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.