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Isaac Asimov - prolific and excellent Science Fiction writer


Guest LilBambi

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Guest LilBambi

I have been under the weather this week, so between that and often spending a fair amount of time on the road for appointments before that, I have been reading or listening to a fair amount of Isaac Asimov lately, and of course it reminds me how much we have seen in most SciFi movies and shows on television incorporate many concepts included in Asimov very prolific books (or one of his contemporaries).

 

I have recently reread the first three books in the Robot Series: The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn. I then took a little break and read Nemesis another very intriguing book that includes Superluminal Theory! Next, I will be rereading the fourth in the Robot Series, Robots and Empire.

 

The Robot Series is a great set of books and I am thoroughly enjoying them. I couldn't help but become attached to Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw all over again! The Three Laws of Robotics, the Positronic brain! Jehoshaphat! ;) I really couldn't help but love the relationship that grew over the course of the books between 'Lije' and Daneel. And a very intriguing R. Giskard Reventlov who could read minds!

 

The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or Three Laws) are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they had been foreshadowed in a few earlier stories. The Three Laws are:
  • A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
     
  • A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
     
  • A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

 

Will have to re-read Asimov's Foundation books too!

 

People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.

~ Isaac Asimov

 

 

He was a very gifted and prolific Science Fiction writer! And was a pretty funny guy too...well, at least he had a very funny way of saying things! Born between October 4, 1919 and January 2, 1920. Died in New York, April 6, 1992, age 72. Russian origin, American author and Professor at Boston University.

 

Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. His works have been published in all ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (although his only work in the 100s—which covers philosophy and psychology—was a foreword for The Humanist Way).

 

Asimov is widely considered a master ofhard science fiction and, along withRobert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers during his lifetime.

 

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Edited by LilBambi
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He wasn't just a SF writer.

He wrote a series of nonfiction history books that made a seemingly dull subject (if you're not into history), as much "fun" as his fiction.

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Guest LilBambi

Yep, amazing fellow!

 

His works have been published in all ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (although his only work in the 100s—which covers philosophy and psychology—was a foreword for The Humanist Way)

 

I love history and after I reread all his SciFi books, I might just look into those Pete!

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  • re-read (or at least review) the real 'Foundation' books before reading 'Robots and Empire'
  • I highly,highly,highly recommend his first humor joke book
  • "master of hard science fiction"? umm, me thinks overstating quite a bit
  • like a bit of mystery? most of his 'Tales from Black Widowers' is top flite short mystery
  • if you are offended by stereotypes of the sexes, skip his fiction. your loss but it will avoid blood pressure spikes.

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V.T. Eric Layton

I've actually read more of Asimov's non-fiction science books that I have of his Sci-fi. He is definitely deserving of that place among the "Big 3", though.

 

Heinlein - Asimov - Clarke

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I have a fair collection of books by all three of those authors, Isaac Asimov is one of my favourites. I like the earlier works by Heinlen more so than the later stuff, which actually turned me off his writing.

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Yep, amazing fellow!

 

 

 

I love history and after I reread all his SciFi books, I might just look into those Pete!

He once said that he got a lot of his SF ideas from history.

After reading both, I couldn't help but try to see the parallels.... Especially in the Foundation series.

 

For instance, was "The Mule" modeled on how he viewed Alexander The Great?

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Guest LilBambi

The Mule could have been Alexander the Great. Of course there were others in history that conquered extensively. Such as ... wait!

 

Here's what Wikipedia says:

 

According to his autobiography In Memory Yet Green, Asimov modeled the Mule's physical appearance on Leonard Meisel, a friend at the World War II-era Navy Yard in Philadelphia. In keeping with the Foundation series being based on the Roman Empire, the Mule has historical parallels with Attila the Hun, Tamerlane, and Charlemagne; he has also been compared to both the Roman Emperor Augustus and Adolf Hitler.
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