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Early Asimov #3
De rode koningin
Door de wereldfaam die Isaac Asimov geniet, zou men bijna vergeten dat ook hij eens een onbekende beginner was. De drie delen 'Vroege werken' tonen ons een nog niet zo geroutineerde, maar des te meer geïnspireerde jonge Asimov. Ze bevatten verhalen uit de jaren 1939-1948 die nog niet eerder gebundeld waren.
Vroege werken 1: De dreiging van Callisto
Vroege werken 2: Het superneutron
Vroege werken 3: De Rode Koningin
Elk deel vormt een afgerond geheel. Asimov becommentarieert de verhalen met een keine ontstaansgeschiedenis: over de aanleiding, de kritiek die hij te verwerken kreeg, de schamele dollars die hij ervoor ontving.
Voor de liefhebbers voortreffelijke verhalen; voor de fans en kenners een stuk geschiedenis van de Golden Age. Voor hen bevat deel 1 tevens een volledige opsomming van de vroege verhalen, met vermelding van Nederlandse titel en uitgave.
Vroege werken 1: De dreiging van Callisto
Vroege werken 2: Het superneutron
Vroege werken 3: De Rode Koningin
Elk deel vormt een afgerond geheel. Asimov becommentarieert de verhalen met een keine ontstaansgeschiedenis: over de aanleiding, de kritiek die hij te verwerken kreeg, de schamele dollars die hij ervoor ontving.
Voor de liefhebbers voortreffelijke verhalen; voor de fans en kenners een stuk geschiedenis van de Golden Age. Voor hen bevat deel 1 tevens een volledige opsomming van de vroege verhalen, met vermelding van Nederlandse titel en uitgave.
240 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 1974
5 people are currently reading
442 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,341 books27.8k followersWorks 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...
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...
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 4, 2020
The End of the Road
4 January 2020
As I mentioned in my reviews of the earlier books, I found this quite interesting in that we are basically following Asimov’s writing career, that is until he publishes his first full-length novel (that being Pebble in the Sky). I was sort of wondering whether we were getting to the end of his ‘early’ stuff when he started talking about the stories that he was writing that became a part of the Robot and Foundation books, but then again this is his book, and he can really call it what he likes.
Basically, the stories that are listed here are the stories that were published (namely because many of the earlier stories that were rejected he basically tossed, and it was only when his writing career started gaining traction that he decided to keep everything, particularly since later in life publishers would fall over themselves if there was an undiscovered, and unpublished, Asimov short story), though by the end of the book they are generally the ones that appeared in Campbell’s magazine since he ended up pretty much publishing everything that was submitted (though, of course, it still had to be quality).
Well, during this part of Asimov’s story, we follow him through World War II and his work doing research for the navy. It was also interesting to learn that conscription still existed after the war, and he was, well, called up. Of course, if you happened to be working for the military in another capacity you could escape the draft (as Asimov did for most of the war), but due to a quirk of fate, he found himself in a situation where he had to go.
He also gets married during this time, and of course, he completes his PhD and then goes on to do post-doc research. Apparently getting a job as a Chemist with a PhD wasn’t all that easy back then, but I’m sure Walter White would probably have something to say about that. Eventually, where the book ends, Asimov finds himself not only writing full-length novels, but working in Boston, and of course, he then goes on to write lots and lots of other stuff as well. His output is absolutely amazing.
As for the stories, yeah, they weren’t bad at all, and you can certainly see how he has matured as a writer. Of course, what he is doing at the time does filter into his works, such as the story which happens to be a series of memos produced by scientists in a galactic research facility (and a military one at that), or the one where he is writing a bogus research paper on some fantastic material.
However, it was the last couple that really stood out, and of course, they have nice little twists at the end. The first is about this guy that discovers time travel, and he wants to change history by sending a book back to the Ancient Greeks, this being a scientific text on chemistry. However, there is a discussion amongst the characters about what affect that might have, and how much it would change history. Yeah, there is this whole time travel twist as to whether we can change the past or whether what happens has always happened.
