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Tells the stories of mental parasites, extraterrestrial creatures, clones, monstrous aliens, invaders, and colonists
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,428 books28.9k 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 15, 2023
I first read this book while at school under a scheme where certain books deemed as suitable for helping kids to read (and trust me I needed all the help I could get) allowed us to buy books at heavily discounted prices (although reading the sale prince is still a shocker compared to today).
So I leapt at the chance to own this and the other 3 in the series and devoured the series of short stories they contained. The books were age categorised - this being 8 and above - although my reading skills were significantly less well developed I have to admit the stories contained here (there is a Stephen King after all) would be scandalous today but back then it was just character building.
So not only a great blast from the past (watch out for the others) it was also a great re-connection to some classic genre stories
So I leapt at the chance to own this and the other 3 in the series and devoured the series of short stories they contained. The books were age categorised - this being 8 and above - although my reading skills were significantly less well developed I have to admit the stories contained here (there is a Stephen King after all) would be scandalous today but back then it was just character building.
So not only a great blast from the past (watch out for the others) it was also a great re-connection to some classic genre stories
October 21, 2014
So I went hunting for a specific short story and it fetched up here - (I sort of expected that) and yes as a result i had to read the collection all over again - yes it was just as much fun as the first time and yes it made me stop and think - like last time. The only question I have now is why was only part of the series of books published. I guess we will never know
I guess the short story is one of the genres greats strengths. Not only is there a story to be told, but a world, a stage that has to be set and all has to be explained in the limited pages that make up the short story. I have read quite a bit over the years and I think never have I had as much admiration and respect for an author as one who can create a believable and enjoyable read as that of a short story writer.
The stories as is traditional with those of the Asimov anthologies follow a theme and in this case it is that of monster. It is interesting to see what the editors feel constitutes a monster (yes the series carries Asimovs name but there are several editors who contributed to this book and the series) and I think that is part of the appeal - not quite knowing what or when the monster will be revealed.
I guess the short story is one of the genres greats strengths. Not only is there a story to be told, but a world, a stage that has to be set and all has to be explained in the limited pages that make up the short story. I have read quite a bit over the years and I think never have I had as much admiration and respect for an author as one who can create a believable and enjoyable read as that of a short story writer.
The stories as is traditional with those of the Asimov anthologies follow a theme and in this case it is that of monster. It is interesting to see what the editors feel constitutes a monster (yes the series carries Asimovs name but there are several editors who contributed to this book and the series) and I think that is part of the appeal - not quite knowing what or when the monster will be revealed.
August 1, 2020
This is a collection of eleven short stories that science fiction in the fifties was famous for... Monsters! As the editors have grouped them, "We Find Them Here... We Find Them There... We Find Them Everywhere." Most, if not all, were interesting, several being excellent, and several that were uninspired. The following is the contents, a 4-star rating, and a small synopsis:
1. PASSENGERS by Robert Silverberg. **** A unique story about alien invaders taking over human bodies for amusement and returning them to their puzzled owners, discovering what they had done during their possession.
2. THE BOTTICELLI HORROR by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. **** A straight-up sci-fi horror story. Venusian invaders start devouring humans and multiplying, and nothing can stop it, except for...
3. THE SHAPES by J. H. Rosny Aine (trans. by Damon Knight) ** Over a thousand years ago, bluish cones were discovered which became mobile and started to eat animals and humans alike. Slow and ponderous.
4. THE CLONE by Theodore L. Thomas. *** A variation on the blob. Intriguing and fun, it was expanded into a novel.
5. THE MEN IN THE WALLS by William Tenn. **** In the future, giant aliens have invaded the earth, forcing mankind to go underground and revert to cave-like people, similar to Roger Corman's "Teenage Caveman." Became the fix-it novel (a novel comprised of two or more novellas) "Of Men and Monsters."
6, THE DOORS OF HIS FACE, THE LAMPS OF HIS MOUTH by Roger Zelazny. **** A fun adventure yarn involving a notorious baitman trying to catch a Venusian version of Moby Dick.
