The Occasional Solipsist

One of my all time favourite authors is the unabashed atheist, humanist and rationalist, Isaac Asimov. From his short story Nightfall, to the Foundation books, to all of the combined stories which defined and explored the Laws of Robotics, Asimov was a masterful storyteller.

I would go so far as to say that the genre of science fiction, as brought to life by comics, tv, movies and literature owes a huge debt to this author, whose works broke trail that many writers, talented and not-so alike, have followed. And if I ever complete anything that can then someday be published I will most definitely fall into the 'not-so' camp, and that's okay by me. I accept who I am.

I recently came across a short story of Asimov's that I had somehow missed, and notwithstanding the author's own paternal pride for this particular work, instantly fell in love with it. I highly recommend you take a few minutes to read it. It's a really good story.

Here is Asimov's best work The Last Question, selected from literally thousands of his own writings. In his own words it is 'by far my favorite story of all those I have written'.

I have mirrored the file here, in case the link above stops working. Entropy, you understand. Well maybe you don't. But you will after reading the story.

Labels: books, scifi