The final one seems to fall into the Robot stories, (as do some of the others, though there are a couple of galactic empire ones as well). It is set at a time when Earth has colonised the stars and the outer planets have rebelled. So, well, they decide to go to war with Earth because, well, Earth really doesn’t like the idea of more powerful entities existing, and also because the Outer Planets are rather racist. Once again, like a lot of his stories, there seems to be this philosophical exploration as to the nature of war, and whether to win a war one must lose first, which will force the culture to change and adapt to the new conditions. Obviously, having lived through a rather horrendous war in his lifetime, there were a number of things that came to mind and the suggestion that the defeats in 1940 laid the foundation for the eventual victories that came about afterwards. On the other hand, one could also argue that the Germans probably could never have managed to conquer Britain, since the resources of the empire were just too massive, and of course, we also have the fact that once the Americans became involved, well, it was then all over red rover.
Yeah, I liked this book, but in the end, it had more to do with his personal accounts of his journey to becoming an author as opposed to the stories themselves.
4 January 2020
As I mentioned in my reviews of the earlier books, I found this quite interesting in that we are basically following Asimov’s writing career, that is until he publishes his first full-length novel (that being Pebble in the Sky). I was sort of wondering whether we were getting to the end of his ‘early’ stuff when he started talking about the stories that he was writing that became a part of the Robot and Foundation books, but then again this is his book, and he can really call it what he likes.
Basically, the stories that are listed here are the stories that were published (namely because many of the earlier stories that were rejected he basically tossed, and it was only when his writing career started gaining traction that he decided to keep everything, particularly since later in life publishers would fall over themselves if there was an undiscovered, and unpublished, Asimov short story), though by the end of the book they are generally the ones that appeared in Campbell’s magazine since he ended up pretty much publishing everything that was submitted (though, of course, it still had to be quality).
Well, during this part of Asimov’s story, we follow him through World War II and his work doing research for the navy. It was also interesting to learn that conscription still existed after the war, and he was, well, called up. Of course, if you happened to be working for the military in another capacity you could escape the draft (as Asimov did for most of the war), but due to a quirk of fate, he found himself in a situation where he had to go.
He also gets married during this time, and of course, he completes his PhD and then goes on to do post-doc research. Apparently getting a job as a Chemist with a PhD wasn’t all that easy back then, but I’m sure Walter White would probably have something to say about that. Eventually, where the book ends, Asimov finds himself not only writing full-length novels, but working in Boston, and of course, he then goes on to write lots and lots of other stuff as well. His output is absolutely amazing.
As for the stories, yeah, they weren’t bad at all, and you can certainly see how he has matured as a writer. Of course, what he is doing at the time does filter into his works, such as the story which happens to be a series of memos produced by scientists in a galactic research facility (and a military one at that), or the one where he is writing a bogus research paper on some fantastic material.
However, it was the last couple that really stood out, and of course, they have nice little twists at the end. The first is about this guy that discovers time travel, and he wants to change history by sending a book back to the Ancient Greeks, this being a scientific text on chemistry. However, there is a discussion amongst the characters about what affect that might have, and how much it would change history. Yeah, there is this whole time travel twist as to whether we can change the past or whether what happens has always happened.
The final one seems to fall into the Robot stories, (as do some of the others, though there are a couple of galactic empire ones as well). It is set at a time when Earth has colonised the stars and the outer planets have rebelled. So, well, they decide to go to war with Earth because, well, Earth really doesn’t like the idea of more powerful entities existing, and also because the Outer Planets are rather racist. Once again, like a lot of his stories, there seems to be this philosophical exploration as to the nature of war, and whether to win a war one must lose first, which will force the culture to change and adapt to the new conditions. Obviously, having lived through a rather horrendous war in his lifetime, there were a number of things that came to mind and the suggestion that the defeats in 1940 laid the foundation for the eventual victories that came about afterwards. On the other hand, one could also argue that the Germans probably could never have managed to conquer Britain, since the resources of the empire were just too massive, and of course, we also have the fact that once the Americans became involved, well, it was then all over red rover.
Yeah, I liked this book, but in the end, it had more to do with his personal accounts of his journey to becoming an author as opposed to the stories themselves.
November 12, 2023
This was an interesting volume that gave some proper and real glimpse of Asimov's abilities that would astound and influence the world later.
Among the seven long works included in this volume, some (e.g. 'Author! Author!) are trite and nothing more than a joke lengthened to the point of serious boredom. But some ('Blind Alley' and 'The Red Queen's Race') utilise his experineces with bureaucracy, xenophobia and paranoia to develop into something memorable.