7. STUDENT BODY by F. L. Wallace. *** Colonists on a newfound planet encounter a creature that evolves quickly.
8. BLACK DESTROYER by A.E. Van Vogt. *** Earth explorers land on a planet and capture Coeurl, a black panther-like creature with tendrils exuding from the side of his head. Interesting that most of the story is told from Coeurl's POV, so you understand how he feels and his motivations.
9. MOTHER by Philip Jose Farmer. * A mother and son crash on an uninhabited planet, but they find a signal. As they try to find the source of the message, they encounter several creatures.
10. EXPLORATION TEAM by Murray Leinster. **** My favorite! Huygens, a loner, starts an illegal colony on an "uninhabitable planet" comprised of four mutated Kodiak bears and a specially-trained eagle. They are visited by a government official who mistakenly lands at Huygens base instead of a robot colony about several miles away. They must get to the robot base but have to get through a mass of killer sphexes, 800-pound wildcats with Cobra-like heads!
11. ALL THE WAY BACK by Michael Shaara. ** After eleven years in deep space, they haven't found any new life-forms until they meet the Anthas!
It was a fun collection and hope there are other anthologies that involve just monsters.
1. PASSENGERS by Robert Silverberg. **** A unique story about alien invaders taking over human bodies for amusement and returning them to their puzzled owners, discovering what they had done during their possession.
2. THE BOTTICELLI HORROR by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. **** A straight-up sci-fi horror story. Venusian invaders start devouring humans and multiplying, and nothing can stop it, except for...
3. THE SHAPES by J. H. Rosny Aine (trans. by Damon Knight) ** Over a thousand years ago, bluish cones were discovered which became mobile and started to eat animals and humans alike. Slow and ponderous.
4. THE CLONE by Theodore L. Thomas. *** A variation on the blob. Intriguing and fun, it was expanded into a novel.
5. THE MEN IN THE WALLS by William Tenn. **** In the future, giant aliens have invaded the earth, forcing mankind to go underground and revert to cave-like people, similar to Roger Corman's "Teenage Caveman." Became the fix-it novel (a novel comprised of two or more novellas) "Of Men and Monsters."
6, THE DOORS OF HIS FACE, THE LAMPS OF HIS MOUTH by Roger Zelazny. **** A fun adventure yarn involving a notorious baitman trying to catch a Venusian version of Moby Dick.
7. STUDENT BODY by F. L. Wallace. *** Colonists on a newfound planet encounter a creature that evolves quickly.
8. BLACK DESTROYER by A.E. Van Vogt. *** Earth explorers land on a planet and capture Coeurl, a black panther-like creature with tendrils exuding from the side of his head. Interesting that most of the story is told from Coeurl's POV, so you understand how he feels and his motivations.
9. MOTHER by Philip Jose Farmer. * A mother and son crash on an uninhabited planet, but they find a signal. As they try to find the source of the message, they encounter several creatures.
10. EXPLORATION TEAM by Murray Leinster. **** My favorite! Huygens, a loner, starts an illegal colony on an "uninhabitable planet" comprised of four mutated Kodiak bears and a specially-trained eagle. They are visited by a government official who mistakenly lands at Huygens base instead of a robot colony about several miles away. They must get to the robot base but have to get through a mass of killer sphexes, 800-pound wildcats with Cobra-like heads!
11. ALL THE WAY BACK by Michael Shaara. ** After eleven years in deep space, they haven't found any new life-forms until they meet the Anthas!
It was a fun collection and hope there are other anthologies that involve just monsters.
September 15, 2020
I didn't like all the stories, and most are actually quite dark. However, some of them etched themselves into my mind. As this was one of the first science fiction compilations I ever read, it had a profound influence on how I embraced the genre from then on.
April 29, 2022
I loved this short story book ! Each story is unique to the others and was always excited to start the next one ! Definitely recommend anything with Isaac Asimov’s name attached !
February 22, 2010
This is an anthology about, um, monsters. Big monsters, small monsters; monsters with teeth, psychological monsters; alien monsters, human monsters; monsters of all shapes and sizes. Some of the stories were fun, some were disturbing, but it's a good collection and the theme works well.
November 11, 2013
Definitely an entertaining little book. I got it mainly for The Clone by Theodore L. Thomas. I loved his and Kate Wilhelm's novel and wanted to see the original short story it was based off of. So far, the other story in the book I like is called The Botticelli Horror.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews