The 13 Crimes of Science Fiction

by Isaac Asimov (Editor)

A private investigator hunts a killer & uncovers a fantastic & horrifying secret. An important man is murdered & there are numerous suspects--each from a different planet. A computer helps a young man solve a puzzle & assumes the personality of a long-dead gangster.
Isaac Asimov has conspired with collaborators Martin Harry Greenberg & Charles G. Waugh to mastermind this diabolically clever anthology in which each of the classic categories of crime fiction is represented by a science fiction tale. Here are such science fiction greats as Philip K. Dick, Larry Niven, Clifford Simak, Jack Vance & the illustrious Dr. Asimov himself writing cosmic variations on the whodunit, how-done-it, why-done-it, the hard-boiled detective, the police procedural & even a brand-new category--the psychic detective story.


9 • The Universe of Science Fiction • essay by Isaac Asimov
13 • The Detweiler Boy • (1977) • Tom Reamy
49 • The Ipswich Phial • [Lord Darcy] • (1976) • Randall Garrett
97 • Second Game • (1958) • Katherine MacLean and Charles V. De Vet
141 • The Ceaseless Stone • [Doctor Eszterhazy] • (1975) • Avram Davidson
155 • Coup de Grace • [Magnus Ridolph] • (1958) • Jack Vance
179 • The Green Car • (1957) • William F. Temple
203 • War Game • (1959) • Philip K. Dick
221 • The Singing Bell • [Wendell Urth] • (1955) • Isaac Asimov
239 • ARM • [Gil Hamilton] • (1975) • Larry Niven
297 • Mouthpiece • (1974) • Edward Wellen
367 • Time Exposures • (1971) • Wilson Tucker
387 • How-2 • (1954) • Clifford D. Simak
427 • Time in Advance • (1956) • William Tenn

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Crime, Fantasy

455 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good anthology of science fiction/crime stories reprinted from the genre magazines ranging from 1954-1977. The stories are somewhat tenuously sorted into categories such as "Hard-boiled-detective," "Whodunit," "Locked room, "Police procedural," etc. There are good representatives from different series, such as Larry Niven's Gil the ARM, Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy, and Jack Vance's Magnus Ridolph, as well as nice familiar stories by Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, and Tom Reamy, not to mention almost-forgotten almost-classics by Wilson Tucker, Charles V. De Vet and Katherine MacLean, and Clifford D. Simak. The book never had a mass-market edition but would be a good bet for fans of both classic sf and mystery.

[Eli Lemons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories were phenomenal, some of them were just OK, others were a drag to read.

Each story explores a different crime fiction trope but within a scifi structure. These tropes include:

- Hard-Boiled
- Detective Psychic
- Detective Spy Story
- Analytical Detective
- Whodunit
- Why-Done-It
- How-Done-It
- Inverted
- Locked Room
- Cipher
- Police Procedural
- Trial
- Punishment

My favorite story in the bunch was "ARM", which explored the "Locked Room" trope.

If you're a fan of either Crime fiction or Science Fiction, I highly recommend this collection if you can get your hands on it.

[Joe Noto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apologies ahead of time, this is a book of 13 stories by different authors, so naturally, I must comment on each. Overall, the stories are so varied, but they stick to mystery/murder/detective theme with futuristic/space elements. Some of them blew me away, some didn't, some sucked. Here we go:

The Detweiler Boy by Tom Reamy- Unforgettable images in this one. The writing was great. Very old school detective like writing. The image of the boy's brother and what he does to the boy will not leave me. Pretty dark overall. 3

The Ipswich Phial by Randall Garrett- Unreadable. I gave it 15 pages and was completely lost. 1

Second Game by Charles V. De Vet and Katherine MacLean- Mind blowing and very intelligent. I wonder if the author was inspired by another story. The writing was high quality and the story was intriguing. The last two pages really came out of nowhere. Bravo. 4.5

The Ceaseless Stone by Avram Davidson- Not fond of this one. I found the writing hard to follow. I wonder if I read it slowly, if I would have gotten something out of it, but I really didn't get anything. 1.5

Coup de Grace by Jack Vance- Really liked this one. It showed the importance of understanding an individual's background and philosophies and adapting to them to be able to effectively communicate with them. Solid writing. 3

The Green Car by William F. Temple- Shocking event immediately followed by story development that feels like it is going down a paranormal path, but takes a turn. Excellent imagery in this one. 3

War Game by Philip K. Dick- So simple. So scary. So wonderfully written. I couldn't put it down and loved the end. 4.5

