The Early Asimov or Eleven Years of Trying

Rating:
Summary: The Lost World: Science Fiction, New York, 1938-1949
Review: Some of these stories are dreadful. You will read them and wonder about the standards of the magazines they appeared in. After a little thought, you will wonder all the more because many of them really aren't so dreadful as all that. "Ring Around the Sun" had a hard time being published despite that fact that it was probably a lot better than most of its competition - and no worse than a lot of stuff finding its way into magazines today. We don't live in a golden age now, either. The bad stories of today are merely bad in a different way.

But the real story is the story of how Asimov came to be a science fiction writer, with samples of his work thrown in at the relevant moments. It was a departure for him. He'd published short story collections before this: but, for some reason, he thought, "Why not publish a collection of EVERY SURVIVING story from 1938 to 1949, and make an autobiography out of it?" Unfortunately it leaves out those stories which were otherwise in print at the time the book was published - a serious omission, I think. The book surely ought to have included "Nightfall", for historical reasons, at least.

But despite what I said about the fiction being dreadful, despite the fact that he left out all stories that he'd previously decided were worth reprinting, some nice pieces remain. "Author! Author!" is Asimov's funniest work and this is the only place you're likely to find it. "The Red Queen's Race" and "Mother Earth" are also very good.

This book had more of an impact on science fiction than most people realise. Its immediate effect must have been to make editors swear. I'll bet that when it was published, "Analog", "Galaxy", "Fantasy and Science Fiction" and "If" were innundated with hundreds of extra manuscripts from young writers who had fallen in love with the era Asimov described.