My Isaac Asimov reread continues with the sequel to Caves of Steel — The Naked Sun. We return to the covered city of Earth long enough for our hero, Elijah Baley, to be given a new assignment — investigate a murder on a Spacer World! What’s the story of The Naked Sun? Here’s a blurb from the version I just finished: On the planet of Solaria, … Continue reading The Naked Sun — some thoughts
I first read Asimov’s 1954 novel The Caves of Steel in the ’70s. Published not long after Second Foundation, on the surface it’s a very different story. I may have re-read at some point, reading now I was immediately struck by how developed Asimov’s writing style had become. Yes, it’s punctuated with amusing ideas on calculating machines and references to pipe-smoking, but that aside there’s … Continue reading The Caves of Steel — some thoughts
With AI being the news topic of the moment, I thought I’d ask ChatGPT for its definition of science fiction. Its ‘view’ of what exactly is science fiction might well inform my own musings. ChatGPT defines science fiction Science fiction, often abbreviated as “sci-fi,” is a genre of speculative fiction that explores imaginative and futuristic concepts that are often based on scientific principles, discoveries, or … Continue reading AI defines science fiction #weisf
Over the course of decades, Isaac Asimov wrote a lot of short stories, many (but far from all) on the them of robots. There are various collection, in this article I’m talking about I, Robot and The Rest of the Robots. Despite the second title, there are many other robot stories (short and long) in various places, including The Complete Robot and The Bicentennial Man. … Continue reading I, Robot and The Rest of the Robots — some thoughts
As season 2 of Foundation makes its way towards the end game (AKA Seldon Crisis resolution), I’m still enjoying it as a whole, while not being convinced by other threads. Let’s dig into A Necessary Death a little deeper… Necessary Death(s?) — The main threads The key story elements are (of course) beginning to intertwine strongly, so I’ll change my normal three pronged analysis. Foundation … Continue reading Foundation S2:07 A Necessary Death — some thoughts
After a gap of several decades (getting on for forty years), Isaac Asimov returned to the Foundation saga he’d created in the ’40s with Foundation’s Edge in the early ’80s. It was such a success he followed it with Foundation & Earth. While these follow (and mostly close) the Foundation trilogy, it didn’t stop Asimov bulking out the saga with more novels set earlier in … Continue reading Foundation’s End — thoughts on the two closing Asimov novels
Season 2 of Foundation is gaining pace (in some quarters), so it’s nice to see recently resurrected Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) take some time to go fishing and chat to Salvor (Leah Harvey). Before I continue, hats off to The Digital Fix for the title of their review — You can’t Hari love. They rate the episode highly, so you may wish to compare with … Continue reading Foundation S2:06 Why the Gods Made Wine — some thoughts
I don’t precisely know why, but the latest episode of Foundation season 2 may just be my favourite. Storytelling was a little more focused and there are stark differences from the Isaac Asimov novels, but as a piece of science fiction TV it worked for me. Let’s dig in. The episode as a whole I said focus, and while the action covers most (but not … Continue reading Foundation S2:04 Where the Stars are Scattered Thinly — some thoughts
Prompted by the TV series, I’ve been rereading Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation). For context, I read them a few times in the ’70s and early ’80s, the latter when Asimov revisited the series and extended it into part of a magnum opus. Back to the 21st century, I’ll talk about their antiquity, most obvious flaws and ponder their eternal … Continue reading The Foundation Trilogy — some thoughts
Showing the future is fraught with problems. Whatever your grand ideas, vision and insight, you will always get something wrong. Some films / TV does a better job than others (eg Blade Runner, the first Cyberpunk novels), some gets it wrong. Very wrong. Who can watch any science fiction film with spinning tapes showing computers at work (and smoke, paper tape…) without a smile. Sometimes … Continue reading Zeerust — don’t depict the future!
I finished episode 3 of Foundation season 2 a few hours ago. My first reaction was along the lines of WTF is going on? I’ve let the reaction subside, mulled a bit (had a cup of tea) and have a more measured response. Spoilers follow. The episode as a whole After last week’s big ending (for Terminus dwellers at least, and Salvor ‘I die in … Continue reading Foundation S2:03 King and Commoner — some thoughts
I wasn’t compelled by the first episode of Foundation season 2, but today’s A Glimpse of Darkness more than made up for it. It brought action, development, intrigue and a massive dose of authenticity (see later) to the series. I really rather liked it! I won’t give all the cast names, most of the regulars are named in the first episode review, I’ll just name … Continue reading Foundation S2:02 A Glimpse of Darkness — some thoughts
Symmetry Junction 