Showing results by author "Isaac Asimov" in All Categories

The second of two prequel novels in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THE APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION As Hari Seldon struggles to perfect his revolutionary theory of psychohistory and ensure a place for humanity among the...

Step into the visionary worlds that defined a genre. *Golden Age Science Fiction Short Stories Anthology* brings together unforgettable tales from Isaac Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, E. E. Smith, and Robert Sheckley—masters who shaped modern science fiction with bold ideas, cosmic adventure, and thought-provoking storytelling. From distant planets and advanced civilizations to sharp social commentary and mind-bending twists, this collection captures the imagination, innovation, and timeless wonder of classic sci-fi at its very best.

The bestselling Robot series continues in this sequel to The Caves of Steel, with detective Elijah Baley taking on the dangerous role of double agent when he’s sent to Solaria to solve a brutal murder—and uncover a weakness in Earth’s most powerful neighbor. On the beautiful Outer World...

This last volume in the definitive collection of the best science fiction novellas published between 1929 and 1964 contains 11 great classics. No anthology better captures the birth of science fiction as a literary field. Published in 1973 to honor stories that had appeared before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame introduced thousands of young listeners to the wonders of science fiction and was a favorite of libraries across the country.

In a time before the Foundations, psychohistory’s creator Hari Seldon is made to stand before the Emperor of the crumbling Galactic Empire to present how his scientific theory of predicting the future might be applied to the real world. However, Hari refuses to deploy his theory for political gain, setting off instead with reporter Chetter Hummin in quest of a place to safely apply his theory: Earth, the original home of humanity. All records of Earth have been lost to time. Hari will therefore have to look back into the past, in order to seal the future of humanity for ever.

The Galactic Empire has prospered for 12,000 years. Nobody suspects that the heart of the thriving Empire is rotten, until psychohistorian Hari Seldon uses his new science to foresee its terrible fate. Exiled to the desolate planet Terminus, Seldon establishes a colony of the greatest minds in the Empire, a Foundation which holds the key to changing the fate of the galaxy.

This book contains 26 of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. They represent the considered verdict of the Science Fiction Writers of America, those who have shaped the genre and who know, more intimately than anyone else, what the criteria for excellence in the field should be. The authors chosen for the Science Fiction Hall Fame are the men and women who have shaped the body and heart of modern science fiction; their brilliantly imaginative creations continue to inspire and astound new generations of writers and fans.

Twenty of the finest science fiction short stories from one of the genre’s greatest writers, Isaac Asimov. Isaac Asimov was the Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America, the founder of robot ethics, and one of the world’s most prolific authors of fiction and non-fiction. Asimov’s short fiction has been enjoyed by millions for more than half a century. Many of the stories in this collection are classics of the genre, including ‘Ring Around the Sun’, which follows two self-declared best pilots on their journey from Earth to Venus, passing within twenty-two million miles of the Sun.

The first of two prequel novels in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THE APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION It is the year 12,020 G.E. and Emperor Cleon I sits uneasily on the Imperial throne of Trantor. Here in the great multidomed...

On the planet of Solaria, Spacers live in almost complete isolation, tended by robot servants and disgusted by the thought of human contact. And yet, one of their number has been beaten to death. Incapable of solving the crime, the authorities of the Outer Worlds seek help from Earth – from renowned detective Elijah Baley. Partnered once again with the robot Daneel Olivaw, Baley travels to this strange new world and uncovers a plot that could change the relationship between humans and robots for ever.

High above the planet Florina, the Squires of Sark live in unimaginable wealth and comfort. Down in the eternal spring of its surface, however, the native Florinians labour ceaselessly for their Sarkite masters. Rebellion is unthinkable and impossible. But now both worlds are hurtling toward a cataclysm, and only one man knows the truth; a man without a memory or a past, unaware of the secret locked inside his own brain.

What happens when a robot begins to question its creators? What would be the consequences of creating a robot with a sense of humour? Or the ability to lie? How do we truly tell the difference between man and machine? In I, Robot, Asimov sets out the Three Laws of Robotics - designed to protect humans from their robotic creations - and pushes them to their limits and beyond.

Caught up in an experiment gone wrong, Joseph Schwartz is transported forward in time from post-war Chicago to the heyday of the first Galactic Empire. Earth, he soon learns, is a backwater, despised by the other two hundred million planets of the Empire because its people dare to claim it as the original home of man. And Earth is poor, with great areas of radioactivity ruining much of its soil – so poor that everyone is sentenced to death at the age of sixty. And Joseph Schwartz is sixty-two.

As Hari Seldon struggles to perfect his revolutionary theory of psychohistory and ensure a place for humanity among the stars, the once-mighty Galactic Empire totters on the brink of apocalyptic collapse. Caught in the maelstrom are Seldon and all he holds dear, pawns in the struggle for dominance. Whoever can control Seldon will control psychohistory—and with it the future of the galaxy. Among those seeking to turn psychohistory into the greatest weapon known to man are a populist political demagogue, the weak-willed Emperor Cleon I, and a ruthless militaristic general.

The First Foundation has been defeated, crushed by the formidable mental powers of the Mule. But whispers of the mysterious Second Foundation, the only hope of defeating the Mule, are beginning to spread. Surviving members of the First Foundation also fear the secret powers of the Second Foundation, vowing to find and destroy it. However, the location of the Second Foundation remains shrouded in mystery. Finding it will lead the Foundation to the opposite end of the Galaxy, where the fate of Seldon’s two Foundations awaits.

After a long war which saw the First Foundation emerge victorious, the Second Foundation is now believed to be extinct, and all records of planet Earth’s existence have been erased. No one suspects that the Second Foundation could still exist. None, except Council member Golan Trevize, who finds himself ordered to leave Terminus, accompanied by historian Janov Pelorat, in order to find it. Yet this quest will lead an unsuspecting Golan further than he could have possibly imagined.

From the writer whose name is synonymous with the science of robotics comes five decades of robot visions - 36 landmark stories and essays, plus three rare tales - gathered together in one volume.

First published fifteen years ago, shortly after his death, inside this collection are some of the finest short stories of science fiction writing from one of the genre’s greatest writers, Isaac Asimov. Isaac Asimov was the Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America, the founder of...

Andrew Harlan’s job is to range through past and present centuries monitoring and even altering Time’s myriad cause-and-effect relationships. As a Technician with the Allwhen Council, he initiates Reality Changes that may affect the lives of as many as fifty billion people – and a million or more of them may be so drastically affected as to be considered new individuals. Above all, therefore, a Technician must be dispassionate. An emotional make-up is a distinct handicap. Then Harlan meets Noÿs and falls victim to a phenomenon older than Time itself – love.

On Aurora, the first and greatest of the Spacer planets, Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw investigate yet another seemingly impossible crime – this time, a roboticide. Someone has destroyed the positronic mind of R. Jander Panell, a humanoid twin to Daneel. His creator, the master roboticist Han Fastolfe, denies all involvement. So does Gladia Delmarre, the robot’s owner. And lover.