Some works (e.g. 'Mother earth') truly predict greater things to come.
And there is the ultimate Asimovian speciality that had become a sensation for being so realisitically framed that people had actually searched for all the 'references'. Yes, I am talking about "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline".
Overall, this was a very good way to conclude 'The Early Asimov'. All the biographical details also proved that the groundwork had been laid by this time for him to go for the next level.
I am thinking about starting a re-read of Foundation tonight. What about you?
Among the seven long works included in this volume, some (e.g. 'Author! Author!) are trite and nothing more than a joke lengthened to the point of serious boredom. But some ('Blind Alley' and 'The Red Queen's Race') utilise his experineces with bureaucracy, xenophobia and paranoia to develop into something memorable.
Some works (e.g. 'Mother earth') truly predict greater things to come.
And there is the ultimate Asimovian speciality that had become a sensation for being so realisitically framed that people had actually searched for all the 'references'. Yes, I am talking about "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline".
Overall, this was a very good way to conclude 'The Early Asimov'. All the biographical details also proved that the groundwork had been laid by this time for him to go for the next level.
I am thinking about starting a re-read of Foundation tonight. What about you?
September 15, 2020
Het laatste deel van de vroege werken, dat eindigt met de dood van Ballantine en vanaf dan verdergezet wordt in het overbekende en grote oeuvre van Asimov.
Opnieuw geven de tussenstukjes over het privé-leven (als schrijver) een diepere inzicht over de achtergronden. Doordat de oorlogsjaren er in vallen liggen de werken verder uit mekaar en merk je als lezer een duidelijke evolutie van de enthousiasteling naar de gevestigde schrijver. Het speelse en experimentele verdwijnt samen met een dosis optimisme en maakt plaats voor meer doordachtheid en routine.
Het pseudo-wetenschappelijke werk verdient hier zeker een plaatsje maar is op zich onleesbaar en - bewust - totale wetenschappelijke nonsens wat het feitelijk onleesbaar maakt. Wel geeft het een voorsmaakje van de schrijfstijl van de vele echte wetenschappelijke werken die Asimov gepubliceerd heeft.
Samen met de twee andere "Vroege werken" een absolute aanrader voor de fans, maar toch voor mij persoonlijk wel het minste van de drie.
Opnieuw geven de tussenstukjes over het privé-leven (als schrijver) een diepere inzicht over de achtergronden. Doordat de oorlogsjaren er in vallen liggen de werken verder uit mekaar en merk je als lezer een duidelijke evolutie van de enthousiasteling naar de gevestigde schrijver. Het speelse en experimentele verdwijnt samen met een dosis optimisme en maakt plaats voor meer doordachtheid en routine.
Het pseudo-wetenschappelijke werk verdient hier zeker een plaatsje maar is op zich onleesbaar en - bewust - totale wetenschappelijke nonsens wat het feitelijk onleesbaar maakt. Wel geeft het een voorsmaakje van de schrijfstijl van de vele echte wetenschappelijke werken die Asimov gepubliceerd heeft.
Samen met de twee andere "Vroege werken" een absolute aanrader voor de fans, maar toch voor mij persoonlijk wel het minste van de drie.
December 14, 2020
This book defies all logic, and I’m going to tell you why. The Early Asimov is essentially a collection of Asimov’s short stories from when he was first starting out, published as one volume in hardback but in three separate volumes for the paperback. By the time that we get to this specific paperback, we’re towards the latter end of the early stuff, and so theoretically Dr. Asimov should have been at his best.
Instead, I found that I preferred his really early stuff, and by the time we get to this point, I’m left with the feeling that it’s almost a waste. He accompanies his stories with little reflective essays that talk about where he was in his life at the time, and the stories here were written during the downtime between some of his all-time greats.
Having said all that, I’m a completionist, especially when it comes to someone as prolific and as fascinating as Asimov, who I consider to be something of a personal challenge.
Instead, I found that I preferred his really early stuff, and by the time we get to this point, I’m left with the feeling that it’s almost a waste. He accompanies his stories with little reflective essays that talk about where he was in his life at the time, and the stories here were written during the downtime between some of his all-time greats.
