09-19-2012, 05:09 PM | #121 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,986
Karma: 18343081
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Sudbury, ON, Canada
Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1, PB 623, PB 840, PB 633
|
Quote:
|
|
09-19-2012, 05:21 PM | #122 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,986
Karma: 18343081
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Sudbury, ON, Canada
Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1, PB 623, PB 840, PB 633
|
Is positronic actually used outside of Asimov's stories? In physics, it mirrors electronic (based on positrons rather than electrons), but Asimov didn't mean it that way. As far as I know, it refers to some fictional and undefined brain-like material in the stories, so I don't see the word being that useful anywhere else.
|
Advert | |
|
09-19-2012, 05:27 PM | #123 | |
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Posts: 1,212
Karma: 6244877
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Coastal Texas
Device: Android Phone
|
Quote:
|
|
09-19-2012, 05:39 PM | #124 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 27,552
Karma: 193191846
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD
|
Quote:
|
|
09-19-2012, 05:43 PM | #125 | |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
Posts: 12,375
Karma: 23555235
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: DC Metro area
Device: Shake a stick plus 1
|
Quote:
And don't tell me it's difficult to write strong female characters in the 1950s; Heinlein wrote several. |
|
Advert | |
|
09-19-2012, 06:16 PM | #126 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Quote:
And he gave us memorable characters by the dozen. (Johnny Rico, Hugh Farnham, Lazarus Long, Val Smith...) Asimov and Clarke were both focused in other directions, being primarily short-story writers. But when Asimov felt the need to focus on character he didn't do all that badly. (THE END OF ETERNITY and PEBBLE IN THE SKY comes to mind from his more neglected works, as well as the ROBOT NOVELS where character is a driving force as much as the social issues at the heart of the stories.) More to the point, when you consider that the ostensible premise of the classic FOUNDATION series is that individual action is subsumed/outweighed by the greater forces of mass human activity (economics, demography, etc) it would be a bit ironic if the series had spawned an iconic protagonist comparable to The Mule (who was defined as an aberration to start with). |
|
09-19-2012, 07:01 PM | #127 | |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
Posts: 12,375
Karma: 23555235
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: DC Metro area
Device: Shake a stick plus 1
|
Quote:
He wrote hardly any SF between 1960 and 1982 (not counting anthologies of his early works). And the first 15 years were very pulpy works, little of which aged well. |
|
09-19-2012, 09:02 PM | #128 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,986
Karma: 18343081
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Sudbury, ON, Canada
Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1, PB 623, PB 840, PB 633
|
Ah! Maybe if I wasn't so busy loathing the show while watching it with university housemates I would have picked up on that (or, more likely, I just grumbled even more at the reference). Kirk for the win!
Once again, DiapDealer, your superior memory is evident! |
09-19-2012, 10:55 PM | #129 |
Home Guard
Posts: 4,729
Karma: 86721650
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard
Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6
|
Not just one of many. Heinlein, Clarke and Asimov were the SF "Big Three" in the 40s and 50s.
I'm not sure but Heinlein may have been the first to actually have a book published when he signed the deal with Scribners to write the juveniles. Last edited by BenG; 09-19-2012 at 11:00 PM. |
09-20-2012, 09:10 AM | #130 |
Philosopher
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 18736532
Join Date: Jan 2012
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch
|
I couldn't get into Dune. I just couldn't see what the fuss was about. That doesn't mean that Hebert was "overrated", it merely means that it didn't appeal to me. Azimov is widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. If your works are still being read 70 years later, you are obviously doing something right.
Not everyone is going to like every author. It's not just with science fiction authors either. Dickens is beloved by a great many people, but there are people who scratch their heads and wonder what people see in Dickens. They aren't wrong to not like Dickens, it is a matter of personal taste. Asimov did write less science fiction in the 60's and 70's, but he was also writing an amazing number of science books during this period. Here's a link to Asimov's bibliography, sorted by year. http://www.asimovreviews.net/Numerical.html |
09-20-2012, 10:08 AM | #131 | |
Banned
Posts: 1,118
Karma: 3111746
Join Date: Oct 2011
Device: Kindle & little green monster
|
Quote:
|
|
09-20-2012, 10:33 AM | #132 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,743
Karma: 32912427
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: North Yorkshire, UK
Device: Kobo H20, Pixel 2, Samsung Chromebook Plus
|
The bibliography's nice, but doesn't include short stories, which is what he was publishing prolifically in the 40s (beginning in 1939).
The short stories and novellas that make up the Foundation Trilogy were published between May 1942 and January 1950, for example. EDIT: Aha! The site links to a chronological listing for his SF stories: http://www.asimovonline.com/oldsite/...f_f_index.html Graham Last edited by Graham; 09-20-2012 at 10:36 AM. |
09-20-2012, 01:01 PM | #133 | |
Wizard
Posts: 1,451
Karma: 1550000
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Maryland, USA
Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE
|
Quote:
This is interesting. It looks like he continued a fair bit of work in short fiction during the 60s and 70's despite Nate's contention that he wrote hardly any SF during that period. And one or two of the things he did write (The Gods Themselves, the Bicentenial Man) are ranked fairly highly amongst what he wrote through his entire career. -- Bill |
|
09-20-2012, 02:50 PM | #134 |
Alexic
Posts: 16
Karma: 4158
Join Date: Dec 2011
Device: none
|
The Last Question
nuff said. |
09-20-2012, 03:13 PM | #135 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
Posts: 35,872
Karma: 118716293
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
|
42
. |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Today is the birthday of Isaac Asimov | kennyc | Reading Recommendations | 11 | 01-11-2013 04:48 PM |
Isaac Asimov - Foundation Series Help | pakiyabhai | Reading Recommendations | 31 | 11-26-2010 12:39 AM |
Science Fiction Asimov, Isaac: Youth, v1, 11 March 2010. | Patricia | BBeB/LRF Books (offline) | 2 | 03-30-2010 07:11 PM |
Science Fiction Asimov, Isaac: Youth, v1, 11 March 2010. | Patricia | IMP Books (offline) | 0 | 03-10-2010 10:33 PM |
Discuss: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov | astrodad | Reading Recommendations | 8 | 06-02-2008 03:41 PM |