Asimov on Jupiter Response

by Dylan
(Illinois, Wisconsin)

I have made my admiration of old Isaac known on this site before, and so am pleased to see him get a page devoted to his works! What's more, the page covers two stories I've yet to read, so the preview it provided was enticing!

Zendexor is unfortunately correct that Asimov mostly focused on space and distant stars, and didn't provide much in the way of material for this site. He didn't entirely neglect the Solar System, however. I have compiled a list of every Asimovian OSS story I know of. Most are short stories, but a few are novels.

The Sun
-Ring Around the Sun (I include this one because the story involves a journey to an inhabited Venus.)

Mercury
-Runaround
-Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury

Venus
-The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use (Fecund Venus)
-Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus (Ocean Venus)

Earth
-History
-The Dying Night (A tidally-locked Mercury is involved in the plot.)

Luna
-The Singing Bell (included for its easy space travel and its shared setting with other, more clearly OSS stories.)
-The Key (Included for the same reasons as The Singing Bell.)

Mars
-Heredity
-David Starr, Space Ranger

The Asteroid Belt
-The Talking Stone
-Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the
Asteroids (Which, despite its accuracy, is set in an OSS universe.)

Jupiter
-Not Final!
-Victory Unintentional

The Jovian Moons
-Christmas on Ganymede
-The Callistan Menace
-Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter

The Saturnian Moons
-Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn

So you see, our tour of Asimov's Solar System isn't as empty as we may have feared. While he doesn't spend as much time there as other authors, he does give us a little romp that is fantastic while it lasts.



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Mar 25, 2016
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starstarstarstarstar 		Asimov and Alien Alcohol
by: Dylan

I'd agree, and even go so far as to say that any story involving Dr. Wendell Urth must be among my favorites! I may even prefer him to Elijah Baley, as far as Asimov's detectives go.

I debated putting "Marooned Off Vesta" on this list. There really isn't anything OSS about it, except for one small detail: The spacemen possess a bottle of Martian "Jabra" water. The name suggests an alien origin, although admittedly there isn't anything to PROVE it is brewed by indigenous Martians. Nonetheless, it's a good story worth mentioning.

Speaking of OSS alcohol, I recently encountered another interplanetary beverage, this one from Venus! It's called "Segir", and it's a favorite of Northwest Smith and his associate Yarol. I wonder what other alien spirits the OSS has to offer?

[Comment from Zendexor: Can't think of any OSS booze off-hand, but what you mention reminds me of the "hooloo scent" which Eric Frank Russell's Martians like to sniff. They do it ostensibly to mask the unpleasant odour of their Terrestrial crew-mates, but who knows, maybe they get a bit high on it as well.]
Mar 18, 2016
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		A favourite from the list
by: Zendexor

A handy list; some of the stories I know well, others not at all.

My favourite among them, I think, is "The Singing Bell", superb from a purely literary point of view and especially interesting for the way it gives vivid character to a "dead" Moon by virtue of a special mineralogical phenomenon; it just goes to show (as with the "marlionum" in Temple's "Shoot at the Moon") that not only life, but also weird forms of non-life, can make a story memorable.

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