The Short Stories of Isaac Asimov

Where to begin... Asimov's books have always struck me as being particularly interesting or thought provoking. Although I've read but a small portion of his extraordinarily vast output, I've yet to find a story that I can't find some merit in.

I own volumes 1 and 2 of his complete stories, and this lens is primarily about some of the short stories found in those two books. These books are probably the most scuffed, well read, and bent paperbacks I own.

Another thing I find remarkable about Asimov's science fiction is that it seems to translate into different formats very well. The movies I Robot and Bicentennial Man are both very good in my opinion. I'm sure there have been some less successful movie counterparts to his books, but it's been my good fortune to miss those thus far.

The stories that i enjoy reading the most. (With links!)

I've written a bit about each of my personal favourites below. I've tried to keep it short as the words 'attention span' are not the words that come to mind when thinking about the internet in general.

The Last Question

Asimov's personal favorite. The Last Question is a story spanning Man's existence and features the most important question that Man has ever asked (no it's not "where's my sandwich?"). As the end of the universe comes and passes the last relic of mankind finds the answer to this question.

Nightfall

Nightfall describes a planet in which six suns are seen in the sky. These six suns are spread around the world and the people of Lagash have never known darkness. Nightfall is the story of a group of astronomers, as the planet experiences the dark of night for the first time in two thousand and fifty years.

Eyes Do More Than See

This story is very short compared to much of Asimov's work. But I find it meaningful. It's about the interactions of two people in the far future, once they were flesh and blood, but no more. Together they remember what it was like to be made of matter and not energy but they find it painful beyond imagining.

Much to my disappointment, Amazon US doesn't seem to sell many of Asimov's collections of short stories. I've linked the one i could find and the first book in a brilliant series called Foundation, which is also well worth a read!

'Cosmic AC,' said Man, 'How may entropy be reversed?'

Source: Hubblesite.org

The Cosmic AC said, 'THERE IS AS YET INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER.'

Care to leave a message about which of Asimov's short stories you like the best? Want to elaborate on why one of the stories in the list should be higher than the others? I'd like to know about any of the great ones that I've been missing out on!