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Nightfall And Other Stories
''Nightfall and Other Stories'' (1969) is a collection of 20 previously published science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov. Asimov added a brief introduction to each story, explaining some aspect of the story's history and/or how it came to be written. Background In the introduction for Nightfall (Asimov short story and novel), the title story, "Nightfall," Asimov explained that although pleased by the praise it had received, he disliked "being told, over and over again" that a story he had written at the age of 21 was his best. Asimov hoped that the collection would prove that "sheer practice [had] made me more proficient, technically, with each year". He chose successful stories not included before in any anthologies edited by Asimov himself. Contents * "Nightfall (Asimov short story and novel), Nightfall" (first published in September 1941 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction''), novelette * "Green Patches" (first published in November 1950 issue of ''Galaxy Science F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mystery fiction, mysteries and fantasy, as well as popular science and other non-fiction. Asimov's most famous work is the ''Foundation (book series), Foundation'' series, the first three books of which won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. His other major series are the ''Galactic Empire series, Galactic Empire'' series and the ''Robot series, Robot'' series. The ''Galactic Empire'' novels are set in the much earlier history of the same fictional universe as the ''Foundation'' series. Later, with ''Foundation an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sally (Asimov)
"Sally" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the May–June 1953 issue of ''Fantastic'' and later appeared in the Asimov collections ''Nightfall and Other Stories'' (1969) and ''The Complete Robot'' (1982). Plot summary In 2057, the only cars allowed on the road are those that contain positronic brains; these are autonomous cars and do not require a human driver. Fifty-one old cars have been retired to a farm run by Jake, where they can be properly cared for. All have names, but only three are identified by Jake. Sally is a vain convertible, possibly a Corvette (the only convertible US-made sports car at the time the story was written), and one sedan, Giuseppe, is identified as coming from the Milan factories, where Alfa Romeo was headquartered. The oldest car on the farm is from 2015, a Mat-o-Mot that goes by the name of Matthew, which Jake had once chauffeured. The cars in the farm communicate by slamming doors and honking their horns, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Machine That Won The War (short Story)
"The Machine That Won the War" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the October 1961 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', and was reprinted in the collections ''Nightfall and Other Stories'' (1969) and '' Robot Dreams'' (1986). It was also printed in a contemporary edition of ''Reader's Digest'', illustrated. It is one of a loosely connected series of such stories concerning a fictional supercomputer called Multivac. Plot summary Three influential leaders of the human race meet in the aftermath of a successful war against the Denebians. Discussing how the vast and powerful Multivac computer was a decisive factor in the war, each of the men admits that in fact, he falsified his part of the decision process because he felt that the situation was too complex to follow normal procedures. John Henderson, Multivac's Chief Programmer, admits that he altered the data being fed to Multivac, since the populace c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amazing Stories
''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances in other magazines, including some published by Gernsback, but ''Amazing'' helped define and launch a new genre of pulp fiction. ''Amazing'' has been published, with some interruptions, for 98 years, going through a half-dozen owners and many editors as it struggled to be profitable. Gernsback was forced into bankruptcy and lost control of the magazine in 1929. In 1938 it was purchased by Ziff-Davis, which hired Raymond A. Palmer as editor. Palmer made the magazine successful though it was not regarded as a quality magazine within the science fiction community. In the late 1940s ''Amazing'' presented as fact stories about the Shaver Mystery, a lurid mythos that explained accidents and disaster as the work of robots named deros, whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
What Is This Thing Called Love? (short Story)
"What Is This Thing Called Love?" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. The story was requested by Cele Goldsmith Lalli, editor of ''Amazing Stories'', as a satire of an article in ''Playboy'' called "Girls of the Slime God" which had suggested that pulp science fiction stories were concerned with aliens and sex. The story appeared in the March 1961 issue of ''Amazing'' as "Playboy and the Slime God", but Asimov later retitled it "What Is This Thing Called Love?" Writing According to Asimov, in "1938-39 ... for some half a dozen issues or so, a magazine I won't name" published "spicy" stories about "the hot passion of alien monsters for Earthwomen. Clothes were always getting ripped off and breasts were described in a variety of elliptical phrases" for its "few readers" before "the magazine died a deserved death". The magazine in question was '' Marvel Science Stories'' (later ''Marvel Tales'') which was published from 1938–41. In 1960 an article by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unto The Fourth Generation
"Unto the Fourth Generation" is a fantasy short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the April 1959 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' (''F&SF'') and has been reprinted in the collections ''Nightfall and Other Stories'' (1969) and '' The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov'' (1986). It is Asimov's most explicitly Jewish story. Plot summary The story concerns Samuel Marten, an anxious 23-year-old junior executive on his way to meet with a potential customer. When Marten sees a passing truck that says ''Lewkowitz and Sons, Wholesale Clothiers'', he unconsciously turns the name into Levkovich, then finds himself wondering why. Every time he sees some version of the name, he becomes more distracted. Marten's business meeting goes badly, and afterwards he wanders the streets of New York City, following a trail of Lefkowitzes, Lefkowiczes and Levkowitzes. He arrives in Central Park, where an old man in outdated clothing is sitting on a park bench. The old m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Up-to-Date Sorcerer
