Isaac Asimov — #100FavouriteAuthors
The father of science fiction storytelling
I’m convinced that Isaac Asimov isn’t human.
Did the Foundation series, or the Robot books give it away? Sort of. But just take a look at him above. Is he an ageless mutant? One with extraordinary powers of the mind, like Professor Charles Xavier?
That’s because no one else could write science fiction the way he did. I would’ve loved to be inside his brain, just to see how it functions.
These are some of my favourite books of his.
The Foundation Series: I’ve never wanted a subject to be taught in school more than psychohistory. With Hari Seldon as my teacher. It begins in the year 0 FE (Foundation Era), and is a story of how Hari Seldon’s calculations, predicting the fall of the Galactic Empire, angers the Committee of Public Safety (rulers of the Galactic Empire). They ask for his head, but he offers an alternate solution that sees him being exiled to the Planet Terminus. The real fun starts after that. The first book, Foundation, is followed by Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation.
I, Robot: Let me get one thing out of the way — it’s better than the movie. No disrespect intended to Will Smith (like always, he did a good job), but the movie doesn’t delve as deeply into psychological parts of the book as it should. It ends up being your regular, good-to-watch, borderline-intellectual summer popcorn flick, but the true meat of the story lies in the book.
The Lucky Starr series: The original Star-Lord, or Peter Quill — David Starr, Space Ranger. He also has a bit of Mal Reynolds in him. One of my favourite space rangers, and books I enjoyed immensely as a child (I was 12 years old). I’d still read them. You should too.
There’s a lot more — but I feel I’ve covered enough just to get you guys started. If you want to start light, go with the Lucky Starr series. But the Foundation Series is where it’s at. That’s it for favourite author #12.
Archives
Neil Gaiman | Agatha Christie | Jeffrey Archer | Sidney Sheldon | Enid Blyton | Ruskin Bond | Roald Dahl | Stieg Larsson | RK Narayan | Mario Puzo | J.R.R. Tolkien | Isaac Asimov