Having said all that, I’m a completionist, especially when it comes to someone as prolific and as fascinating as Asimov, who I consider to be something of a personal challenge.
October 25, 2025
Some interesting concepts, some leading to later books and expansion of Asimov's universe, however in some cases the author's notes about each story were just as or even more interesting than the stories themselves. Great insight into the lives of the pioneers of SF.
November 6, 2022
Many of the stories are not very good. But I guess that’s logical seeing as it’s his earliest stuff. Still love him.
June 21, 2025
The Early Asimov: Volume 3 closes out this intimate trilogy not just with stories, but with a rare sense of literary archaeology—each tale revealing how a young writer, barely out of college, sharpened his mind against the grindstone of sci-fi magazines and rejection slips. Isaac Asimov, never one to withhold commentary, walks us through the context, origins, and backstage drama of every story included—sometimes with pride, often with disarming honesty.
By this volume, the awkward starts of the earlier stories have been overtaken by the emergence of a unique voice: precise, curious, endlessly logical. Asimov is now confidently writing not just stories, but worlds ruled by reason, governed by science, and populated by flawed humans trying to understand both.
Some standout entries include:
"The Magnificent Possession" – a comedic misfire by Asimov’s own admission, but endearing in its earnestness.
"The Red Queen’s Race" – where he flirts with time travel and paradox, showing an early ability to turn cerebral concepts into tense drama.
"Mother Earth" – a sharp piece of planetary politics and foreshadowing of the Earth-Spacer divide that would become vital in the Robot and Empire novels.
"The Hazing" – a lighter, more mischievous piece, proving that even in his early twenties, Asimov knew how to have fun with interstellar college rituals.
While these aren’t Foundation-level bangers, they’re necessary stepping stones, and many of them hold up surprisingly well—crackling with the energy of a young writer figuring out how to spin gold from science. The prose is cleaner, the characters more distinct, and the ideas more fully realized than in Volumes 1 and 2.
Asimov's interspersed autobiographical notes are a treasure—full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, editorial rejections, and a sense of wide-eyed gratitude that he got to be a writer at all. You’re not just reading stories here—you’re watching a brain bloom, and few sci-fi legends are this open about their growing pains.
In essence, The Early Asimov: Volume 3 is the literary equivalent of a time-lapse photo of genius-in-progress. For fans of the Good Doctor, it’s an affectionate, self-aware love letter to the craft, and a testament to the idea that great science fiction isn’t born overnight—it’s written, rejected, rewritten, and slowly made inevitable.
By this volume, the awkward starts of the earlier stories have been overtaken by the emergence of a unique voice: precise, curious, endlessly logical. Asimov is now confidently writing not just stories, but worlds ruled by reason, governed by science, and populated by flawed humans trying to understand both.
Some standout entries include:
"The Magnificent Possession" – a comedic misfire by Asimov’s own admission, but endearing in its earnestness.
"The Red Queen’s Race" – where he flirts with time travel and paradox, showing an early ability to turn cerebral concepts into tense drama.
"Mother Earth" – a sharp piece of planetary politics and foreshadowing of the Earth-Spacer divide that would become vital in the Robot and Empire novels.
"The Hazing" – a lighter, more mischievous piece, proving that even in his early twenties, Asimov knew how to have fun with interstellar college rituals.
While these aren’t Foundation-level bangers, they’re necessary stepping stones, and many of them hold up surprisingly well—crackling with the energy of a young writer figuring out how to spin gold from science. The prose is cleaner, the characters more distinct, and the ideas more fully realized than in Volumes 1 and 2.
Asimov's interspersed autobiographical notes are a treasure—full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, editorial rejections, and a sense of wide-eyed gratitude that he got to be a writer at all. You’re not just reading stories here—you’re watching a brain bloom, and few sci-fi legends are this open about their growing pains.
In essence, The Early Asimov: Volume 3 is the literary equivalent of a time-lapse photo of genius-in-progress. For fans of the Good Doctor, it’s an affectionate, self-aware love letter to the craft, and a testament to the idea that great science fiction isn’t born overnight—it’s written, rejected, rewritten, and slowly made inevitable.
October 13, 2025
A quasi-autobiographical collection of short stories, following the same format as the first two volumes, from Isaac Asimov's early career as an aspiring author.
