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seldonsplan's review against another edition
3.0
Decent. Not the best, but there are a few pretty strong stories mixed in there.
alyhowell's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
diargiron's review against another edition
2.0
Venía de leer a Ted Chiang y a Ken Liu y me voy de bruces con este libro de 1957 si no me falla la memoria. Creo que fue un error pero no creo que haya cambiado tanto mi opinion general, tal vez sí mi experiencia lectora, pero he estado reflexionando un poco sobre lo que este libro me significó y solo puedo pensar en una cosa: boomer. Este libro es boomer en el buen y mal sentido. En el malo, porque las mujeres son ausentes, vacias (a excepcion del cuento de Satisfacción Garantizada, que de hecho fue de los que mas me gusto), obstáculos por ignorantes o entrometidas o histéricas o sentimentales, meras secretarias o esposas que se quejan, se asustan. Incluso está el chiste clasico donde un patriarca inclemente tiene un unico temor que es, quién si no, su esposa. Tiene varias fábulas tecnofobas de libro bueno/celular malo, pero de la epoca donde no habia celulares, claro está. No se si debido a su extension o es una caracteristica propia de sus contemporaneos, se me hicieron poco trabajados, incompletos, siempre tenía esa sensacion de "¿Y ya?". No dejo de pensar que si hubiera leido estos cuentos en una epoca anterior a la television de plasma me habría maravillado como se supone hicieron estos cuentos, pues Asimov no es un referente por nada. Veo en varios de ellos ideas espontaneas y de sincera maravilla, pero, igual que me pasa con Julio Verne, siento que quedaron o al menos para mí, obsoletas. Me gustaria quedarme con la lectura de este libro como una "introduccion a la historia de la ciencia ficcion", sobre todo porque yo recuerdo haber leido a asimov en la secundaria y recuerdo varias de sus historias con cariño y fascinacion y esa fascinación fue en parte la que me hizo tomarle gusto a la ciencia como fuente de maravilla y no solo de rigurosos procedimientos y datos. Por esto mismo seguiré leyendo y redescubriendo, tal vez me proponga leer su obra narrativa en cuanto a la ciencia ficción se refiere.
abbylaceyxoxo's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
weaselweader's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful collection of Asimov's short stories
Earth is Room Enough is an anthology of Asimov's early short stories centered on the theme that anything can and probably will happen right here on earth. It's likely that Asimov and his editors probably had their collective tongues firmly planted in their cheeks and grins on their faces when they tweaked the noses of Asimov's contemporary authors by proving that you didn't need rocket ships and space opera to write great science fiction.
While he didn't wander too far from home in terms of setting, Asimov used his fertile imagination and probing intellect to weave stories that will touch you in a wide variety of ways. Like all good SF authors, Asimov used his craft to question government, human emotions and fears, our development of and reliance on technology, humour and imagination.
Perhaps a couple of examples will serve to whet the appetite of those who have yet to savour Asimov's talent! What collection of Asimov's short stories would be complete without at least one from his vast repertoire of Susan Calvin's robots? The Dead Past, like most of the stories he wove around his famous three laws of robotics, is a clever logic puzzle but it also probes deeply into the human psyche and our potential interactions with robots. Asimov's Multivac, a computer character he returned to over and over again in an enormous variety of stories, appeared in Jokester", a clever tale that probes the very nature of humour and Franchise, which takes a very well-aimed poke at political pundits and pollsters. The Immortal Bard, undoubtedly drawn from Asimov's well-documented non-fictional study of Shakespeare, is a clever jibe at our modern interpretation of this master playwright's work. And on and on it goes ...
For those that have yet to sample science fiction in general or Asimov's work in particular, this would be a fine place to start. Intellectual, thought-provoking, and deeply questioning yet humorous and lightweight enough to be entirely unintimidating! Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Earth is Room Enough is an anthology of Asimov's early short stories centered on the theme that anything can and probably will happen right here on earth. It's likely that Asimov and his editors probably had their collective tongues firmly planted in their cheeks and grins on their faces when they tweaked the noses of Asimov's contemporary authors by proving that you didn't need rocket ships and space opera to write great science fiction.
While he didn't wander too far from home in terms of setting, Asimov used his fertile imagination and probing intellect to weave stories that will touch you in a wide variety of ways. Like all good SF authors, Asimov used his craft to question government, human emotions and fears, our development of and reliance on technology, humour and imagination.
Perhaps a couple of examples will serve to whet the appetite of those who have yet to savour Asimov's talent! What collection of Asimov's short stories would be complete without at least one from his vast repertoire of Susan Calvin's robots? The Dead Past, like most of the stories he wove around his famous three laws of robotics, is a clever logic puzzle but it also probes deeply into the human psyche and our potential interactions with robots. Asimov's Multivac, a computer character he returned to over and over again in an enormous variety of stories, appeared in Jokester", a clever tale that probes the very nature of humour and Franchise, which takes a very well-aimed poke at political pundits and pollsters. The Immortal Bard, undoubtedly drawn from Asimov's well-documented non-fictional study of Shakespeare, is a clever jibe at our modern interpretation of this master playwright's work. And on and on it goes ...
For those that have yet to sample science fiction in general or Asimov's work in particular, this would be a fine place to start. Intellectual, thought-provoking, and deeply questioning yet humorous and lightweight enough to be entirely unintimidating! Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
beyonator's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
cthulhussy's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
sonofthunder's review against another edition
3.0
I must confess I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I usually enjoy Asimov. Part of the reason may be because some of these stories I've read before, so they they didn't have the fresh new feel I was hoping for. But none of these stories really stood out to me. Standard mix of robot/computer/future themes...some quite good, really. Asimov, even at his worst, is quite serviceable and so I definitely did enjoy these stories, don't get me wrong! Good bedtime reading, and I always enjoy old books because they shine a light on how people thought and wrote back in the day. I will say my favourite parts of this book (very unexpectedly) were his poems set to Gilbert & Sullivan. Enlightening as to what makes Asimov tick...and quite genuinely humorous as well.