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The Alternate Asimovs
''The Alternate Asimovs'' (1986) is a collection of early science fiction drafts by American writer Isaac Asimov. Asimov mostly threw away early drafts. Just a few survived and were included in this anthology. It consists of three items: *''Grow Old With Me'', the original version of the novel '' Pebble in the Sky'', never published in this form *"The End of Eternity", an unpublished 20,000 word novella that was extensively revised before appearing as the novel ''The End of Eternity'' *"Belief", two versions of a short story ''Grow Old With Me'' This is a shorter and less refined version of the book ''Pebble in the Sky''; set in the very early days of the Trantorian Empire whose eventual decline had been described in the Foundation novels. The plot is largely the same, though the chief villain is less developed. Asimov also explained how he began with the idea that Earth was radioactive from an atomic war. As he learned more, he became unhappy with the notion, reckoning that a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1986 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1986. Events * April 29 – A major fire at Los Angeles Public Library caused by arson destroys 400,000 volumes. * July 21 – Michael Grade, Controller of BBC1, axes plans to televise Ian Curteis's '' The Falklands Play''. * September 29 – Bloomsbury Publishing is set up in London by Nigel Newton. * October 9 – '' The Phantom of the Opera'', having been the longest running Broadway show ever, opens at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. * December 19 – The Soviet dissident author Andrei Sakharov is allowed to return to Moscow after six years' internal exile. New books Fiction *Kingsley Amis – ''The Old Devils'' *V. C. Andrews – ''Garden of Shadows'' * Piers Anthony – ''Ghost'' * Jeffrey Archer – ''A Matter of Honour'' *James Axler – '' Pilgrimage to Hell'' and '' Red Holocaust'' * Iain Banks – '' The Bridge'' *Thomas Bernhard – ''Extinction'' (''Auslöschung'') *Azouz Begag – ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots, and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. In addition, science fiction might serve as an outlet to facilitate future scientific and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is also related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, has beco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (1922–1928)American (1928–1992) , occupation = Writer, professor of biochemistry , years_active = 1939–1992 , genre = Science fiction (hard SF, social SF), mystery, popular science , subject = Popular science, science textbooks, essays, history, literary criticism , education = Columbia University ( BA, MA, PhD) , movement = Golden Age of Science Fiction , module = , signature = Isaac Asimov signature.svg Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pebble In The Sky
''Pebble in the Sky'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the ''Foundation'' series had appeared from 1942 onwards in magazines, but ''Foundation'' was not published in book form until 1951. The original ''Foundation'' books are also a string of linked episodes, whereas this is a complete story involving a single group of characters. Publication history ''Pebble in the Sky'' was originally written in the summer of 1947 under the title "Grow Old with Me" for '' Startling Stories'', whose editor Sam Merwin, Jr. had approached Asimov to write a forty thousand word short novel for the magazine. The title was an adaption of Robert Browning's ''Rabbi ben Ezra'', the first few lines of which (starting "Grow old along with me! / The best is yet to be...") were included in the final novel. It was rejected by ''Startling Stories'' on the basis that the magazine's emphasis was more on adventure than sci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The End Of Eternity
''The End of Eternity'' is a 1955 science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov with mystery and thriller elements on the subjects of time travel and social engineering. Its premise is that of a causal loop, a type of temporal paradox in which events and their causes form a loop. In ''The End of Eternity'', members of the time-changing organization ''Eternity'' seek to ensure that the conditions that led to its founding occur as history says that they occurred. The protagonist, Andrew Harlan, is placed in a situation in which he must decide whether to allow the "circle" to close and ''Eternity'' to be founded or to allow the opposite to happen and prevent ''Eternity'' from having ever existed. Many years later, Asimov tied this novel into his broader ''Foundation'' Series by hinting in '' Foundation's Edge'' that it is set in a universe where ''Eternity'' had existed but was destroyed by Eternals, leading to an all-human galaxy later. The novel was shortlisted to the Hugo Award fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robots And Empire