As always, the introductions to each story from Asimov are a real treat here. He describes his struggles with publishers, fitting writing around his studies and work, as well as his obligations in the Second World War. Asimov writes so eloquently and earnestly, it really is a joy to read. He describes things which influenced some of these stories, but also shares the pay he received for each story, and relative to his "day job" earnings at the time. Reading this in 2025, it is genuinely fascinating to learn about how science fiction was consumed in the 1940s, and how it changed over time (and was shaped by the war).
There are two standouts for me. First, The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline is a tongue-in-cheek, spoof academic paper which documents a compound which dissolves in water... before being applied to water. It's really just a bit of fun, but the way he painstakingly outlines a fictional experiment, including variables, references and measurements of uncertainty is very entertaining. Even if it's probably only funny to academics. Mother Earth feels like a spiritual predecessor to the Robot novels, and makes references to locations from these books. It definitely feels like it belongs in that series, and is a nice way to round out this collection.
Essential reading for any Asimov fan. It's not his best work, but it's a fascinating insight into his formative years.
As always, the introductions to each story from Asimov are a real treat here. He describes his struggles with publishers, fitting writing around his studies and work, as well as his obligations in the Second World War. Asimov writes so eloquently and earnestly, it really is a joy to read. He describes things which influenced some of these stories, but also shares the pay he received for each story, and relative to his "day job" earnings at the time. Reading this in 2025, it is genuinely fascinating to learn about how science fiction was consumed in the 1940s, and how it changed over time (and was shaped by the war).
There are two standouts for me. First, The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline is a tongue-in-cheek, spoof academic paper which documents a compound which dissolves in water... before being applied to water. It's really just a bit of fun, but the way he painstakingly outlines a fictional experiment, including variables, references and measurements of uncertainty is very entertaining. Even if it's probably only funny to academics. Mother Earth feels like a spiritual predecessor to the Robot novels, and makes references to locations from these books. It definitely feels like it belongs in that series, and is a nice way to round out this collection.
Essential reading for any Asimov fan. It's not his best work, but it's a fascinating insight into his formative years.
March 11, 2019
2.5 stars - Author! Author! was my favourite from this compilation, it was absolutely hilarious and imaginative.
Short stories are difficult to rate, not only do you enjoy some more than others; but because there is very little space to develop characters, the plots, and the world in it. These short stories are meant to be entertaining, and shows a glimpse into what Asimov is capable of. I really love the anecdotes that accompany each story, with Asimov providing context and what magazines accepted his stories and which didn't.
Though my favourite sci-fi author, these Early Asimov volumes goes to show that Asimov worked extremely hard to be the prolific writer that he is. He was met with a lot of rejection early on, but never gave up hope. Not all of the stories in the volumes are great, in fact, a lot of them are quite average. Despite that, I am really glad that we get to witness his progress and development as a writer. It makes Foundation and the Robot series all the more wonderful, and demonstrates that Asimov never gave up.
Volume I is my favourite out of all three, but none of the volumes are essential to the every day reader. I recommend them if you are a huge fan of Asimov, and is interested in seeing how his life and writing developed over the course of his career.
Short stories are difficult to rate, not only do you enjoy some more than others; but because there is very little space to develop characters, the plots, and the world in it. These short stories are meant to be entertaining, and shows a glimpse into what Asimov is capable of. I really love the anecdotes that accompany each story, with Asimov providing context and what magazines accepted his stories and which didn't.
Though my favourite sci-fi author, these Early Asimov volumes goes to show that Asimov worked extremely hard to be the prolific writer that he is. He was met with a lot of rejection early on, but never gave up hope. Not all of the stories in the volumes are great, in fact, a lot of them are quite average. Despite that, I am really glad that we get to witness his progress and development as a writer. It makes Foundation and the Robot series all the more wonderful, and demonstrates that Asimov never gave up.
Volume I is my favourite out of all three, but none of the volumes are essential to the every day reader. I recommend them if you are a huge fan of Asimov, and is interested in seeing how his life and writing developed over the course of his career.
July 5, 2023
Leído: 8/10. Tercera parte del "diario" y compendio de relatos de Asimov, en el que están publicados 8 relatos más extensos que los dos anteriores libros, en la época en la que ya empezaba a escribir sobre robots y sobre "Fundación".
