ted@usceast.UUCP (Ted Nolan) (11/10/84)
In article <353@mhuxt.UUCP> js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag) writes: > >Jeff Sonntag >ihnp4!mhuxl!mhuxt!js2j > >p.s. For extra credit, what was the name of the robot who became a man, the > name of the book, and the year in which it occured? I beleive it was in 2076 and the robots name was something Martin (he is mentioned in the Robots of Dawn) . I think the book was The Bicentenial Man. I've noticed that in his most recent 2 SF books Asimov is starting to tie a large body of his work into one universe. In _Foundations Edge_ he brings in the robots (and why there are no more) and "eternity" from _The End of Eternity_ and the planet from "Misbegotten Missionary" . In _The Robots of Dawn_, he shows the robots making the decision that they are bad for humanity and tells why the second wave of outmigration from Earth leaves the Spacer worlds alone and forgotten by the time of the First Empire. What I want to know is how he will explain the Earth's becoming radioactive. It is not so in Bayley's time, but it is in _The Stars Like Dust_ (which takes place before the First Empire, but after the settlement of Trantor) Any ideas? And for that matter, why the compulsion to tie everything together. (And where does _Pebble in the Sky_ go ,if anywhere? (Wasn't the snaypsifer mentioned in _Foundations Edge_ ? ) ) Ted Nolan ..usceast!ted -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ted Nolan ...decvax!mcnc!ncsu!ncrcae!usceast!ted 6536 Brookside Circle ...akgua!usceast!ted Columbia, SC 29206 ("Deep space is my dwelling place, the stars my destination") -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jagardner@watmath.UUCP (jagardner) (11/15/84)
One of the great strengths and weaknesses of SF is how much it is a literature of ideas. Of course there are many authors who also handle character, plot, and language well, but there are a large number of SF writers who simply come up with interesting ideas and write cardboard characters and plots as an excuse to present the ideas. Given this, tie-ins make a good deal more sense in SF than in many other genres. When a book is written in some other genre, it follows a character or a story and ends when the character has passed some significant turning point or when the story comes to an end. In SF, on the other hand, things aren't so cleanly tied off. Characters may die or pass their turning point, and stories may end, but the ideas go on. They also go on percolating in the author's mind and also in the minds of fans who may suggest new ideas to the author. At any rate, the ideas spawn new ideas and eventually one gets spin-off novels and stories. It doesn't hurt that the SF-buying public encourages this trend by clamouring for sequels and by gobbling up books that are related to previous scenarios. Furthermore, there is the pure intellectual challenge of tying a set of ideas together. This makes for a sort of meta-idea that appeals greatly to the average SF writer. Remember that SF writers often have strong science backgrounds and that one of the foremost goals of scientists is to tie a large number of observations together into a single simple system. The same impulse leads writers to strive to tie everything together into one glorious consistency. Most readers (me included) also enjoy this tying together, even though it's annoying if you haven't read all the preceding books. To paraphrase Hannibal on the A-Team, "I love it when a universe comes together." . Jim Gardner, UW Software Development Group .
mikey@trsvax.UUCP (11/29/84)
Remember Bel Aarvdin (sp???), the explorer in Pebble in the Sky? He is mentioned in the original Foundation, as being a supporter of SOL for the "Owigin Qwestion". mikey at trsvax