 04:29 PM

There were a lot of Asimov _references_ in the movie "I, Robot", but the story itself barely had any relation to Asimov's stories.

However, the whole concept of what the Asimovian Three Laws would lead to if taken to their logical conclusion IS Asimovian, and Asimov developed it in the robot series and robot and empire series. However, Asimov treated it as a _good_ thing.

Happy Monkey · 02-06-2005, 09:13 PM

Here's Maddox's view....

01-25-2005, 09:19 PM	#16
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	he rocks. behind orson scott card, and maybe poul anderson and larry niven, he's my favorite sci fi guy. i used to get his annual sci fi anthology __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

01-25-2005, 09:44 PM	#17
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	I still have a big box o' Asimov's magazines in my basement. If my "to read" shelf wasn't so big, I'd go dig 'em out... __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

01-25-2005, 11:16 PM	#18
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Don't leave out Asimov's non-fiction works as well. A not-even-close-to-complete listing, with 's indicating those I have read and/or own. Asimov was a mind-bogglingly prolific author, and virtually everything I've ever read was very good. However, his special gift was his ability to render the most achingly complex factual scientific subject matter into easily understandable, entirely illuminating layman's terms. I learned more from reading Asimov's non-fiction than I ever learned in school. Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (1964) Asimov's Guide to the Bible (1968-69) Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare (1970) Asimov's Treasury of Humor (1971) Worlds within Worlds (1972) * Asimov on Chemistry (1974) * Asimov on Physics (1976) * Asimov on Numbers (1977) A Short History of Chemistry (1979) A Choice of Catastrophes (1979) Extraterrestrial Civilizations (1979) Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (1979) * Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (1982) Asimov on Science Fiction (1982) The Roving Mind (1983) Asimov's Guide to Halley's Comet (1985) Past, Present, and Future (1987) * Asimov's Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan (1988) Asimov's Galaxy (1989) The Tyrannosaurus Prescription and One Hundred Other Essays (1989) Asimov's Chronology of the World (1991) Asimov's Guide to Earth and Space (1991) Atom (1991) __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

01-25-2005, 11:51 PM	#20
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	Cool. I've got just about all of Niven's books. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

02-06-2005, 09:13 PM	#23
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	Here's Maddox's view.... __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

01-26-2005, 09:09 AM	#21
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Azimov has written some really great stuff. The robot books, the Foundation trilogy, a lot of his other early stuff. The short stories. His later stuff gets pretty bad though. I stopped reading his stuff when I read his guide to Halley's Comet back when the comet was coming around. It was rubbish. I could have written a better book, and I'm not a very good writer. In his later years, he was just phoning it in. That Halley's Comet guide read like it was a first draft transcribed dictation. Really bad. Azimov wrote something like 400 books in his life. I would say that around 20 of them are worth reading.

01-26-2005, 04:29 PM	#22
russotto Professor Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,788	There were a lot of Asimov _references_ in the movie "I, Robot", but the story itself barely had any relation to Asimov's stories. However, the whole concept of what the Asimovian Three Laws would lead to if taken to their logical conclusion IS Asimovian, and Asimov developed it in the robot series and robot and empire series. However, Asimov treated it as a _good_ thing.

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