author : Isaac Asimov

Contents

• The Martian Way. 1952

• Youth. 1952

• The Deep. 1952

• Sucker Bait. 1954

Contents

• The Fun They Had. 1951

• The Watery Place. 1956

• The Dead Past. 1956

• The Foundation of S.F. Success. 1954

• Kid Stuff. 1953

• Franchise. 1955

• Gimmicks Three. == The Brazen Locked Room. 1956

• Living Space. 1956

• The Message. 1955

• Satisfaction Guaranteed. 1951

• Hell-Fire. 1956

• The Last Trump. 1955

• Jokester. 1956

• An Immortal Bard. 1953

• Someday. 1956

• An Author's Ordeal. 1957

• Dreaming is a Private Thing. 1955

Contents

• The Dying Night. 1956

• I'm in Marsport Without Hilda. 1957

• The Feeling of Power. 1958

• The Ugly Little Boy. == Lastborn. 1958

• I Just Make Them Up, See!. 1958

• Profession. 1957

• The Gentle Vultures. 1957

• All the Troubles of the World. 1958

• Spell My Name with an S. == S, as in Zebatinsky. 1958

• The Last Question. 1956

• Rejection Slips. 1959

Contents

• T.P Caravan. Random Sample. 1953

• Cleve Cartmill. Oscar. 1941

• Peter Cartur. The Mist. 1952

• James Causey. Teething Ring. 1953

• Arthur C. Clarke. The Haunted Spacesuit. == Who's There?. 1958

• Mildred Clingerman. Stair Trick. 1952

• Roger Dee. Unwelcome Tenant. 1950

• Arthur Feldman. The Mathematicians. 1953

• Jack Finney. The Third Level. 1952

• Stuart Friedman. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful!. 1952

• Edward Grendon. The Figure. 1947

• David Grinnell. The Rag Thing. 1951

• Marion Gross. The Good Provider. 1952

• Robert A. Heinlein. Columbus Was a Dope. 1947

• Albert Hernhuter. Texas Week. 1954

• H. B. Hickey. Hilda. 1952

• W. Hilton-Young. The Choice. 1963

• Damon Knight. Not With a Bang. 1950

• C. M. Kornbluth. The Altar at Midnight. 1952

• Fritz Leiber. A Bad Day For Sales. 1953

• John Lewis. Who's Cribbing?. 1953

• John D. MacDonald. Spectator Sport. 1950

• Avro Manhattan. The Cricket Ball. 1955

• Winston K. Marks. Double-Take. 1953

• John P. McKnight. Prolog. 1951

• Lion Miller. The Available Data on the Worp Reaction. 1953

• Alan Nelson. Narapoia. 1951

• Alan E. Nourse. Tiger by the Tail. 1951

• Peter Phillips. Counter Charm. 1963

• Arthur Porges. The Fly. 1952

• Mack Reynolds. The Business, as Usual. 1952

• Frank M. Robinson. Two Weeks in August. 1951

• Edward G. Robles. See?. 1954

• Eric Frank Russell. Appointment at Noon. 1954

• James H. Schmitz. We Don't Want Any Trouble. 1953

The aliens don't want any trouble, and the humans are going to have to be very careful to ensure they don't get any. But that might not be enough.

• Howard Schoenfeld. Built Down Logically. 1951

• Robert Sheckley. The Perfect Woman. 1954

• Walt Sheldon. The Hunters. 1952

• Evelyn E. Smith. The Martian and The Magician. 1952

• Will Stanton. Barney. 1951

• Theodore Sturgeon. Talent. 1953

• William Tenn. Project Hush. 1954

• A. E. van Vogt. The Great Judge. 1948

• Ralph Williams. Emergency Landing. 1940

• S Fowler Wright. Obviously Suicide. 1951

• Karen Anderson. Six Haiku. 1962

• Poul Anderson. Ballade of an Artificial Satellite. 1958

• Isaac Asimov. The Fun They Had. 1951

• Alan Bloch. Men Are Different. 1954

• Anthony Boucher. The Ambassadors. 1952

• Fredric Brown. The Weapon. 1951

• Idris Seabright. An Egg a Month from All Over. 1952

Contents

• William Lee. Junior Achievement. 1964

• James H. Schmitz. Novice. 1962

15 year-old genius Telzey Amberdon discovers she is a xenotelepath when she visits Jontarou with her pet Tick-Tock, and encounters the natives

