Norby Through Time and Space
by Isaac Asimov, Janet Asimov
Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot (Collections and Selections — Omnibus 5-6)
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This YA series about Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot, was one of my favorite reads as a child, not to mention my introduction to Isaac Asimov (even if Janet actually did do all the writing). Occasionally, I come upon paperback versions in used bookstores that collect two of them together, and I snatch them up instantly. This one collects Norby and the Queen's Necklace (what I remembered as my favorite) and Norby Finds a Villain. It's excellent YA literature, with a decent breadth of imagination on display in just these two stories. Jeff and Norby and a variety of other characters find themselves in the near future, pre-Revolutionary France, Roman times, prehistoric times, far-future utopias, far-future dystopias, hyperspace, aberrant future show more versions of Mars, and dangerous alternate realities just within the confines of these two short tales! Norby himself is as fun as ever, and the supporting cast doesn't disappoint. The Queen's Necklace isn't quite as good as I remember (not all of the temporal shenanigans actually work out in the end), but it's solid fun, as is Finds a Villain. (originally written December 2007) show less
Lots of fun... for a naive child. I would have liked these when I was eight. Sort of - the first one had too much history in it, and even as a child I did not like stories about the French revolution, etc. The villain in the second is odd; maybe if I knew his backstory he would have made more sense. But it's a neat story anyway.
So, yeah, what the hey, if I run across more Norby at a thrift store or whatever, I'll read 'em. But I won't recommend them. Even to kids - there's a lot more awesome SF for kids nowadays. Iirc, the only juv. genre SF that is old like this that I would recommend would be stuff by [a:William Sleator|14004|William Sleator|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1206554364p2/14004.jpg].
... very mild spoilers below, not show more worth hiding imo but if you're terrifically fussy stop reading now...
The thing that always has frustrated me, since I started to love books five decades ago, is a *wrong* cover. If it's abstract, fine. But if it looks like a scene from the book, dammit, it better be accurate! And this is not. The necklace doesn't look anything like the one in the story, which is pretty and has diamonds and, plot point!, has tassels, not a clasp. And that green cat, Oola, is only in the other story... though she must be in previous Norby books and I'd like to get to know her better.
..... show less
So, yeah, what the hey, if I run across more Norby at a thrift store or whatever, I'll read 'em. But I won't recommend them. Even to kids - there's a lot more awesome SF for kids nowadays. Iirc, the only juv. genre SF that is old like this that I would recommend would be stuff by [a:William Sleator|14004|William Sleator|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1206554364p2/14004.jpg].
... very mild spoilers below, not show more worth hiding imo but if you're terrifically fussy stop reading now...
The thing that always has frustrated me, since I started to love books five decades ago, is a *wrong* cover. If it's abstract, fine. But if it looks like a scene from the book, dammit, it better be accurate! And this is not. The necklace doesn't look anything like the one in the story, which is pretty and has diamonds and, plot point!, has tassels, not a clasp. And that green cat, Oola, is only in the other story... though she must be in previous Norby books and I'd like to get to know her better.
..... show less
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2,400+ Works 292,944 Members
Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, on January 2, 1920. His family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they owned and operated a candy store. Asimov became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of eight. As a youngster he discovered his talent for writing, producing his first original fiction at show more the age of eleven. He went on to become one of the world's most prolific writers, publishing nearly 500 books in his lifetime. Asimov was not only a writer; he also was a biochemist and an educator. He studied chemistry at Columbia University, earning a B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. In 1951, Asimov accepted a position as an instructor of biochemistry at Boston University's School of Medicine even though he had no practical experience in the field. His exceptional intelligence enabled him to master new systems rapidly, and he soon became a successful and distinguished professor at Columbia and even co-authored a biochemistry textbook within a few years. Asimov won numerous awards and honors for his books and stories, and he is considered to be a leading writer of the Golden Age of science fiction. While he did not invent science fiction, he helped to legitimize it by adding the narrative structure that had been missing from the traditional science fiction books of the period. He also introduced several innovative concepts, including the thematic concern for technological progress and its impact on humanity. Asimov is probably best known for his Foundation series, which includes Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. In 1966, this trilogy won the Hugo award for best all-time science fiction series. In 1983, Asimov wrote an additional Foundation novel, Foundation's Edge, which won the Hugo for best novel of that year. Asimov also wrote a series of robot books that included I, Robot, and eventually he tied the two series together. He won three additional Hugos, including one awarded posthumously for the best non-fiction book of 1995, I. Asimov. "Nightfall" was chosen the best science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1979, Asimov wrote his autobiography, In Memory Yet Green. He continued writing until just a few years before his death from heart and kidney failure on April 6, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
34+ Works 2,706 Members
Janet Opal Jeppson Asimov was born on August 6, 1926. She received a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a medical degree from New York University Medical School. After completing a residency in psychiatry, she continued her education at the William Alanson White Institute of Psychoanalysis, where she accepted a job upon graduating. She show more was an author, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst. She wrote fiction and nonfiction books including The Second Experiment, The Last Immortal, Mind Transfer, and The Mysterious Cure and Other Stories of Pshrinks Anonymous. She and her husband Isaac Asimov wrote the Norby Chronicles series. She edited a selection of her husband's letters entitled It's Been a Good Life: Isaac Asimov. She also wrote books under the pen name J. O. Jeppson. After her husband's death, she took over writing his science column for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. She died on February 25, 2019 at the age of 92. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Original publication date
- 1986
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- Fiction and Literature, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 813.087625 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Speculative fiction Science fiction Space opera
- LCC
- PZ7 .A836 — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
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- English
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- 1
