Isaac Asimov. Decisions, decisions

stop__dreaming · 02-28-2012, 11:58 AM

Have read a couple of Asimov's works which includes i Robot and a couple of other robot novels; loved them greatly.

I am a fan of Science Fiction, but heard the Foundation Series is not for the casual fan. Been advised to work your way up, if finding the genre 'more' interesting. So I ask, which books do you recommend of Asimov's I should read to 'ease' me in a little more into Science Fiction.

Thanks,

Dave

bill_mchale · 02-28-2012, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stop__dreaming

Have read a couple of Asimov's works which includes i Robot and a couple of other robot novels; loved them greatly.

I am a fan of Science Fiction, but heard the Foundation Series is not for the casual fan. Been advised to work your way up, if finding the genre 'more' interesting. So I ask, which books do you recommend of Asimov's I should read to 'ease' me in a little more into Science Fiction.

Thanks,

Dave

Well, I read the original Trilogy and Foundation's Edge in High School. They are not difficult reads. I am not a big fan of the books Asimov wrote after that in the series, but I love the original trilogy. None of the books in the original trilogy is very long and they are made up of shorter stories so they can be read in chunks fairly easily. They are typical of Asimov's style; plot often tends to move by conversation as opposed to action (Though there is a bit). Still, if you liked "I Robot", I don't think you should have any problem with the Foundation Trilogy.

--
Bill

Section8 · 02-28-2012, 12:37 PM

I also read and loved the original trilogy years ago. By today's standards, with series that generate doorstops endlessly, they're a piece of cake.

frostschutz · 02-28-2012, 12:47 PM

You've probably already read them... I loved the short stories, but Foundation I couldn't get into at all, stopped after reading half of the first book. Not sure why, don't even remember what it was about, I'll just have to get back to it sometime...

bill_mchale · 02-28-2012, 02:06 PM

Frostschutz,

Kind of ironic since the first book was nothing more than a collection of short stories... maybe one or two novellettes in there.

--
Bill

cjr72 · 02-28-2012, 03:16 PM

Well I don't know how deeply you want to dive into Asimov's fiction but over the course of his career he began to tie his books together into a timeline starting with the Robot stories and ending with Foundation:

1. The Complete Robot (includes every story of I, Robot)
2. The Caves of Steel
3. The Naked Sun
4. The Robots of Dawn
5. Robots and Empire
6. The Currents of Space
7. The Stars, Like Dust--
8. Pebble in the Sky
9. Prelude to Foundation
10. Forward the Foundation
11. Foundation
12. Foundation and Empire
13. Second Foundation
14. Foundation's Edge
15. Foundation and Earth

jbcohen · 02-28-2012, 03:17 PM

I simply do not agree. In my humble opinion the best way to get to know sci-fi books is to read the masters cold turkey, I would recommend that you go get copies of the Foundation trillogy, I read that one cold turkey and it was great. Next get a copy of Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury then fire up Netflix and watch Total Recall, thats another one of the masters of sci-fi. Next go download and read On Balsic (I hope I spelled that right) Station by David Weber, its in the free library and its available for $0. Next try Dune by Frank Herbert and read about Mau Dib and the effects of sound, "Those that can stop a thing can control it" and the Fremen warriors.

DrNefario · 02-28-2012, 03:17 PM

Didn't this come up quite recently? I'm sure I recommended The Gods Themselves on here not long ago.

I preferred it to Foundation, but Foundation was okay.

Synamon · 02-28-2012, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Didn't this come up quite recently? I'm sure I recommended The Gods Themselves on here not long ago.

I preferred it to Foundation, but Foundation was okay.

Last month. Which Issac Asimov novel should I start?

bill_mchale · 02-28-2012, 03:49 PM

Well, I think the thing to remember about the original Foundation Trilogy is that it essentially is the foundation (yes pun intended) of an awful lot of Sci-fi. Pretty much any where you see a galaxy spanning empire, with corrupt leaders, or a fallen galactic empire, a second empire, a world spanning city and probably a bunch more I have not figured out yet, it traces back to these novels. The Gods Themselves, while a good and important novel is not nearly as influential on what came afterwards.

--
Bill

RDaneel54 · 02-28-2012, 04:32 PM

I would read the Foundation books in Publication order:

Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation

Then, if you like those, read some other books that integrate the Robot novels into the Foundation series and beyond (as cjr72 noted above.)

stop__dreaming · 02-28-2012, 04:54 PM

Thanks for the tips, guys and I apologise for starting another thread related to Asimov and what to read.

wallcraft · 02-28-2012, 07:35 PM

I agree with DrNefario: The Gods Themselves is a good place to start. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1972, and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1973.

jbcohen · 03-01-2012, 07:48 AM

No problem, I have no qualms about repeating disucssions, often times thoughts get better organized when the topics are rehashed.

ebusinesstutor · 03-01-2012, 10:26 PM

I agree that the original Foundation Trilogy is amazing. The Gods Themselves is also a fantastic single book.

And Asimov's short stories are also awesome.

