Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection

by Isaac Asimov, Orson Scott Card (Introduction)

Gold is the final and crowning achievement of the fifty-year career of science fiction's transcendent genius, the world-famous author who defined the field of science fiction for its practitioners, its millions of readers, and the world at large.

The first section contains stories that range from the humorous to the profound, at the heart of which is the title story, "Gold," a moving and revealing drama about a writer who gambles everything on a chance at immortality: a gamble Asimov himself made -- and won. The second section contains the grand master's ruminations on the SF genre itself. And the final section is comprised of Asimov's thoughts on the craft and writing of science fiction.

The first book of the definitive three-volume collection of short stories by the prolific Isaac Asimov, whose tales have delighted countless fans for over half a century--a must for every science fiction bookshelf.

I, Robot (Robot 0.1)

The three laws of Robotics:

1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm

2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.

Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov's trademark.

Contents:

· I Just Make Them Up, See!

· Rejection Slips

· Profession

· The Feeling of Power

· The Dying Night

· I’m in Marsport Without Hilda

· The Gentle Vultures

· All the Troubles of the World

· Spell My Name with an S

· The Last Question

· The Ugly Little Boy [“Lastborn”]

Andrew was one of Earth's first house robot domestic servants—smoothly designed and functional. But when Andrew started to develop special talents which exceeded the confines of his allotted positronic pathways, he abandoned his domestic duties in favour of more intellectual pursuits. As time passed, Andrew acquired knowledge, feelings and ambitions way beyond anything ever experienced by any other mechanical men. And he found himself launched on to a career which would bring him fame fortune—and danger. For a robot who wants to be human must also be prepared to die...

In the Bicentennial Man, Isaac Asimov returns to his first and most enduring love—robotics. The result is a brilliant book of first-class entertainment and mind-spinning ideas which confirm Asimov's supreme status as Grand Master of science fiction.

DOOMED PLANET They called him 'Crazy Rik' - but only he knew that the planet was doomed with all its people. The only key to the vital information that could save it was locked in the subconscious memory of this strange, child-minded man...a memory obliterated by a psychic probe!

Deep within Russia, would-renowned scientist Pyotor Shapirov lies in a coma. Locked within his brain rests the key to the greatest scientific advance in the world's history. Only one scientist can hope to locate this secret—Dr. Albert Jonas Morrison, an American. Morrison's mission: to be miniaturized to molecular size along with a team of four Soviet scientists, travel in a specially designed submarine to the dying Shapirov's brain, and tap the secrets held there. Morrison and his companions have only twelve hours to accomplish their task—in the face of unexpected terrors and with their own lives hanging precariously in the balance.

With his phenomenal two-million-copy bestseller Fantastic Voyage, Isaac Asimov took the world on its first amazing journey into the human body. Now, twenty year later, after deeper exploration into one of the most fascinating areas of science, Dr. Asimov delivers an all-new thriller that transports you to the far reaches of inner space. Electrifying, astonishing, and remarkably realistic, this new novel is certain to become a science fiction classic.