Which Issac Asimov novel should I start?

[JeremyR]

I would actually suggest The Robots of Dawn.

It's actually the third book in the series (though not directly connected) but it's a modern novel.

I mean, that's not to say that the previous two novels in the series were bad, but they were written in the 50s and were like watching a TV show from the 50s - just kind of unnatural in some of the portrayals because I guess they feared censorship or whatever. Which wasn't the case when he wrote The Robots of Dawn in the 1980s...

[flipreads]

Just to clarify, the first three books in the Foundation series aren't novels. They're collections of short stories that are related (they occur in chronological order). More or less the same goes for I, Robot. (They're wonderful, by the way, as long as you're not dead set on a novel.)

I'm fine with Caves of Steel or Robots of Dawn.

[cak3]

I'm going to read Caves of Steel and I, Robot then the other recommendations. Thanks guys.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I might just have to read Caves of Steel. I had put down I, Robot on my reading list for this year tentatively, but there's always time to change my mind.

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Or, for a standalone, THE GODS THEMSELVES. (no ebook, though.)
For all his humans-only stories, Asimov's first all-out attempt at aliens was pretty darn good.

The Gods Themselves is listed at Amazon in Kindle format.

But actually, I'd vote for the Foundation trilogy. I think that was my favorite. But, it's been a very long time since I read some of the Robot stories.

Someday I have to arrange to read or reread everything in chronological order.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Alohamora

The Gods Themselves is listed at Amazon in Kindle format.

But actually, I'd vote for the Foundation trilogy. I think that was my favorite. But, it's been a very long time since I read some of the Robot stories.

Someday I have to arrange to read or reread everything in chronological order.

The listing I found for GODS... only showed the print editions.
Good to see its been released in e-, too.

Foundation's a good pick; it was one of the earliest SF volumes I read (SFBC intro deal, actually. I picked FOUNDATION, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, and SF HALL OF FAME Vol1. A good quick education in quality SF for a 14 year old.)

One interesting thing about Foundation: after years of turning down ever-larger advances to do a fourth Foundation volume, one of the reasons Asimov went back to tie it to the Robots universe was a deep critical review of the Trilogy" that made the point that the Second foundation crew could be considered *villains* by contemporary standards. ;-)
Which sorta explains why Asimov turned around and came up with a different "final" ending to the series.

[RDaneel54]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The listing I found for GODS... only showed the print editions.
Good to see its been released in e-, too.

Foundation's a good pick; it was one of the earliest SF volumes I read (SFBC intro deal, actually. I picked FOUNDATION, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, and SF HALL OF FAME Vol1. A good quick education in quality SF for a 14 year old.)

One interesting thing about Foundation: after years of turning down ever-larger advances to do a fourth Foundation volume, one of the reasons Asimov went back to tie it to the Robots universe was a deep critical review of the Trilogy" that made the point that the Second foundation crew could be considered *villains* by contemporary standards. ;-)
Which sorta explains why Asimov turned around and came up with a different "final" ending to the series.

The Science Fiction Book Club was my teenage intro to a lot of great SF.

[dgillette.rm]

Originally Posted by tecweston

Not officially, but I did find an epub of it via Google. I would post a link but I'm not really sure of the copyright status of the book.

Thanks for the info, but I am not interested in piracy.

[GreenMonkey]

I'd vote the Caves of Steel myself - the Baley/Robot novels are very approachable since they are murder mysteries at their heart.

I have a fondness for The End of Eternity myself.

I'd hit Foundation later on. It's a bit different of a read since it was really a few short stories put together.

[Solitaire1]

If you're going to read one book first, I'd recommend "I,Robot." It gives a solid introduction to the rest of the Asimov "robot" universe.

[aecardenas]

I liked his Foundation Series...great concept. And I liked The Mule as a villain.

[DrNefario]

I read Foundation a few weeks ago, and The Gods Themselves last year, both as part of my attempt to read all the Hugo winners.* I much preferred the latter. It just felt like a step up in quality. And the main idea is less annoying.

I also read I, Robot about 25 years ago, and I seem to remember liking that, too. :-)

*Foundation itself didn't win - too early? - but I needed to read it to set me up for The Mule (part of Foundation and Empire), which won a Retro Hugo, and Foundation's Edge.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

I'd definitely go with his short stories, as his writing is much more idea-based than character-based, and I need good, well-developed characters to hang with for a novel. The robot stories are a great starting point!

I agree. I like many of his short stories, but really find the novels tedious. (Foundation is a classic, and I feel I should read it, but I always put it down after a few pages and have no interest in picking it up again for years...)
I also like his non-fiction science essay collections.

By the way, "Nightfall," an interesting Asimov short, is available free in audio here:
http://escapepod.org/2007/04/05/ep100-nightfall/

ApK

[Ninjalawyer]

I recently re-read the Foundation series, and really enjoyed it. I also recall really enjoying The Gods Themselves when I was younger.

[ballfresno]

Originally Posted by RDaneel54

The Science Fiction Book Club was my teenage intro to a lot of great SF.

Ah, yes! It was a fantastic book club, allowing me not only to get new books as they came out (sort of) but also fill in gaps in my library with books from the 50s and 60s or even earlier with some of the collections they published!