Isaac Asimov

In the "Foundation and Robots" segment, you're forgetting to use proper emphasis for titles (books like The Complete Robot should be italicized). The very last sentence is missing an article, "The Foundation stories flip it, concerned with the control of humans themselves, by the perhaps not very human Seldon Plan."

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Monthly recap, what did I upload?

Dec 05: "Does a Bee Care?" (updated)
Dec 06: Philosophy and Science Fiction
Dec 12: Super-Science Fiction
Dec 13: Words of Science and the History Behind Them
Dec 19: Analog (updated)
Dec 20: Recap.Analog, Recap.Analog 1930
Dec 26: Recap.Analog 1931, Recap.Analog 1941
Dec 27: Dimension X (updated), Recap.Dimension X

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I've run out of my short fiction and novel buffer, so I'm dipping into the Analog/Astounding buffer earlier than I had planned to. On the other hand, I'm close enough to finishing Pebble in the Sky that I can upload it for his birthday, which was the limiting factor on when I was ready to ready to upload Dimension X pages. Because of that, January uploads will feature a mix of Dimension X and Astounding articles, which will hopefully give me time to build a buffer of one or two anthology books, putting me ahead of the curve again. You'll probably notice that some of the days I uploaded more than one page. I don't usually count the Recap subpage (like how Recap.Dimension X isn't really counted) as part of the project because it doesn't list tropes, but Long-Runners are a bit of an exception due to the sheer number of pages that they will feature. So Recap.Analog 1930 and Recap.Analog 1931 were uploaded to feature tropes from the magazine, while the recap index and Recap.Analog 1941 are officially part of the project.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

A few things, in order:

1) Thanks for the catch! Can't see how I didn't spot the missing 'the'.

2) For the Analog recaps that you've been doing - it seems to be possible to 'fill out', so to speak, most of the early years, just by referring to ISFDB, leaving common tropes for later editors. It seems that this method would be able to get through vast swathes of pages, but it does seem, I don't know, scummy?

3) I was looking through my old downloaded comics when a name stood out to me - 'Asimov'! It's a comic called Isaac Asimov's I-Bots. If I'm not wrong, the writers got Asimov to approve a script or something. Should we add this to your project?

I would put Neal Stephenson's quote from Cryptonomicon on Internet arguments here, but there's too little space to put it here.

1. YW!
2. I rely on the ISFDB for plenty of information, but for the magazines I've found a place to actually read the really old issues. That's why some of the recap pages are citing page numbers.
3. 

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

No, I mean this:

https://www.amazon.com/I80%A2Bots-Isaac-Asimovs-Tekno-comic/dp/B07661LQF4

I would put Neal Stephenson's quote from Cryptonomicon on Internet arguments here, but there's too little space to put it here.

It's a 1995 comic book series by the now-defunct Tekno Comix, and supposedly the writers got an original concept from Asimov, and turned it into a script. And apparently the Good Doctor approved the first script. The company seems to have been doing it with others like Neil Gaiman.

Apparently, at parts it's an acceptable/okay pastiche of Asimov, but regrettably infected with the worst bits of 90s comic books. Not very cerebral. I wonder if we should add it to the main page: Isaac Asimov's I-Bots. Would that fit?

I would put Neal Stephenson's quote from Cryptonomicon on Internet arguments here, but there's too little space to put it here.

Also, I was thinking that I might be able to help you along by, with a free hour or two, barrel through a few years of Analog, sorta helping build the foundation, to which you can add details you've gotten reading it. Would be a better use of my time than my usual, honestly.

I would put Neal Stephenson's quote from Cryptonomicon on Internet arguments here, but there's too little space to put it here.

Tekno Comix was an independent comic publisher in the Mid-90s who specialized in having big-name creators write up a two-page outline for a comic series and then hand it off to their own stable of writers and artists to work from it. Some of the names included Leonard Nimoy, Mickey Spillane, Neil Gaiman, and even an idea by Gene Roddenberry. The company folded in 1997 after only two years of publishing, but during their lifetime they loved to splash the names of their initial creator across the top of their books in order to get some attention from the comic readers.

But things are a bit murky with today’s subject. While some of the other creators listed I can find proof positive of their involvement with the projects they did, I can find no evidence that Isaac Asimov had any ideas of what we’re seeing here, be they for a comic book or not. It’s not even mentioned on his Wikipedia page (whereas both Neil Gaiman and Gene Roddenberry’s contributions have been listed on their pages). As such, I’m afraid it makes me fearful that while the creators of the comic may have had the best of intentions of honoring the memory of the late Isaac Asimov, it just comes off either as plagiarism (if he really had ideas about this) or just plain exploitive of the dead.

Admittedly, the comic itself isn’t as bad as others that we’ve seen on this site. It’s even penciled by George Pérez (yes, Crisis on Infinite Earths George Pérez). It’s sure as hell no All-Star Batman and Robin, but it just seems goofy in its embrace of THE FUTURE! and there are plenty of small dumb things abounding. Like most #1 issues of comics, it tends to fail in its aspects of really wanting to draw the reader back, since we learn very little about the world of the book or about the characters besides for a vague inkling of their personalities.

[...]

Foundation, eat your heart out – there’s a new greatest Isaac Asimov work! And he didn’t even write it!

