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Buy Jupiter | Rating | |
| C | |||
| Isaac Asimov | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| N/A | N/A | ||
Isaac Asimov is considered by many a classic author of science fiction, somebody every fan of the genre must read if they really want to understand what its all about and how it evolved. Maybe so, but the first stories in this collection weren't exactly the best. A "story" that consists entirely of a conversation isn't really much of a story, and it certainly isn't fascinating reading. And here we begin with two such back to back. Worse, the first might as well have been one of Asimov's essays, since it is not so much a conversation as a lecture, one person putting forth his views and opinions. Asimov practically jujst added quote marks and an occasional comment from the others in the room.
It didn't help at all that they both centered around the then-mysterious demise of the dinosars, a puzzle that has now been essentially solved. This sort of thing — mysteries no longer mysterious, or issues nobody much worries about anymore, like nuclear war — was the focus of quite a few stories throught the book, and it rendered those stories almost laughable to me.
The stories here expound on a variety of issues, from overpopulation to war. A good many of those have actual morals, which Asimov bluntly or subtly tries to get across to his readers. Mostly bluntly, I'm afraid. Nearly all the tales are doing their best to make readers think, to hammer it home that this cautionary tale is important. But, quite frankly, some of them no longer are, and many of the others we've either learned to live with or have by now realized are something that we need to do something about. The stories with morals are thus usually either irrelevant or preaching to the converted, and either way they're usually incredibly brusque.
Thankfully, there are some more frivolous stories within, as well, most notably the titular tale. Aliens, time travel, and other such soft sci-fi themes all get their own tales. These, I found much more palatable.
The anthology is improved tremendously by Asimov's comments between stories. There, he details how the last story was received and who bought it, and then moves on to explain the circumstances that inspired him to write the next one. I've always loved it when collections do this. It provieds a little peek into the author's life and mind, and with Asimov that can be something to be cherished.
Still, in the end I have to call this one merely tolerable. There's some good stories and some bad ones, and it truly is unfortunate that some of the bad ones lead the book. As usual, these stories would make for good reading to a younger reader, one who hasn't really contemplated the issues Asimov raises. They are, after all, meant to raise awareness. But for the rest of us, theose particular tales are good only for their historical value, to show what were the prime concerns of the day. The rest of them, the lighter stories meant primarily to entertain, are nice enough, but there's not so many of them that they can quite carry the collection on their own.
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