• Jerome Bixby. It's a GOOD Life. 1953

• Robert A. Heinlein. The Menace from Earth. 1957

• Stephen Vincent Benet. Place of the Gods. == By the Waters of Babylon. 1937

• Margaret St Clair. Child of Void. 1949

• Will F. Jenkins. The Litle Terror. 1953

• Lewis Padgett. When the Bough Breaks. 1944

• Clifford D. Simak. No Life of Their Own. 1959

• Ray Bradbury. All Summer in a Day. 1954

• The Ugly Little Boy. == Lastborn. 1958

• Philip K. Dick. The Father-Thing. 1954

• Gertrude Freidberg. The Wayward Cravat. 1958

• Mark Clifton. Star Bright. 1952

• Damon Knight. Cabin Boy. 1951

• Zenna Henderson. Gilead. 1954

• Fritz Leiber. A Pail of Air. 1951

• Robert Sheckley. The Accountant. 1954

Contents

• Belief. 1953

• Breeds There a Man...?. 1951

• C-Chute. 1951

• It's Such a Beautiful Day. 1954

Contents

• The Singing Bell. 1955

• The Talking Stone. 1955

• What's in a Name?. == Death of a Honey-Blonde. 1956

• The Dying Night. 1956

• Pate de Foie Gras. 1956

• The Dust of Death. 1957

• A Loint of Paw. 1957

• I'm in Marsport Without Hilda. 1957

• Marooned off Vesta. 1939

• Anniversary. 1959

• Obituary. 1959

• Star Light. 1962

• The Key. 1966

• The Billiard Ball. 1967

Contents

• Darwinian Pool Room. 1950

• Day of the Hunters. 1950

• Shah Guido G.. 1951

• Button, Button. 1952

• The Monkey's Finger. 1952

• Everest. 1953

• The Pause. 1954

• Let's Not. 1954

• Each an Explorer. 1956

• Blank!. 1957

• Does a Bee Care?. 1957

• Silly Asses. 1957

• Buy Jupiter. 1958

• A Statue for Father. 1958

• Rain, Rain, Go Away. 1959

• Founding Father. 1965

• Exile to Hell. 1968

• Key Item. 1968

• The Proper Study. 1968

• 2430 A.D.. 1970

• The Greatest Asset. 1971

• Take a Match. 1972

• Thiotimoline to the Stars. 1973

• Light Verse. 1973

Contents

• Waterclap. 1970

• The Winnowing. 1976

• The Prime of Life. 1966

• Feminine Intuition. 1969

• That Thou Art Mindful of Him. 1974

• Stranger in Paradise. 1974

• The Life and Times of Multivac. 1975

• The Bicentennial Man. 1976

• Marching In. 1976

• Old-Fashioned. 1976

• The Tercentenary Incident. 1976

• Birth of a Notion. 1976

Contents

• Larry Niven. Wait It Out. 1968

• Poul Anderson. Barnacle Bull. 1960

• Theodore L Thomas. The Weather on the Sun. 1970

• Alan E. Nourse. Brightside Crossing. 1956

• Robert Sheckley. Prospector's Special. 1959

• Isaac Asimov. Waterclap. 1970

• Terry Carr. Hop-Friend. 1962

• James Blish. Bridge. 1952

• Arthur C. Clarke. Saturn Rising. 1961

• Fritz Leiber. The Snowbank Orbit. 1962

• Alexei Panshin. One Sunday in Neptune. 1969

• Robert F. Young. Nikita Eisenhower Jones. 1960

• Duncan Lunan. The Comet, the Cairn and the Capsule. 1972

Contents

• No Refuge Could Save. == To Spot a Spy. 1980

• The Telephone Number. == The Winning Number. 1980

• The Men Who Wouldn't Talk. == Pigeon English. 1980

• A Clear Shot. == Big Shot. 1980

• Irresistable to Women. == Call Me Irresistable. 1981

• He Wasn't There. == The Spy Who Was Out-of-Focus. 1981

• The Thin Line. == Taxicab Crackdown. 1981

• Mystery Tune. == Death Song. 1981

• Hide and Seek. 1981

• Gift. == Decipher Deception. 1981

• Hot or Cold. 1981

• The Thirteenth Page. 1981

• 1 to 999. == One in a Thousand. 1981

• Twelve Years Old. == The 12-Year-Old Problem. 1981

• Testing, Testing!. == Cloak and Dagger Duel. 1981

• The Appleby Story. == The Last Laugh. 1981

• Dollars and Cents. == Countdown to Disaster. 1982

• Friends and Allies. == Mirror Image. 1982