02-28-2012, 11:58 AM	#1
stop__dreaming Addict Posts: 202 Karma: 1211098 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Bristol, England Device: Kindle 3	Isaac Asimov. Decisions, decisions Have read a couple of Asimov's works which includes i Robot and a couple of other robot novels; loved them greatly. I am a fan of Science Fiction, but heard the Foundation Series is not for the casual fan. Been advised to work your way up, if finding the genre 'more' interesting. So I ask, which books do you recommend of Asimov's I should read to 'ease' me in a little more into Science Fiction. Thanks, Dave

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Decisions decisions...looking for a reader with animation	mongobongo	Which one should I buy?	4	01-13-2010 12:52 PM
Decisions, decisions	quintanion	Which one should I buy?	6	11-30-2009 05:21 AM
decisions, decisions - sony or ?	basschick	Which one should I buy?	30	05-28-2008 08:09 PM
Decisions, decisions: Buy paper book or e-book?	Bob Russell	Reading Recommendations	34	01-13-2007 01:42 AM

02-28-2012, 12:37 PM	#3
Section8 Addict Posts: 254 Karma: 2092424 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Arlington, TX Device: Kindle PW4, Moon+ Reader on a cheap Android tablet	I also read and loved the original trilogy years ago. By today's standards, with series that generate doorstops endlessly, they're a piece of cake.

02-28-2012, 12:47 PM	#4
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,279 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	You've probably already read them... I loved the short stories, but Foundation I couldn't get into at all, stopped after reading half of the first book. Not sure why, don't even remember what it was about, I'll just have to get back to it sometime...

02-28-2012, 02:06 PM	#5
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	Frostschutz, Kind of ironic since the first book was nothing more than a collection of short stories... maybe one or two novellettes in there. -- Bill

02-28-2012, 03:16 PM	#6
cjr72 Groupie Posts: 172 Karma: 2900000 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: A Yankee in Texas Device: Nexus 6p, Nexus 10	Well I don't know how deeply you want to dive into Asimov's fiction but over the course of his career he began to tie his books together into a timeline starting with the Robot stories and ending with Foundation: 1. The Complete Robot (includes every story of I, Robot) 2. The Caves of Steel 3. The Naked Sun 4. The Robots of Dawn 5. Robots and Empire 6. The Currents of Space 7. The Stars, Like Dust-- 8. Pebble in the Sky 9. Prelude to Foundation 10. Forward the Foundation 11. Foundation 12. Foundation and Empire 13. Second Foundation 14. Foundation's Edge 15. Foundation and Earth

02-28-2012, 03:17 PM	#7
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	I simply do not agree. In my humble opinion the best way to get to know sci-fi books is to read the masters cold turkey, I would recommend that you go get copies of the Foundation trillogy, I read that one cold turkey and it was great. Next get a copy of Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury then fire up Netflix and watch Total Recall, thats another one of the masters of sci-fi. Next go download and read On Balsic (I hope I spelled that right) Station by David Weber, its in the free library and its available for $0. Next try Dune by Frank Herbert and read about Mau Dib and the effects of sound, "Those that can stop a thing can control it" and the Fremen warriors.

02-28-2012, 03:17 PM	#8
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,099 Karma: 11315768 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	Didn't this come up quite recently? I'm sure I recommended The Gods Themselves on here not long ago. I preferred it to Foundation, but Foundation was okay.

02-28-2012, 03:49 PM	#10
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	Well, I think the thing to remember about the original Foundation Trilogy is that it essentially is the foundation (yes pun intended) of an awful lot of Sci-fi. Pretty much any where you see a galaxy spanning empire, with corrupt leaders, or a fallen galactic empire, a second empire, a world spanning city and probably a bunch more I have not figured out yet, it traces back to these novels. The Gods Themselves, while a good and important novel is not nearly as influential on what came afterwards. -- Bill

02-28-2012, 04:32 PM	#11
RDaneel54 Aging Positronic Brain Posts: 633 Karma: 2155452 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Aurora (when off-Earth) Device: Amazon Oasis; iPhone, iPad Mini	I would read the Foundation books in Publication order: Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation Then, if you like those, read some other books that integrate the Robot novels into the Foundation series and beyond (as cjr72 noted above.)

02-28-2012, 04:54 PM	#12
stop__dreaming Addict Posts: 202 Karma: 1211098 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Bristol, England Device: Kindle 3	Thanks for the tips, guys and I apologise for starting another thread related to Asimov and what to read.

02-28-2012, 07:35 PM	#13
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	I agree with DrNefario: The Gods Themselves is a good place to start. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1972, and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1973.

Advert

Advert

03-01-2012, 07:48 AM	#14
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	No problem, I have no qualms about repeating disucssions, often times thoughts get better organized when the topics are rehashed.

03-01-2012, 10:26 PM	#15
ebusinesstutor Star Gawker Posts: 526 Karma: 6944314 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Spruce Grove, AB Canada Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I agree that the original Foundation Trilogy is amazing. The Gods Themselves is also a fantastic single book. And Asimov's short stories are also awesome.