Para mi gusto son demasiado complejos, y dejan un poco de lado la construcción de los personajes y el disfrute del lector más ávido de acción. Los más reposados y teóricos disfrutarán más que yo.
Seis de los relatos me han parecido pasables. Y los dos últimos, los más extensos, muy recomendables.
Maravilla que el autor explique la historia de cada uno de ellos. Tras los 3 volúmenes, las ganas de leer sus obras más extensas son elevadas. Así que pronto me pondré con alguno 😉
¡Ya os contaré!
Para mi gusto son demasiado complejos, y dejan un poco de lado la construcción de los personajes y el disfrute del lector más ávido de acción. Los más reposados y teóricos disfrutarán más que yo.
Seis de los relatos me han parecido pasables. Y los dos últimos, los más extensos, muy recomendables.
Maravilla que el autor explique la historia de cada uno de ellos. Tras los 3 volúmenes, las ganas de leer sus obras más extensas son elevadas. Así que pronto me pondré con alguno 😉
¡Ya os contaré!
December 21, 2021
Short collection of Asimov stories, written during or right after World War 2. These stories are perhaps not the author's best (because those where published in book form elsewhere), and they feel quite dated, but I still found them interesting, combined with extensive author commentary. There is a clear theme of destruction of the earth in many of the stories here (and also read Nightfall, which is referenced here but unfortunately not included!), not surprising considering the way the war had just ended and the cold war started.
June 30, 2024
The last slice of "eleven years of trying", collecting autobiographical notes and early stories together to give a flavour of how an author emerged from a fan. Takes his story tidily to the end of the 40s when he 'emigrates' from New York, leaving his mentor, John Campbell, geographically. 60 stories written at this time, now parts of six books: the collection itself, 20 years on, is described as his 125th book, so he was certainly getting busier.
Read
August 11, 2024It's cute, gives the vibe of a particularly inspired collection of twighlight zone episodes (sometimes to a slightly hacky degree). Though I was somewhat shocked by how much I liked Author! Author! I had this image in my head of Asimov as this stuffy boffin only interested in science but this first story had a really charming romantic dynamic
October 9, 2018
Meh. I was never much of an Asimov fan and nothing has changed. Too little action, too much is just weirdly named characters' talking. That said, I did enjoy the introductions to each piece, where he reminisces about his life and how he sold the stories to the pulp SF magazines ...
June 25, 2020
Great read but stories were too short.
March 23, 2022
داستانهاش از دو جلد قبلی قویتر بودند که منطقی هم هست
August 25, 2024
Sometimes I think that reading the author's comments between stories is much more interesting than the stories themselves.
April 25, 2025
I can see why the stories in this volume didn't make it to Volumes One or Two.
April 5, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
August 27, 2009
Title: "The Early Asimov or ,Eleven Years of Trying - Book 3"
1972
Dutch Title: "Vroege Werken 1 - 1941-1948 : De Rode Koningin"
The Early Asimov series contains short stories written by Isaac Asimov that didn't got bundled before (1972) in other books. None of the stories are part of this Robot or Foundation universe. Most of them he sold to the sci-fi magazine 'Astounding', lead by John Campbell; others were published by other magazines of that era. Asimov follows each story with a history and details.
The Dutch version of this third & last book contain the following short stories:
1) Time Pussy (Tijdpoesje)
2) Author! Author! (Schrijver! Schrijver!)
3) Death Sentence (Doodvonnis)
4) Blind Alley (Doodlopende Straat)
5) No Connection (Geen Verband)
6) The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline (De endochronische eigenschappen van geresublimeerd thiotimoline)
7) The Red Queen's Race (De Rode Koningin)
8) Mother Earth (Moeder Aarde)
1972
Dutch Title: "Vroege Werken 1 - 1941-1948 : De Rode Koningin"
The Early Asimov series contains short stories written by Isaac Asimov that didn't got bundled before (1972) in other books. None of the stories are part of this Robot or Foundation universe. Most of them he sold to the sci-fi magazine 'Astounding', lead by John Campbell; others were published by other magazines of that era. Asimov follows each story with a history and details.
The Dutch version of this third & last book contain the following short stories:
1) Time Pussy (Tijdpoesje)
2) Author! Author! (Schrijver! Schrijver!)