• Which is Which?. == The Perfect Alibi. 1982

• The Sign. == The Telltale Sign. 1982

• Catching the Fox. == Stopping the Fox. 1982

• Getting the Combination. == Playing It by the Numbers. 1982

• The Library Book. == Mystery Book. 1982

• The Three Goblets. == A Flash of Brilliance. 1982

• Spell It!. == Book Smart. 1982

• Two Women. == Cherchez la Femme: the Case of the Disappearing Woman. 1982

• Sending a Signal. == A Piece of the Rock. 1982

• The Favourite Piece. == Face the Music. 1982

• Half a Ghost. == A Ghost of a Chance. 1983

• There Was a Young Lady. == Poetic License. 1983

Contents

• One Night of Song. 1982

• The Smile That Loses. 1982

• The Two-Centimeter Demon. 1988

• To the Victor. 1982

• The Dim Rumble. 1982

• Saving Humanity. 1983

• A Matter of Principle. 1983

• The Evil Drink Does. 1984

• Writing Time. 1984

• Dashing Through the Snow. 1984

• Logic Is Logic. 1985

• He Travels the Fastest. 1985

• The Eye of the Beholder. 1985

• More Things in Heaven and Earth. 1986

• The Mind's Construction. 1986

• The Fights of Spring. 1986

• Galatea. 1987

• Flight of Fancy. 1988

Contents

• Belief. 1953

• About Nothing. 1977

• A Perfect Fit. 1981

• Death of a Foy. 1980

• Fair Exchange?. 1979

• For the Birds. 1980

• Found!. 1978

• Good Taste. 1976

• How It Happened. 1979

• Ideas Die Hard. 1957

• Ignition Point!. 1981

• It Is Coming. 1979

• The Last Answer. 1980

• The Last Shuttle. 1981

• Lest We Remember. 1982

• Nothing for Nothing. 1979

• One Night of Song. 1982

• The Smile That Loses. 1982

• Sure Thing. 1977

• To Tell at a Glance. 1977

• The Winds of Change. 1982

The final collection of Asimov's uncollected science fiction short stories and essays -- the last fantasy stories are similarly collected in Magic -- published after his death in 1992. (This makes the line 'Even death, it seems, won't stop us, since Heinlein has already published a posthumous book' in the essay "Inventing a Universe" all the more poignant.)

Part One: The Final Stories

The stories' range are classic Asimov, ranging from insightful tales to dreadful puns. Many seem to focus on the travails of being an author.

Part Two: On Science Fiction

The essays are all to do with science fiction in some regard: how it got its name, the effect it has had on society, how to write it. There are some short autobiographical and historical pieces, and also various introductions from anthologies. [It would have been polite of the publishers to have noted this fact at the beginning of each piece, to put it in context, and to save the momentary confusion at the end when it says 'so I hope you enjoy the following 50 new stories about time-travelling robot alien invaders from the third moon of Neptune', or whatever.]

Part Three: On Writing Science Fiction

Mainly editorials from his magazine.

Contents

• Cal. 1990

Cal the robot wants to be a writer. His owner is supportive, to start with...

• Left to Right. 1987

pun

• Frustration. 1991

A strategist is frustrated by his failure to get a computer model of a winnable war. The programmer knows why.

• Hallucination. 1995

Sam Chase has been sent as an apprentice to Energy Planet by the Central Computer. But he's more interested in neurophysiology.

• The Instability. 1989

Travelling back from the future might not be so easy.

• Alexander the God. 1995

Alexander's purpose-built computer was well on its way to helping him rule the planet.

• In the Canyon. 1995

A letter home from Mars.