"The Up-to-Date Sorcerer" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the July 1958 issue of '' Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the 1969 collection ''Nightfall and Other Stories''. Requested and encouraged by editor Anthony Boucher, the story is a deliberate attempt by the author to write something humorous that incorporates his love of the complex yet logical plots found in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. It consists largely of a series of puns on the opera ''The Sorcerer''. Quotes from Gilbert and Sullivan operas occur frequently in Asimov's stories; also in some of his verses explaining how he thinks up new plots for his stories. The words "up-to-date" in the title refer to the titles of musical burlesques of the 1880s and early 1890s like '' Faust up to date''. In 1894, also, George Augustus Sala wrote a book called ''London Up to Date''.Sala, George Augustus. ''London Up to Date'', London: A. and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insert Knob A In Hole B
"Insert Knob A in Hole B" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. The story was first published in the December 1957 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' and reprinted in the 1969 collection ''Nightfall and Other Stories''. The story is unusually short, totalling just 350 words, and arose from a televised panel discussion that Asimov took part in on 21 August 1957. During the panel discussion, Asimov was challenged to write a story on the spot. He accepted, and this story is the result. Asimov later admitted to some preparation prior to the interview, as he suspected that other panel members might make such a request. Plot summary Two men on a remote space station receive all of their equipment from Earth unassembled, and must assemble it with only vague and confusing instructions ("composed by an idiot", one says); as a result, it often fails to work properly or at all. They eagerly await the arrival of a sophisticated positronic robot that will r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Original Science Fiction Stories
''Future Science Fiction'' and ''Science Fiction Stories'' were two American science fiction magazines that were published under various names between 1939 and 1943 and again from 1950 to 1960. Both publications were edited by Charles Hornig for the first few issues; Robert W. Lowndes took over in late 1941 and remained editor until the end. The initial launch of the magazines came as part of a boom in science fiction pulp magazine publishing at the end of the 1930s. In 1941 the two magazines were combined into one, titled ''Future Fiction combined with Science Fiction'', but in 1943 wartime paper shortages ended the magazine's run, as Louis Silberkleit, the publisher, decided to focus his resources on his mystery and western magazine titles. In 1950, with the market improving again, Silberkleit relaunched ''Future Fiction'', still in the pulp format. In the mid-1950s he also relaunched ''Science Fiction'', this time under the title ''Science Fiction Stories''. Silberklei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strikebreaker (Asimov)
"Strikebreaker" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the January 1957 issue of ''The Original Science Fiction Stories'' under the title "Male Strikebreaker" and reprinted in the 1969 collection ''Nightfall and Other Stories'' under the original title "Strikebreaker". Asimov has stated the editorial decision to run the story as "Male Strikebreaker" "represents my personal record for stupid title changes". "Strikebreaker had its genesis in June 1956 when Asimov, who then lived in Boston, Massachusetts, was planning a trip to New York City. A group of some three dozen technicians was threatening to go on strike, which would have the effect of shutting down the New York subway system. The threatened strike did not happen, and Asimov was able to make the trip, but the situation inspired him to write a story about a strike by a single man that would shut down an entire world. Plot summary The world of Elsevere is an extrasol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It's Such A Beautiful Day (short Story)
"It's Such A Beautiful Day" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in 1955 in '' Star Science Fiction Stories No.3'', an anthology of original stories edited by Frederik Pohl, and later reprinted in the 1969 collection ''Nightfall and Other Stories''. Plot summary Set in the year 2117, the story presents District A-3, a newly built suburb of San Francisco, and the world's first community to be built entirely using Doors, a method of travel via teleportation. When the Door that transfers him from home to school fails, Richard "Dickie" Hanshaw takes a dislike to the method and starts to wander outside in the unfamiliar open, exposed to the elements. When he catches a cold, Mrs. Hanshaw is horrified and takes him to see Dr. Sloane, a psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Science Fiction Stories
A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sky, night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed stars, fixed points of light. The most prominent stars have been categorised into constellations and asterism (astronomy), asterisms, and many of the brightest stars have proper names. Astronomers have assembled star catalogues that identify the known stars and provide standardized stellar designations. The observable universe contains an estimated to stars. Only about 4,000 of these stars are visible to the naked eye—all within the Milky Way galaxy. A star's life star formation, begins with the gravitational collapse of a gaseous nebula of material largely comprising hydrogen, helium, and traces of heavier elements. Its stellar mass, total mass mainly determines it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