3) Death Sentence (Doodvonnis)
4) Blind Alley (Doodlopende Straat)
5) No Connection (Geen Verband)
6) The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline (De endochronische eigenschappen van geresublimeerd thiotimoline)
7) The Red Queen's Race (De Rode Koningin)
8) Mother Earth (Moeder Aarde)
December 6, 2013
And so on to the final volume of the set - there is really nothing new or insightful I could add to this review since to me they are all one and the same- thee are some interesting stories, there are some painful ones (in reflect to dialogue and storyline) but taken in context of when they were written they truly are amazing and love him or hate him you have to admit that he has contributed so much to science fiction and most of that was for the benefit of the general public - he was never elitist about his work or the genre which he mainly wrote in - to me this is a fitting addition to this bibliography although be careful how you read these books - there are better places to start reading Asimov than here.
July 8, 2016
More collected Asimov short stories that began my journey into reading, so kept mainly for that reason rather than to re-read. These are from his early period (strange to think about how old these stories are given they are from the 1940s). I do like how Asimov gives a short background to each story and what was happening in his life at the time before it is presented. This one is a slightly more memorable for me as it includes the story "The Endochronic Properties of Rsublimted Thiotimoline", which is a parody chemistry paper and has a back story worth reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiotim...
March 7, 2010
Exactly what it say on the tin. This is the third and final volume collecting Asimov's early short stories. Each story has commentary about the stories and the author's life and what was happening at that time. I like Asimov's work anyway and this was a good collection, showing that he was good at his art from very early in his career.
Read
December 13, 2007N/A
February 25, 2013
Loved it - great example of Asimov's brilliance, even before he was famous. Great commentary by the author to provide the history of his early writing career.
November 19, 2011
A collection of short stories that was quite enjoyable.
March 26, 2017
I was completely blown away by this book. I just picked it up at some point, because it fitted conveniently in my pocket and - let's be honest - because I was going on a frist meeting and fancied that if I arrived early and read this book, it would project a desirable impression. That being said, I never actually read any Asimov before, just had a vague feeling of him being a renouned sci-fi author. To my astonishment, I found myself enthralled by the book and have rarely found any book as consistently engaging as this recently (it would be a nice anecdote to put in here that when my date arrived I was so engulfed that I shushed her until I finished the page - unfortunately not true, but a good image). Bottom line: I never read a short story collection that was so strong as a whole and so artfully tied together with the little scraps of autobiography and situational scene-setting inbetween.
The stories had the timeless markings of (what makes for me at least) good science fiction: more psychological and social details than actual science, but using the intergalactic set-up to drive otheriwse impossible stories with strong premisses and even more forceful conclusions.
To know that he wrote all these stories - many of which have more thought put into background details, plot and even style on a few pages than have many full-length novels - and did it on the side, while studying and working, selling a few stories a year, each of which driven and focussed in its development it seems, and still not really considering himself a "writer", because he couldn't really make a living of that income alone - that was a true eye-opener for me, equally inspiring and terrifying. I hardly ever felt more enthralled by the irresistably plodding craft of storytelling (actual storytelling! Actual narrative - not just pseudo artistically shaped scraps of text) and more belittled with regards of my own aspirations in it. I wonder whether the world is still capable of manufacturing writers like that today.
Will most likely turn to his Foundations sometime in the future.
The stories had the timeless markings of (what makes for me at least) good science fiction: more psychological and social details than actual science, but using the intergalactic set-up to drive otheriwse impossible stories with strong premisses and even more forceful conclusions.
To know that he wrote all these stories - many of which have more thought put into background details, plot and even style on a few pages than have many full-length novels - and did it on the side, while studying and working, selling a few stories a year, each of which driven and focussed in its development it seems, and still not really considering himself a "writer", because he couldn't really make a living of that income alone - that was a true eye-opener for me, equally inspiring and terrifying. I hardly ever felt more enthralled by the irresistably plodding craft of storytelling (actual storytelling! Actual narrative - not just pseudo artistically shaped scraps of text) and more belittled with regards of my own aspirations in it. I wonder whether the world is still capable of manufacturing writers like that today.
Will most likely turn to his Foundations sometime in the future.
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