• Good-bye to Earth. 1989

Space stations have delicate ecologies.

• Battle-Hymn. 1995

Winning an important vote through song.

• Feghoot and the Courts. 1995

pun

• Fault-Intolerant. 1990

The ideal word processor for the technophobic writer?

• Kid Brother. 1990

When you are allowed only one child, may a robot would make a good companion? [This reminded me in some ways of Asimov's earlier "Robbie".]

• The Nations in Space. 1995

Can you harm another without harming yourself? [The ending "moral" was heavy handed, and completely unnecessary.]

• The Smile of the Chipper. 1989

A novel employment interview [which also reminded me in some ways of Asimov's earlier "I'm in Marsport Without Hilda"].

• Gold. 1991

A science fiction writer convinces a famous compu-dramatist to make a version of one of his books. [The book in question is clearly The Gods Themselves.]

• The Longest Voyage. 1983

• Inventing a Universe. 1990

• Flying Saucers and Science Fiction. 1982

• Invasion. 1995

• The Science Fiction Blowgun. 1995

• The Robot Chronicles. 1990

• Golden Age Ahead. 1979

• The All-Human Galaxy. 1983

• Psychohistory. 1988

• Science Fiction Series. 1986

• Survivors. 1987

• Nowhere!. 1983

• Outsiders, Insiders. 1986

• Science Fiction Anthologies. 1981

• The Influence of Science Fiction. 1981

• Women and Science Fiction. 1983

• Religion and Science Fiction. 1984

• Time-Travel. 1984

• Plotting. 1989

• Metaphor. 1989

• Ideas. 1990

• Suspense. 1991

• Serials. 1980

• The Name of Our Field. 1978

• Hints. 1979

• Writing for Young People. 1986

• Names. 1984

• Originality. 1986

• Book Reviews. 1981

• What Writers Go Through. 1981

• Revisions. 1982

• Irony. 1984

• Plagiarism. 1985

• Symbolism. 1985

• Prediction. 1989

• Best-Seller. 1983

• Pseudonyms. 1984

• Dialog. 1985

The final collection of Asimov's uncollected fantasy short stories and essays -- the last science fiction stories are similarly collected in Gold -- published after his death in 1992.

Part One: The Final Fantasy Stories

Most of the fiction is about George and his demon Azazel -- which personally I do not find appealing.

Part Two: On Fantasy

Some short-short essays on how Asimov doesn't really write fantasy, except when he does. These are all rather too short to develop a theme.

Part Three: Beyond Fantasy

Probably the strongest part of the collection. This includes the interesting Lost in Non-Translation, and Thinking About Thinking, both against racism.

Contents

• Thinking about Thinking. 1989

• To Your Health. 1989

• The Critic on the Hearth. 1992

• It's a Job. 1991

• Baby, It's Cold Outside. 1991

• The Time Traveller. 1990

• Wine Is a Mocker. 1990

• The Mad Scientist. 1989

• The Fable of the Three Princes. 1987

Conventional fairy tale of three brothers attempting to win the hand of a cold-hearted princess.

• March Against the Foe. 1994

Various slight 'George and Azazel' stories

• Northwestward. 1989

A Tale of the Black Widowers

• Prince Delightful and the Flameless Dragon. 1991

Minor twist on the "wicked fairy at the christening" tale.

• Magic. 1985

• Sword and Sorcery. 1986

• Concerning Tolkien. 1991

• In Days of Old. 1985

• Giants in the Earth. 1985

• When Fantasy Became Fantasy. 1982

• The Reluctant Critic. 1978

• The Unicorn. 1986

• Unknown. 1987

• Extraordinary Voyages. 1978

• Fairy Tales. 1985

• Dear Judy-Lynn. 1986

• Fantasy. 1984

• Reading and Writing. 1990

• The Right Answer. 1996

• Ignorance in America. 1989

• Knock Plastic!. 1989

• Lost in Non-Translation. 1989

How two particular bible parables (Ruth and Naomi, and the Good Samaritan) fail to mean to us today what they should, because the key central point about the 'race' of the hero in each has not been translated.