The Singing Bell by Isaac Asimov- Way too long. Seemed to drone on and on and on and the writing was a little too detailed, so it was a struggle to get to the end, and the end was a let down. 1

ARM by Larry Niven- Very interesting. The writer must have an engineering background. I found the actual murder case and the discovering of the killer to be rather boring though. I wasn't satisfied with it. And I did not understand how the main character had an invisible 3rd arm that can go through skin...weird. 2.4

Mouthpiece by Edward Wellen- See The Singing Bell review. Boring and Dragging. No point to the whole story and then the end was a let down. The only decent part was I liked the writing style a bit more. 1.5

Time Exposures by Wilson Tucker- Cool idea having a camera that can take pictures of a scene and can be adjusted to see the scene in the past up to 14 hours. I love how still primitive it was though with the film coming out and needing the film developed haha. The writing was exciting, but man...what a cliche and crappy ending. 2.5

How-2 by Clifford D. Smark- Wonderful except there being no real ending. Very Black Mirror. Enjoyable story. 3.4

Time in Advance by William Tenn- Fascinating idea of having pre-crime prison sentences. I loved the rational. It actually sounded plausible! Very smart story. No real ending, but I like it. 3.5

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a singular masterpiece within this collection: "The Detweiler Boy" by Tom Reamy. It's one of my favorite short stories ever. It's written as a "hard-boiled detective" story and if you are a fan of Dashiell Hammett and imaginative syfy, you can't miss this great story! The rest of the collection is good, but "Detweiler" elevates this collection to a higher level than most short story collections.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 13 Crimes of Science Fiction
Author: Asimov, Greenberg, Waugh, et al
Publisher: Doubleday & Company
Publishing Date: 1979
Pgs: 455
=======================================
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Genre:
Science Fiction
Crime
Noir


Why this book:
My Asimov kick led me to this one.
_________________________________________
Favorite Concept:
The enlightened treatment of gay men in The Detweiler Boy. Very enlightened for 1979, or whenever the story is from…77, it's from 1977.

A little bit of Kolchak in Mallory, PI, putting himself in harm's way when he doesn't really know who or what Detweiler really is. He's got to be more suspicious than he's acting.

Tropes:
This book and its short stories are shot full of tropes, largely because of the eras in which they were written. What is an overused trope today, may have been a more standard and accepted one when these were new. This is one of the factors that date this material. The collection is dated to 1979, but a lot of this material is from earlier on.

Hmm Moments:
Pretty deep in the Detweiler Boy story and no science fiction to speak of.

The whodunit was well written, but too cut and dried. And the villain being who it was and the act being of the timber that it was, it just comes across as odd.

The Sigh:
So, in Detweiler, the one is dead, probably, but is the other? Leaving it too open ended, but even if he had heard the shot, he wouldn't know for sure.

Turd in the Punchbowl:
Surprisingly, the reason I picked the book up provides one of the worst stories in the lot. Dr Urth’s solution is weak sauce.

The Unexpected:
When Nesbitt referred to Detweiler as an angel, a dark angel, I got that sinking feeling in my stomach that if he was a good detective Bertram would've gotten too. Course he's only speculating that Detweiler is a vampire and with no other sci-fi elements why would he make that leap into the weird.
_________________________________________
Last Page Sound:
Dated. Some were interesting. It’s hard to write science fiction when as the story ages it becomes a period piece. Timelessness is a hard to capture quality.
=======================================

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three submissions:
1. Except four stories, rest are fantasy or other things full of pseudoscience.
2. Only two science-based stories (one written by Asimov, one by Tenn) are gripping and readable. Two other readable stuff are laughably fantastic and should have been placed elsewhere.
3. There is a gigantic piece of very bad writing and bad logic in this collection which forced me to suspect that Asimov actually didn't select this lot.
If you are inclined towards reading actual Crime Stories belonging to Science fiction genre, I would suggest that please look elsewhere. This book...
Nah! Not exactly there.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm ambivalent about this book. I like that the editors attempted to classify and categorize different mystery shorts into types for a taxonomy of mystery stories. I don't agree the examples (stories) selected to represent each type of mystery fit or are/were the best examples available. I also don't like some of the stories contained in this collection because they're too violent and/or present surprise endings which the reader cannot deduce for oneself.

[DeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun take on SciFi...how would science fiction writers tackle the whole detective genre? Brilliantly, as it turns out.

Edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg, and Charles G. Waugh.

