Black Widowers, Tales of the

by Lacey Kat
This work is copyrighted by the author (c)2003


Isaac Asimov was an author.

By that I mean he wrote.

By that I mean that he wrote a lot, about a lot, covering a lot. He also wrote in a lot of different fields. He is known to general the public for his science fiction, and justifiably so. However of the more than 400 books Asimov wrote or edited, very few were science fiction. The others covered everything from animals of the Bible to Gilbert & Sullivan, to American and World history, to myths and mythology, and mysteries.

Actually, mysteries were a staple of the Asimovian stable. He was reading mysteries almost as long as he read science fiction. His father owned a candy store and, in those days, candy stores also had magazine racks. When he could, Isaac stole away and read the pulp and dime novels that stood on the store shelf. Two of his early novels, "Caves of Steel," and "Naked Sun," were full-fledged murder mysteries, as well as good science fiction.

"Tales of the Black Widowers" is the first collection of short mysteries Asimov originally wrote for "Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine" from January 1972, to September 1973. It also contains three original stories written just for this book. Each story contains a short afterword highlighting important facts about the story (original title, published title, etc.) as well as the genesis of the ideas presented.

The stories all revolve around a group of educated gentlemen who meet once a month for the sake of comradery, conversation, and culinary delight. These men (no women are allowed) call themselves the "Black Widowers." Each month one of the members plays host and brings a guest he feels the others will find interesting. And that is where the mysteries come in. The guest usually has a problem that cannot be solved. Over dinner, dessert, and brandy, the "Black Widowers" question the guest, argue amongst themselves and add their own personal expertise to the problem de jour. In the end, it is the waiter, Henry, who sees something the educated men have missed and solves the problem.

A word of warning to mystery buffs. These are not your typical "two-minute mysteries." You, the reader, are not always presented with all of the pertinent facts before the solution is revealed. You are pointed in the right direction, but often Asimov feels there are things you should already know (the original meaning of Episcopalian, and how it relates to Lewis Carroll, for example). Asimov never wrote down to his audience, and a mystery purest may feel he is not playing fair. These are also all "armchair" mysteries. Intellectual problems solved in the tradition of Nero Wolfe. There are no tough guys, hot dames, muscle with rods, or Maltese Falcons.

What Asimov presents are intelligent conversation, good, but not always well defined, characters, a nice mystery, all presented in twelve pages. He shows the value of an education, but also pokes fun at pompous intellectuals. In the end, it is the quiet man who sees the answer. The man who wears his talents as he wears a watch. For his own use, not for showy display.

Mystery aficionados may find this collection weak. However those who enjoy good writing will enjoy this book as a light diversion, and worth their time. It is currently out of print, but easy enough to find on used book sites and Amazon.com.

The Early Asimov

by Lacey Kat
This work is copyrighted by the author (c)2003

Before Asimov finally sat down and wrote his autobiographies, "In Memories Yet Green", and, "In Joy Still Felt", he skirted the job by producing three volumes of his stories bracketed with biographical information. These were, "Before the Golden Age," "Buy Jupiter and Other Stories," and subject of this review, "The Early Asimov." 

"The Early Asimov" is a collection of the first stories that Isaac sold to pulp magazines of the nineteen thirties and early forties. These are stories that have not been published in any of Asimov's other collections. They are not his best work, nor his worst. They are a response to the numerous letters Asimov received asking for complete lists of his published work and the stories behind them. 

The book opens with an explanation of its origin and as brief a biography as needed to bring the reader up to speed as to how the first story was sold. It refers to Asimov's first written effort for publication, "Cosmic Corkscrew," and his first meeting with John Campbell, the man most responsible for Asimov becoming more than the most popular teacher at the Boston University School of Medicine. It does not contain "Cosmic Corkscrew," unfortunately, for that effort is lost to the dustbins of history. It does start with the second story Asimov ever wrote and the first to see professional publication, "The Callistan Menace." 

The stories are arranged not in order of publication, but in the order they were written. The reason given, and I have no reason to doubt it, is that this is a more accurate view of Asimov's literary development. Also, many stories were written and accepted by different magazines of the time, and they had different publishing schedules. Some stories were sold and published in a few months, others were delayed in publication for a year or more, while some were sold to magazines that folded, and had to be resold to other magazines. 

These are Asimov's early efforts and the quality is not up to the standards we expect from the master. It is interesting to see the early development of ideas that became Asimov standards. In the "Black Friar of the Flame," we see earth, subjugate by ooff-worlders rising in revolt, as would later happen in Asimov's first book-length novel, "Pebble in the Sky." We also see a galactic civilization that would later fill out the "Foundation" series. There are also a few stories involving alien life forms in close contact with humans. Something Asimov abandoned for a "human only" universe. 

Of the three books in this biographical series I found "The Early Asimov" to be the least appealing. I don't think Asimov had yet formulated the idea of literary biography so the additional information is dry and to the point. There are few personal details that flesh out the stories in his other two books and if he had re-released this volume, after "Buy Jupiter," I am sure he would have changed the biographical information. 


The stories are good, even for early efforts. The peek into the life of a young author are worth the cost of the book and should be mandatory for any budding writer to study. We all want to be successful authors, the real world often has other ideas. Asimov politely shows how hard the publishing world can be. This is an education you do not always get in Composition 101. 

Asimov on Science Fiction

by Lacey Kat
This work is copyrighted by the author (c)2003

One of the advantages of being a prolific writer is, that given enough time, you will have written something about everything. Then if someone comes to you and says, "we need a book on 14th-century drink coasters," all you have to do is go through your files and pull the appropriate past works.

In the late 70's Isaac Asimov, already a prolific writer and noted author of Science Fiction, had written about a very large host of subjects (though not 14th-century drink coasters). One subject that was remarkably absent from his list of works was a book about science fiction. Not that he had never written about science fiction. In fact, though a series of essays in a number of magazines, Asimov had written extensively on the subject. It just never occurred to him to assemble these wayward musings into one central location.

Fortunately, for those of us in the reading public, Asimov had a good friend and business associate named Martin H. Greenberg. It was he who suggested that the good doctor put together a group of essays that would make a book that could be called "Asimov on Science Fiction." 

This is an entertaining and educational collection of fifty-five essays on almost all factions of science fiction. It is divided into eight sections that separate the field into areas such as "Science Fiction in General," "Writing of Science Fiction," "History of Science Fiction," along with sections on Science Fiction Writers, fans, reviews, and finally Science Fiction and Asimov himself. 

Some of the essays are a bit dated, and some originally had references which only made sense in the context of the place of publication. Fortunately, Asimov, as he was wont to do, recognized this minor problem and included prologs and afterwards to help smooth out any of these rough edges. 

Any science fiction fan should take the time to read this collection. Not only does it include a brief history of the genre, but suggestions on becoming a writer, a look at the giants of the field, a look at the "current" state of the art, and reviews of "Star Trek," "Star Wars," (which he liked), and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (which he did not). There is also an extensive review of George Orwell’s "1984." Asimov answers the question, "what makes good science fiction," why he and Hollywood have never connected, and why you may not wish to become a prolific writer. As with most collections of Asimov essays, this work is an education well worth the cost of the book.


Published in 1981 by Doubleday & Company, it is currently out of print but can be found on most used books sites that deal with science fiction in general, and Asimov in particular.