- http://atopthefourthwall.com/isaac-asimovs-ibots-1/

I would put Neal Stephenson's quote from Cryptonomicon on Internet arguments here, but there's too little space to put it here.

They're part of the same franchise. Check out editor James Chambers and character Zachary Robillard. I'll need to read more to determine how many articles I'd want to make, but it's the same guy in charge with the same characters.

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If you want to create Analog pages for more of the 1930s, go ahead. I'm not planning on making a recap for every year, but it should be easy enough for other editors to pick up where I leave off. I'm mostly aiming at years where Dr Asimov published something in the magazine.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Jan 02: Pebble in the Sky
Jan 03: Recap.Dimension X 31 Universe, Recap.Dimension X 37 Pebble In The Sky
Jan 09: Recap.Dimension X 40 Dwellers In Silence, Recap.Dimension X 50 Nightfall
Jan 10: Recap.Analog 1939
Jan 16: X Minus One (update)
Jan 17: Recap.X Minus One, Recap.X Minus One E 028 Nightfall
Jan 23: Recap.Analog 1940
Jan 24: Recap.Analog 1942
Jan 30: Recap.X Minus One E 037 The C Chute
Jan 31: Recap.X Minus One E 079 Hostess

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I'm really behind; the last three pages aren't even up at the time of this post. I'm going back to the once-a-week uploads, generally on Saturdays. I need to rebuild the buffer and will probably not change my rate again until I have a lot more ready to just post. Since last month, I've picked up a couple new books and gotten busy with other projects. I will catch up to what I've already done, and will hopefully have at least one article in my buffer by the end of February.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

"According to the publication, the first season of Foundation will consist of 10 episodes and is due to land in "Autumn 2021", which would place it roughly within the last three months of this year. Those initial 10 episodes are just the tip of the iceberg, however, with Lovin Malta reporting that current plans include an impressive 80 episodes in total."

- https://www.techradar.com/news/apples-adaptation-of-asimovs-foundation-series-gets-a-launch-date

Seems legit?

I would put Neal Stephenson's quote from Cryptonomicon on Internet arguments here, but there's too little space to put it here.

Yeah, Series.Foundation is up. New update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nJ3rBpQFV4

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Silly question, but, how is your quest going? Is there anything interesting that has come up in your quest to trope every Asimov book in existence?

I would put Neal Stephenson's quote from Cryptonomicon on Internet arguments here, but there's too little space to put it here.

A few things have been pretty interesting, but I'd been rather lax on pursuing the update since being promoted to moderator. I recently acquired one of his limerick books (the one on Sherlock Holmes). I'll see what I can do to get back to weekly updates this month. I'm most interested in writing up the magazines and the Galactic Empire trilogy. Golden Age fun!

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Interestingly, Isaac Asimov refers to Blind Alley as a Foundation story in his autobiography. I'll fish out the reference later. And Bayta was based on his first wife. The things I've learnt reading In Memory Yet Green

I would put Neal Stephenson's quote from Cryptonomicon on Internet arguments here, but there's too little space to put it here.

This shows that "Blind Alley" wasn't intentionally part of either series, and the aliens are not mentioned in any of The Empire Novels, so the connection is therefore Canon Welding; retroactively added to the canon. The only story that welds it to canon appears to be from The Second Foundation Trilogy, so I'm looking forward to getting to that part.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Since In Memory Yet Green was written after The Early Asimov, it makes sense to default to it if there's any conflict.

I would put Neal Stephenson's quote from Cryptonomicon on Internet arguments here, but there's too little space to put it here.

Eh? Why is the later version of his memory better than the earlier version of his memory?

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Asimov said that for the autobiographies he reread his diaries in full. For earlier works, he was just working from memory.

New Foundation trailer.

Didn't get a response on the Isaac Asimov discussion page, so posting here:

I propose that wicks to The Empire Novels (currently a redlink) be changed to Galactic Empire Series, as the books have been republished with "The Galactic Empire Series" on the covers [1] and it seems to be a more common name for the series overall.

The reason why I made it at Literature.The Empire Novels is because it was actually published in an Omnibus format by that name. [Link]

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

It took a while, but I've finished Isaac Asimov Books In Order. How good of an idea would it be to implement it as Recap.Isaac Asimov?

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup

Just finished Foundation and Empire. I think I like this second book a lot better than the first; if nothing else I think the Mule makes for a much more interesting and threatening antagonist than the previous ones, especially with the Twist Ending.

Glad you enjoyed it! I really must be alone in preferring the first book and first half of the sequel. The Mule and the twist are extremely cool, but making room for them necessarily slows down the pace. The speedy clip of the first book and a half as we jump through eras of Foundation History is very fun, and I wouldn’t have minded if that had been maintained to get us through the thousand year plan.

Not sure that could’ve worked, since the Ancient Rome in Space template would’ve eventually run out of Rome to copy, alas.

I like talking to friends about stories over food.

A lot of the page descriptions for Foundation Series works are plot recaps (which go in Recap/) rather than synopses. "The Mule"'s is so long, it's in folders, and Foundation's Edge has a spoiler tag in it, which goes against Handling Spoilers. I'd fix the latter myself, but I haven't read the book yet.