• Look Long Upon a Monkey. 1989

Contents

• Edmond Hamilton. The Man Who Evolved. 1931

• Neil R. Jones. The Jameson Satellite. 1931

• Capt S. P. Meek. Submicroscopic. 1931

• Capt S. P. Meek. Awlo Of Ulm. 1931

• P. Schuyler Miller. Tetrahedra of Space. 1931

• Clifford D. Simak. The World of the Red Sun. 1931

Contents

• Charles R Tanner. Tumithak of the Corridors. 1931

• Jack Williamson. The Moon Era. 1931

• Laurence Manning. The Man Who Awoke. 1933

• Charles R Tanner. Tumithak in Shawm. 1933

Contents

• Donald Wandrei. Colossus. 1934

• Jack Williamson. Born of the Sun. 1934

• Murray Leinster. Sidewise in Time. 1934

• Raymond Z. Gallun. Old Faithful. 1934

• Stanley G. Weinbaum. Parasite Planet. 1935

Ham Hammond trades xixtchil spore-pods in the dangerous Venusian swamps. Made homeless by a mudspout, he and the hostile Pat Burlingame have a perilous hike out of the Hotlands ahead of them.

• Murray Leinster. Proxima Centauri. 1935

• Edmond Hamilton. The Accursed Galaxy. 1935

Contents

• Henry Hasse. He Who Shrank. 1936

• Leslie Frances Stone. The Human Pets of Mars. 1936

• John W. Campbell Jr. The Brain Stealers of Mars. 1936

• Edmond Hamilton. Devolution. 1936

• Big Game. 1974

• John W. Campbell Jr. Other Eyes Watching. 1937

• John D. Clark. Minus Planet. 1937

• Nat Schachner. Past, Present, and Future. 1937

• Ross Rocklynne. The Men and the Mirror. 1938

Contents

• The Acquisitive Chuckle. 1972

• Ph as in Phony. == The Phony Ph.D.. 1972

• Truth to Tell. == The Man Who Never Told a Lie. 1972

• Go, Little Book!. == The Matchbook Collector. 1972

• Early Sunday Morning. == The Biological Clock. 1973

• The Obvious Factor. 1973

• The Pointing Finger. 1973

• Miss What?. == A Warning to Miss Earth. 1973

• The Lullaby of Broadway. 1974

• Yankee Doodle Went to Town. 1974

• The Curious Omission. 1974

• Out of Sight. == Six Suspects. 1973

Contents

• When No Man Pursueth. 1974

• Quicker Than the Eye. 1974

• The Iron Gem. 1974

• The Three Numbers. == All in the Way You Read It. 1974

• Nothing Like Murder. 1974

• No Smoking. == Confessions of an American Cigarette Smoker. 1974

• Season's Greetings!. 1976

• The One and Only East. 1975

• Earthset and Evening Star. 1975

• Friday the Thirteenth. 1975

• The Unabridged. 1976

• The Ultimate Crime. 1976

Contents

• The Cross of Lorraine. 1976

• The Family Man. == A Case of Income Tax Fraud. 1976

• The Sports Page. 1977

• Second Best. 1980

• The Missing Item. 1977

• The Next Day. 1978

• Irrelevance!. == A Matter of Irrelevance. 1979

• None So Blind. 1979

• The Backward Look. 1979

• What Time is It?. 1980

• Middle Name. 1980

• To the Barest. 1979

Contents

• Sixty Million Trillion Combinations. 1980

• The Woman in the Bar. 1980

• The Driver. 1984

• The Good Samaritan. 1980

• The Year of the Action. 1980

• Can You Prove It?. 1981

• The Phoenician Bauble. 1982

• A Monday in April. 1983

• Neither Brute nor Human. 1984

• The Redhead. 1984

• The Wrong House. 1984

• The Intrusion. 1984

Contents

• The Callistan Menace. 1939

• Ring Around the Sun. 1940

• The Magnificent Possession. 1940

• Trends. 1939

• The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use. 1939

• Black Friar of the Flame. 1942

• Half-Breed. 1940

• The Secret Sense. 1941

Contents

• Heredity. 1941

• History. 1941

• Christmas on Ganymede. 1942

• The Imaginary. 1942

• Homo Sol. 1940

• Half-Breeds on Venus. 1940

• Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl. The Little Man on the Subway. 1950

• The Hazing. 1942

• Super-Neutron. 1941

• Not Final!. 1941

• Legal Rites. 1950

• Time Pussy. 1942

Contents

• Author! Author!. 1964

• The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline. 1948

• Death Sentence. 1943

• Blind Alley. 1945

• No Connection. 1948

• The Red Queen's Race. 1949

• Mother Earth. 1949

Novelisation of the film.

