''The Return of the Black Widowers'' is a collection of short

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

stories by American writer

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 (192 ...

, featuring his fictional

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

of mystery solvers, the

Black Widowers The Black Widowers is a fictional men-only dining club created by Isaac Asimov for a series of sixty-six mystery stories that he started writing in 1971. Most of the stories were first published in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', though a few ...

. It was first published in hardcover by

Carroll & Graf Carroll & Graf Publishers was an American publishing company based in New York City, New York, known for publishing a wide range of fiction and non-fiction by both new and established authors, as well as issuing reprints of previously hard-t ...

in December 2003, and in trade paperback by the same publisher in November 2005. This book is the last of six books that collect the stories of the Black Widowers, a club based on a literary dining club Asimov belonged to known as the

Trap Door Spiders The Trap Door Spiders are a literary male-only eating, drinking, and arguing society in New York City, with a membership historically composed of notable science fiction personalities. The name is a reference to the reclusive habits of the trapdo ...

.Asimov 1994, ''I. Asimov'', chapter "120. The Trap Door Spiders". It was assembled and edited after Asimov's death by Charles Ardai, and collects the last six stories Asimov wrote for the series. These six stories are preceded by an introduction by

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

, ten stories selected by the editor as the best from the previous Black Widowers collections, and a homage by

William Brittain William Brittain may refer to: * William Brittain (cricketer), cricketer for Nottingham Cricket Club * William Brittain (British Free Corps), English member of the British Free Corps * Bill Brittain (1930–2011), American writer * Will Brittain (b ...

. They are then followed by an eleventh reprinted tale featuring a fictionalized version of Ellison, a new Black Widowers tale by Ardai, and an afterword by Asimov on the creation of the series drawn from his autobiography '' I. Asimov''.

*"Introduction" (

) *" The Acquisitive Chuckle" (from '' Tales of the Black Widowers'') *"Ph As in Phony" (from ''Tales of the Black Widowers'') *"Early Sunday Morning" (from ''Tales of the Black Widowers'') *"The Obvious Factor" (from ''Tales of the Black Widowers'') *"The Iron Gem" (from ''

More Tales of the Black Widowers ''More Tales of the Black Widowers'' is a collection of mystery short stories by American author Isaac Asimov, featuring his fictional club of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in October 1976 ...

'') *"To the Barest" (from ''

Casebook of the Black Widowers ''Casebook of the Black Widowers'' is a collection of mystery short stories by American author Isaac Asimov, featuring his fictional club of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in January 1980 an ...

'') *"

Sixty Million Trillion Combinations "Sixty Million Trillion Combinations" is a short mystery story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the May 5, 1980, issue of ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' under the title "64 Million Trillion Combinations," and reprinted ...

" (from ''

Banquets of the Black Widowers ''Banquets of the Black Widowers'' is a collection of mystery short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov featuring his fictional club of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in September 1984, a ...

'') *"The Wrong House" (from ''Banquets of the Black Widowers'') *"The Redhead" (from ''Banquets of the Black Widowers'') *"Triple Devil" (from '' Puzzles of the Black Widowers'') *"The Men Who Read Isaac Asimov" (

) *"Northwestward" (from ''

Magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

'') *"Yes, but Why?" *"Lost in a Space Warp" *"Police at the Door" *"The Haunted Cabin" *"The Guest's Guest" *"The Woman in the Bar" (from ''Banquets of the Black Widowers'') *"The Last Story" ( Charles Ardai) *"Afterword" (from '' I. Asimov'')

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Return of the Black Widowers, The Mystery short story collections by Isaac Asimov 2003 short story collections Carroll & Graf books

Contents

Notes

External links