Gold: The Final Science Fiction CollectionHarper Collins, 2009 M03 17 - 420 pages Gold is the final and crowning achievement of the fifty-year career of science fiction's transcendent genius, the world-famous author who defined the field of science fiction for its practitioners, its millions of readers, and the world at large. The first section contains stories that range from the humorous to the profound, at the heart of which is the title story, "Gold," a moving and revealing drama about a writer who gambles everything on a chance at immortality: a gamble Asimov himself made -- and won. The second section contains the grand master's ruminations on the SF genre itself. And the final section is comprised of Asimov's thoughts on the craft and writing of science fiction. |
Contents
Left to Right | 42 |
Alexander the God | 77 |
Goodbye to Earth | 88 |
Feghoot and the Courts | 99 |
Flying Saucers and Science Fiction | 180 |
The Science Fiction Blowgun | 189 |
The AllHuman Galaxy | 216 |
Science Fiction Series | 228 |
Hints | 316 |
Writing for Young People | 321 |
Names | 327 |
Originality | 333 |
Book Reviews | 339 |
What Writers Go Through | 344 |
Revisions | 350 |
Irony | 356 |
Outsiders Insiders | 246 |
Science Fiction Anthologies | 252 |
Plotting | 283 |
Metaphor | 289 |
Ideas | 295 |
Suspense | 301 |
Serials | 307 |
The Name of Our Field | 312 |
Plagiarism | 362 |
Symbolism | 368 |
Prediction | 374 |
Bestseller | 380 |
Pseudonyms | 386 |
Dialog | 392 |
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Common terms and phrases
Alexander anthology appeared Asimov Astounding Science Fiction Azazel better Bucephalus Caves of Steel characters Charlie chippers compu-drama course Daneel Olivaw deal Earth editor Emotional ence fiction extraterrestrial eyes fact feel Feghoot Foundation series Foundation's Edge Fred Pohl funny galaxy Gentry George give Golden Age hallucination happened Heinlein human ideas intelligent Isaac Asimov Josie knew Laborian Laws of Robotics Lear looked magazine matter mean mind never Nightfall Northrop novel P. G. Wodehouse plagiarism planet plot positronic positronic brain psychohistory published readers reason red dwarf robot stories science fiction writers seemed Settlement short story smiled someone star suppose sure talk technician tell There's thing thought time-travel tion triple-being utopia voice Willard Winthrop word write written wrong wrote وو
Popular passages
Page 137 - Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you From seasons such as these?
Page 131 - Hear, nature, hear ; dear goddess, hear ! — Suspend thy purpose, if thou didst intend To make this creature fruitful ! Into her womb convey sterility ! Dry up in her the organs of increase ; And from her derogate body never spring A babe to honour her ! If she must teem, Create her child of spleen ; that it may live, And be a thwart disnatured torment to her...
Page 138 - Pray, do not mock me : I am a very foolish fond old man, Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less ; And, to deal plainly, I fear I am not in my perfect mind.
Page 136 - Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks! You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts, Singe my white head! And thou all-shaking thunder, Strike flat the thick rotundity o
Page 136 - Spit, fire! spout rain! Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters: I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness, I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children, You owe me no subscription...
Page 138 - And, to deal plainly, I fear I am not in my perfect mind. Methinks I should know you and know this man; Yet I am doubtful; for I am mainly ignorant What place this is, and all the skill I have Remembers not these garments; nor I know not Where I did lodge last night. Do not laugh at me; For, as I am a man, I think this lady To be my child Cordelia.
Page 291 - The land through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it, are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants : and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Page 137 - I have ta'en Too little care of this! Take physic, pomp; Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, That thou mayst shake the superflux to them And show the heavens more just.
Page 241 - A fruteful and pleasaunt worke of the beste state of a publyque weale, and of the newe yle called Utopia...