Contents

• Jack Vance. The Dragon Masters. 1962

• Poul Anderson. No Truce with Kings. 1963

• Gordon R. Dickson. Soldier, Ask Not. 1964

• Harlan Ellison. "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman. 1965

• Jack Vance. The Last Castle. 1966

• Larry Niven. Neutron Star. 1966

Contents

• Anne McCaffrey. Weyr Search. 1967

• Philip Jose Farmer. Riders of the Purple Wage. 1967

• Fritz Leiber. Gonna Roll the Bones. 1967

• Harlan Ellison. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. 1967

• Robert Silverberg. Nightwings. 1968

• Poul Anderson. The Sharing of Flesh. 1968

• Harlan Ellison. The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World. 1968

• Samuel R. Delany. Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones. 1969

Contents

• Greg Bear. Tangents. 1986

An old mathematician and a young boy contact the fourth dimension, with music.

• Roger Zelazny. Permafrost. 1986

• Roger Zelazny. 24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Hokusai. 1985

• Harlan Ellison. Paladin of the Lost Hour. 1985

• Frederik Pohl. Fermi and Frost. 1985

• Robert Silverberg. Gilgamesh in the Outback. 1986

• Orson Scott Card. Eye for Eye. 1988

• Ursula K. Le Guin. Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight. 1987

• Lawrence Watt-Evans. Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers. 1987

Contents

• Nightfall. 1941

• Hostess. 1951

• Breeds There a Man...?. 1951

• Green Patches. == Misbegotten Missionary. 1950

• C-Chute. 1951

Contents

• Eyes Do More Than See. 1965

• The Machine That Won the War. 1961

• What If -. 1952

• It's Such a Beautiful Day. 1954

• 'In a Good Cause-'. 1951

• Sally. 1953

• Flies. 1953

• 'Nobody Here But -'. 1953

• Strikebreaker. == Male Strikebreaker. 1957

• Insert Knob A in Hole B. 1957

• The Up-to-Date Sorcerer. 1958

• Unto the Fourth Generation. 1959

• What is This Thing Called Love?. == Playboy and the Slime God. 1961

• My Son, the Physicist. 1962

• Segregationist. 1967

Contents

• Little Lost Robot. 1947

• Runaround. 1942

• Liar!. 1941

• Robbie. == Strange Playfellow. 1940

• Reason. 1941

• Catch That Rabbit. 1944

• Escape!. 1945

• Evidence. 1946

• The Evitable Conflict. 1950

Contents

• Satisfaction Guaranteed. 1951

• Lenny. 1958

• Robot AL-76 Goes Astray. 1942

• Victory Unintentional. 1942

• First Law. 1956

• Let's Get Together. 1957

• Risk. 1955

• Galley Slave. 1957

Contents

• Robert A. Heinlein. '--- And He Built a Crooked House'. 1940

Fun with tesseracts

• A. J. Deutsch. A Subway Named Mobius. 1950

• James Blish. Surface Tension. 1952

• Milton A. Rothman. Heavy Planet. 1939

• John W. Campbell Jr. Night. 1935

• Stanley G. Weinbaum. A Martian Odyssey. 1934

The first expedition to Mars finds many strange and wonderful alien creatures, including the intelligent Tweel

• Hal Clement. Proof. 1971

• Lester del Rey. The Day Is Done. 1939

Contents

• Pate de Foie Gras. 1956

• Larry Niven. Neutron Star. 1966

• H. Beam Piper. Omnilingual. 1957

• Arthur C. Clarke. The Deep Range. 1954

• William Morrison. Country Doctor. 1953

• Walter S. Tevis. The Big Bounce. 1958

• Jerome Bixby. The Holes Around Mars. 1954

• James Edwin Gunn. The Cave of Night. 1955

• Hal Clement. Dust Rag. 1956