Marooned Off Vesta

by Isaac Asimov

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1939

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

[Buck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marooned Off Vesta was Isaac Asimov's first story, published when he was a teen. I read it many, many years ago and remembered it, but only vaguely. I probably remembered it at all only because I was such an Asimov fan back then and this was his first. Anyhow, I enjoyed reading it again a lifetime later. It's certainly not the best SF story ever written, and not Asimov's best either, but it's really not bad. It's true science fiction from the golden age of science fiction, with hard science - actual physics.

The Martian by Andy Weir is a modern day version of the same kind of science fiction, and even has a similar theme.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fun short story came up in a discussion in the Evolution of SF group. Asimov wrote it in his teens (1939) & it's full of the interesting hard SF tidbits that I came to love in the pulps. Stories like this gave me a feel for outer space & physics. Great stuff!

You can find it here for free:
https://www.e-reading.club/chapter.ph...

[Nikhil Narvekar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was hyped bc of Asimov but it’s a very boring story. No twist or tension, very straightforward. It does make sense as it was the first story Asimov ever wrote but it’s just so unbelievably dull. Read the companion story “The Anniversary” to see if that would improve the overall experience but it also is just a very boring, straightforward story.

Shameful.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Marooned Off Vesta three men have been stranded in a section of space craft which broke off from the original ship when it was hit by an errant asteroid. No one knows they are there; Vesta is close enough for them to see, but too far for anyone there to see them, especially as no one is yet looking. And, what's worse, they only have three days left of air supply. Then, an off hand remark about their plentiful supply of water causes one of the men, Warren Moore to get an idea for how they just might be able to propel their rooms of floating space junk to Vesta and safety. The story ends before they reach the moon, so the reader is left to wonder whether or not the three men reach the safety of Vesta or perish in the cold, harshness of space.

Written while still in his teens, Marooned Off Vesta is Isaac Asimov's first published story, and his inexperience shows throughout the story. Although interesting, the narrative is clunky and poorly written. Same for the dialogue. The characterizations are cardboard at best and it's difficult to tell one from the other as each man blends into the next. I found myself not caring if the three men would make it out of their predicament or not for it seems they would be no more interesting off the spaceship (or rather what's left of it) than they are on it. I was surprised that Warren found the gumption to heroically attempt a space walk in order to save them because I could see them just as easily sitting around drinking the Martian Jabra juice, which, unlike air, they are in hefty supply of, while awaiting their inevitable death by asphyxiation.

Although this story screams hackneyed amateur, there is a spark of talent simmering beneath the surface and I look forward to discovering how Asimov matures as a writer.

[Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collected in Asimov's Mysteries and The Best of Isaac Asimov, this story can also be read here. The story is notable as it is Asimov's first published story, although it was the third he wrote. The plot is simple - the Silver Queen is wrecked, with 3 survivors on board marooned off Vesta, with 3 days of air, a week of food and a year's worth of water. This is the story of their struggle to survive, and although this was written way before The Martian, the solution is the same.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Marooned off Vesta" by Isaac Asimov was the third story he wrote, and the first to be published. Written in July 1938 when Asimov was 18, it was rejected by Astounding Science Fiction in August, then accepted in October by Amazing Stories, appearing in the March 1939 issue. It is possible to find copies of that magazine issue online, which I did in order to read this story.

"Marooned off Vesta" tells the story of three men who survive the wreck of the spaceship Silver Queen in the asteroid belt and find themselves trapped in orbit around the asteroid Vesta. They have plenty of water, but only three days worth of oxygen. They're going to die of suffocation unless they think of a rescue plan.

Asimov created a great deal of interpersonal drama and the situation contained reasonable suspense. But I didn't find it entirely convincing or that well written. It seemed contrived, in fact, and some of the dialogue read as if placed in the story to inform the reader of certain issues rather than be what three men would logically say to one another in the situation.

One possible plot hole exists that I can and do forgive Asimov for. Namely, if the spaceship needed rescue, why not radio inhabited Vesta for help? Vesta was only a few hundred kilometers away. Did aircraft not have radio back in 1939? I think they did. The Titanic certainly did; it was how other vessels knew to come to her rescue. And that was as long ago as 1915. Then it occurred to me that Asimov may have been under the assumption radio waves would not travel through the vacuum of space. After all, up until 1939 no one had heard a radio signal from space yet. Right?

All in all, this was a fun read of an early Asimov short story even if Asimov wasn't yet writing great science fiction.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

asimov tries to make education fun

[Forked Radish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sublime in its subtle succession. Rockets be rockets now matter how they taste. 🥗

[Levi Blanco · Rating 3 out of 5]

have to appreciate it was written in 1939. Easy read. basic by today's standard, but damn solid.

[Kareen · Rating 5 out of 5]

muy buena historia de Asimov no me aburro para nada de todas sus historias en el espacio, con robots etc, todas muy auténticas.

[Stanley Daugherty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Asimov's first published story. Good for a 19-year-old, and a good beginning for one the best science fiction writers of all time. Asimov went on to publish many stories and books plus a huge number of science books oriented to non-scientific readers. He also edited a large number of collection of his stories and those of other scifi writers.