Contents:

* The Detweiler Boy by Tom Reamy
* The Ipswich Phial by Randall Garrett
* Second Game by Charles V. De Vet & Katherine MacLean
* The Ceaseless Stone by Avram Davidson
* Coup de Grace by Jack Vance
* The Green Car by William F. Temple
* War Game by Philip K. Dick
* The Singing Bell by Isaac Asimov
* ARM by Larry Niven
* Mouthpiece by Edward Wellen
* Time Exposures by Wilson Tucker
* How-2 by Clifford D. Simak
* Time in Advance by William Tenn

[Heidi]

4.8 stars

Of the many collections of science fiction short stories that I have read, this is the
overall best.

So many of the collections of science fiction short stories have only one or two good stories
in them, in my opinion.

This book has 80% great stories and I would say that only about 20% are OK
or poor.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

As bizarre of a choice as this may seem, this book is one of my favorites. I like mysteries, I like science fiction, and I like the introductions for each short story. Each story was selected to prove that science fiction stories can operate within the "rules" of detective mysteries.

[Greg Springer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really interesting collection of stories. Several left permanent impressions (e.g., Green Car) and the book has been a major hit with people to whom I've loaned it.

[Terra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book overall. The majority were interesting, however there were some that were boring. Given that they were single examples of various subgenres though it might be that I dislike the subgenre in particular, or that I dislike that particular story, knowing the difference isn't easy for those who would not know the subgenre to begin with.

However, I only happened to dislike 2 of the 13 stories. (The downside being one of the stories is something like 80 pages, pushing the limit of 'short story'.)

Given all of that though, 4/5.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My three favorite genres - sci-fi + mystery + short stories - masterfully compiled in one volume of great stories. The only story I didn't care for was "The Detweiler Boy" but that was only due to the weird (x-file-ish) nature of the resolution, which isn't to my taste. Each story represents a different type of mystery story (spy, whodunit, police procedural, etc). Plenty of the stories had a clever and satisfying final twist. I had a hard time picking a favorite because I liked so many of them!

[Andrew Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The nine stories in the first two thirds of this anthology were surprisingly still relevant and enjoyable. Very well written to have lasted this long. Still worthwhile reading, either as Science Fiction or as Crime stories.
I have to say the last four are too dated for most people, having to do with things mostly unknown to present day people. For one example (none spoiler) who still plays with word ciphers and alphabet codes? Two others concern fields that have changed too much in different directions for too long a period than the stories can cope with.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen science fictions stories all revolving around crime. The private eye, mystery, locked room and police procedural stories are thrust into a futuristic setting creating a truly interesting collection. One that really stand out are "Time in Advance: where a person can serve time before they commit a crime. Old school sci-fi at its best.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good examples of classic sci-fi stories with the twist of mysteries thrown in. The stories language, etc are somewhat dated - the book was originally published in 1979 and some of the stories are from the 1950s. Still an enjoyable read.

[Marko]

I have the german edition: Utopia der Detektive

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky and entertaining collection of stories - mostly really well-written, and definitely worth a re-read.

Buy it if you find it at a decent price.

[g · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its okay, thats about all I can say.

[Mark Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe half the stories are pretty good, the other half probably not worth reading.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some way to combine something I adore with something I'm ambivalent about!

This is a collection Asimov, Greenberg, and Waugh compiled of science fiction and mystery short stories in 1979 which I finally finished.
Overall, it turned out that I liked it more than I didn't care for whodunit.

Mini-reviews of each:
The Detweiler Boy: Detweiler makes me think of a kind of dog, while I didn't think much of the character; this story has such an intriguing ending! I think it was a good first selection to begin the book.

The Ipswich Phial: Some way to look at European history. I adored the idea of the mendacious cantata mentioned in this story. The composer's tricking the listener into believing (s)he's hearing something completely different.

The Second Game: Tehehe, this made me think so much of the chess novel I'd read before, The Eight! As I suspected, the Katherine who co-wrote this is of a different surname. However, the game that they were playing is not chess, per se, it is something more complicated. Still this may be tied with the last one as my favourite story in this set.

The Ceaseless Stone: I don't have anything of note to comment about this one. It existed. I read it and went on.
Coup de Grace: Or this one.
The Green Car: I had a feeling I should really linger on this, but I didn't since I really didn't want to think much about green or blue cars.

War Game: I really liked the idea of the Bureau of Standards, and all the other governmental departments! Overall PKD is worthwhile. (Philip K. Dick is the author of this one)

The Singing Bell: This is Isaac Asimov's contribution, and it shows very clearly. Talk about getting psychoprobed! Hahaha.

