Nightfall and Other Stories (Crest Science Fiction, P1969)

I resisted the temptation to base a story slavishly on the present until I could think of a way to do so without making myself a minion of the headlines and of topicality. I wanted to write a story that would deal with the things of tomorrow without becoming outdated the day after tomorrow.

Based on his famous novel I, Robot, I was convinced that science fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence. However, most stories in the collection Nightfall and Other Stories focus more on biology or psychology than on technology. Asimov explores various life forms, behaviour analysis, and endocrinology (the study of hormones) to reflect on humanity from fresh perspectives. While I didn’t enjoy every story, I am in awe of Asimov’s cleverness and creativity in crafting stories that remain relevant more than half a century later.

The highlight of the collection is undoubtedly the title story, where a group of scientists on the planet Lagash, where the suns never set, brace themselves for the end of civilisation brought about by an eclipse that will plunge the planet into temporary darkness – a phenomenon for which the planet is woefully unprepared. After reading it, I now understand why the author served as an inspiration for Cixin Liu (Death's End). The collection features other intriguing stories, such as: ・ Hostess: extraterrestrial visitor causes tension between a biologist and her husband; ・ In a Good Cause: two old friends take opposing paths regarding their views on the intergalactic future; ・ Strikebreaker: set on a planet where all waste, including corpses, is recycled, one individual bears the burden of society by handling its excrement, making him an ‘untouchable’; and ・ The Up-to-date Sorcerer: a professor uses a ‘love potion’ at the students’ end-of-year ball.

Asimov raises interesting questions about seemingly basic physical, chemical and biological concepts. From a literary perspective, however, I had some reservations. The stories are not always convincing or even coherent, and some are difficult to get through. While Asimov is a master at envisioning the future, the zeitgeist of the 1940s and 1950s is never far away, particularly in The Up-to-date Sorcerer, where the cultural institution of marriage supersedes the biological merits of hormones.

After so many short stories, I am happy to continue my yearly ‘SF Summer Streak’ with a longer novel, The Martian by Andy Weir.

I grew up reading lots of Asimov, mostly Robot, Foundation, and Lucky Starr books. I haven't read much from him since. So it was nostalgic reading these short stories. They are not associated with his big works, but they may represent his overall approach.

I'm surprised how much he doesn't care about aspects that are pillars of many science fiction novels. He doesn't care about world-building, characters, or drama. I don't think he cares much about a good story. His presentation is bland, never feeling either serious or entertaining. (He tries for humor in one of the included short stories, but it didn't work for me. With humor and a lot of other things, the 5-6 decades between us are an obstacle.)

What I think he cares a lot about is interesting ideas. And the way he examines ideas is always through how people would react to these fanciful new things. (Like self-driving cars, which is really interesting to read about in a 1952 short story today.) Ultimately he seems to care more about the reactions than the ideas. He never tries to work out scientific details or give reasons. The sci-fi stuff just pops up, like in a fairy tale. This feels strange now, because most of the sci-fi I read is more technical and cares more about the these things (rockets, aliens, cosmology, etc). But of course I don't want to criticize Asimov for it — this is probably one of the things that made him so successful after all.