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From: JWHITE%MAINE.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Later Asimov
Message-ID: <216@caip.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Fri, 25-Oct-85 12:01:26 EST
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Posted: Fri Oct 25 12:01:26 1985
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From: JWHITE%MAINE.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA  (Jim White)

    I feel compelled to rush to the defense of poor (figuritively) Dr. A. He's
been getting quite alot of bad press on SFL.

Jim Brunet writes,

>Asimov's fiction today is as painful to contemplate as watching a
>great, over-the-hill ballplayer (like Willie Mays?) trying to hang
>on.  Sad.

> Finally, the WRITING.  Asimov -- and I do love the man, his
>     early works along with Heinlein's and Norton's juveniles were
>     what brought me into the sf field -- has become a literary 800
>     lb. canary.  Nobody will edit him.  Nobobdy *has* to.  Why
>     should Doubleday bother, when anything he now writes is
>     guaranteed megabucks best-seller?
>
>     His dialogue has gotten excruciating and much of the narrative
>     is dull and plodding.  If you or I had turned in those
>     manuscripts with our names on them, they would have been
>     returned at light-speed, perhaps with a note saying "you have
>     potential, but do join a workshop, okay?"

I believe, that like any writer, Asimov is entitled to hot and cold spells.
I agree, in part, with what jmb has stated. Asimov has become a machine of
sorts, (Hmmmmm, maybe he's actually been replaced by a humaniform robot),
churning out books upon whatever subject he's asked. I disagree however, that
they're all lousy.
         **    Mild Spoiler Warning   **

The Foundation's Edge, judged against the backdrop of the original books of
Foundation Trilogy, does come up short. I think the concept of Gaea  was/is
an unfortunate idea and I was saddened to read about the once great mentalists
of the 2nd Foundation reduced bickering children. Asimov does have a
tendency to make his characters a little too smart, and this problem was
exaggerated in this novel.
             ** end spoiler **

I like the Robots of Dawn however....really liked it. Lije Baley continues
to be one of my favorite science fictional characters. I think this novel
even comes out clean in comparison to the earlier Robot novels, particularly
The Naked Sun, which I thought the weaker of the two earlier ones. Truth is
I liked it better than the Naked Sun, and on par with the Caves of Steel.
The Robot novels do represent the marriage of science fiction and the
mystery, with which Asimov dabbles, (Murder at the ABA, The Union Club
Mysteries). One of Asimovs strengths is the surprise ending and the R of D
had a good one.

To be fair to Isaac in his declining years, I think that it should be noted
that some of his 'Golden years' stuff were duds or near duds. Take the
'Stars Like Dust' for example, or the 'God's Themselves' (yes I know it was
later, but really, if you think sex with robots is wierd) . Yes, I would
put Foundations Edge well ahead of each.

Were I to give a rough ranking of some of Asimovs major novels, it might look
something like this;

1) Foundation
2) 2nd Foundation
3) Foundation and Empire
4) Caves of Steel
5) Robots of Dawn
6) Pebble in the Sky/ End of Eternity/Naked Sun
7) Currents of Space
8) Foundations Edge
9) Gods Themselves
10) Stars Like Dust

I have just received from the Sci Fi bookclub, my copy of Robots and Empire.
Am looking forward to reading it next.