ARM: Hmm, it is nice also that before each short story the type of mystery is explained, though I think I did get a little lost in ARM. Perhaps I just couldn't follow its logic. Oh well, it happens in everything. Maybe next time I come back it'll be clearer.

Mouthpiece: Meanwhile the code story Mouthpiece was pretty clear to me, and I thought it was clever! Perhaps it's just the different kind of science that appeals to each individual reader.

Time Exposures: Probably my family might like the police procedural story, if they could universally bear the novel format, but it didn't appeal too much to me. I skimmed it.

How-2: This is probably my second favourite right after the tie of the next short story and The Second Game. It's an advanced build-your-own-rocket type story. Except it's not a rocket. It's a dog. And it's robotics.

Time in Advance: This closing story reminded me sooo much of all the rest of the convict literature I've already scoured that I thought I had already read it.
And, mayyybe I have years and years ago, for the short story is copyright 1956, and this IS my speciality...

So overall I am satisfied with completion of The 13 Crimes of Science Fiction! It is an oldie, but a goodie.
In retrospect, the four amazing ones I enjoyed counterbalance the four stories I disliked especially with the others in ambivalence.

[Leaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book! I keep coming back to this one periodically, when I want something that is pure fun and not too deep. War Game by Philip K. Dick is the one that stands the strongest on its own for its examination of political philosophy, and Coup de Grace by Jack Vance has a very Deep Space 9 feel to it. Every other story manages to forcibly insert an irrelevant objectification of women into the mix, which is probably indicative of the times.

[Roger Verstraete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Table of Contents:

1. The Detweiler Boy by Tom Reamy deals with vampires
2. The Ipswich Phial by Randall Garrett is set in a past where the machines are based on magic
3. Second Game by Charles De Vet studies an alien race and the game they play
4.The Ceaseless Stone by Avram Davidson where a mystery is thoughtfully solved when the investigator follows the money
5. Coup de Grace by Jack Vance where detective Magnus Ridolph must solve the murder of Lester Bonfils
6. The Green Car by William Temple appears to be a ghost story
7. War Game by Philip Dick questions the innocence of children's toys.
8.The SInging Bell by Isaac Asimov depicts rockets and greed.
9. ARM by Larry Niven is placed in a world of transplants and artificial limbs and space travel
10. Mouthpiece by Edward Wellen loads the personality of a gangster into a powerful computer
11. Time Exposures by Wilson Tucker
12. How-2 by Clifford Simak
13. Time in Advance by William Tenn where colonists are badly needed for expansion into the galaxie

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of science fiction mysteries, along with an explanation of that relatively obscure sub-genre from Isaac Asimov. I've read a fair number of SF mysteries, and had read most of the ones in the book; most of them are excellent examples of the form. The leading story, "The Detweiler Boy" by Tom Reamy, was not particularly good; putting a relatively weak story first in an anthology is an unfortunate flaw.

But there are a number of gems here, including Larry Niven's "Arm". "War Games" by Philip K. Dick, was simply not readable for me; I can take some PKD, but only in mild doses - and not a lot of it. I don't know if it was the mood I was in, or if the story was particularly Dick-ish (sorry, couldn't resist), but after a page or two I simply skipped that story altogether.

That said, the vast majority of the book is excellent and well worth reading.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really the only ones worth reading are Reamy's and Asimov's. One star for each good story.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won't give the
authors names because
somebody else has already
done that at the top.

Here are my ratings for
the stories

Detweiler boy 2/5
Ipswich Phial 2/5
Second Game 5/5 tempted to put 10/5
Ceaseless Stone 2/5
Coup de Grace 3/5
Green car 5/5 tempted to put 10/5
War Game 4/5
Singing Bell 2.5/5
ARM 3/5
Mouthpiece 2.5/5
Time Exposures 4/5
How-2; 5/5 tempted to put 8/5
Time in Advance 5/5 tempted to put 10/5

I would say that this is
one of the best SF short
story collections that I
have ever read.

[Richp · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are no bad stories. More of them tend toward so-so than top-notch, but there are a few of the latter. On the scale of fantasy to science fiction, fantasy was more represented, but at least it wasn't swords and sorcery.

[Rosalind Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of, maybe THE most favorite collection of science fiction mysteries of mine.

[Fishsanwitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

stamped

[Isblue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story collection. Science fiction/crime fiction stories nicely introduced.