''Robots and Empire'' is a science fiction novel by the American author Isaac Asimov, published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's ''Robot'' series, which consists of many short stories (collected in ''I, Robot'', ''The Rest of the Robots'', ''The Complete Robot'', ''Robot Dreams'', ''Robot Visions'', and ''Gold'') and five novels (including ''The Positronic Man'', ''The Caves of Steel'', ''The Naked Sun'', and ''The Robots of Dawn''). ''Robots and Empire'' is part of Asimov's consolidation of his three major series of science fiction stories and novels into a single future history: his ''Robot'' series, his ''Galactic Empire'' series and his ''Foundation'' series. (Asimov also carried out this unification in ''Foundation's Edge'' and its sequel.) In the novel, Asimov depicts the transition from his earlier Milky Way Galaxy, inhabited by both human beings and positronic robots, to his Galactic Empire. The galaxy of his earlier trilogy of ''Robot'' novels is do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Langford
David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most Hugo Awards, with a total of 29 wins. Personal background David Langford was born and grew up in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales before studying for a degree in Physics at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he first became involved in science fiction fandom. Langford is married to Hazel and is the brother of the musician and artist Jon Langford. His first job was as a weapons physicist at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston, Berkshire from 1975 to 1980. In 1985 he set up a "tiny and informally run software company" with science fiction writer Christopher Priest, called Ansible Information after Langford's news-sheet. The company has ceased trading. Increasing hearing difficulties have reduced Langford's participation i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Dwarf (magazine)
''White Dwarf'' is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop, which has long served as a promotions and advertising platform for Games Workshop and Citadel Miniatures products. During the first ten years of its publication, it covered a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing games (RPGs) and board games, particularly the role playing games ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D''), '' Call of Cthulhu'', ''RuneQuest'' and '' Traveller''. These games were all published by other games companies and distributed in the United Kingdom by Games Workshop stores. The magazine underwent a major change in style and content in the late 1980s. It is now dedicated exclusively to the miniature wargames produced by Games Workshop. History 1975: ''Owl and Weasel'' to ''White Dwarf'' Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone initially produced a newsletter called ''Owl and Weasel'', which ran for twenty-five issues from February 1975 before it evolved into '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (game designer), John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson (UK), Steve Jackson, Games Workshop was originally a manufacturer of wooden boards for games including backgammon, mancala, nine men's morris and Go (board game), Go. It later became an importer of the U.S. role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and then a publisher of wargames and role-playing games in its own right, expanding from a bedroom mail-order company in the process. It expanded into Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia in the early 1990s. All UK-based operations were relocated to the current headquarters in Lenton, Nottingham in 1997. It started promoting games associated with The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy in 2001. It al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasy Review
''Fantasy Newsletter'' was a major fantasy fanzine founded by Paul C. Allen and later issued by Robert A. Collins. Frequent contributors included Fritz Leiber and Gene Wolfe. Publication history The first issue appeared in June 1978, and Allen continued publication until October 1981. It was then taken over without a break by Collins, director of the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts at Florida Atlantic University. At the beginning of 1984, it was combined with '' Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review'', and given a new title, ''Fantasy Review''. At this point, it became a semi-prozine, with substantial bookstore sales, and provided the widest coverage of science fiction and fantasy books then in existence. The magazine folded with issue #103, July/August 1987, but the review section continued as '' Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review Annual'' well into the 1990s. Awards The magazine won the Balrog Award and the World Fantasy Award The World Fantas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Review
Richard E. Geis (July 19, 1927 – February 4, 2013) was an American science fiction fan and writer, and erotica writer, from Portland, Oregon, who won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1982 and 1983; and whose science fiction fanzine ''Science Fiction Review'' won the 1969, 1970, 1977 and 1979 Hugo Awards for Best Fanzine. His '' The Alien Critic'' won the Best Fanzine Hugo in 1974 (in a tie with ''Algol''), and in 1975 as sole first place. He was nominated for the Hugo for Best Fan Writer from 1970 to 1971 and 1973-1986 inclusive; his science fiction fanzines A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" was ... were nominated for the Hugo for Best Fanzine from 1968 to 1971 and 1974-1983 inclusive: a total of 30 Hugo nominations and 13 Hugos. Many of his recent SF-relat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
