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A collection of eighteen short stories about the adventures of Azazel, a twocentimeter-tall, fiery red imp with an impetuous personality and magical powers.Tags
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Asimov here turns his facile imagination to fantasy, in the guise of Azazel, a two-centimeter red imp of amazing powers, able to be summoned only by George Bitternut, who is only permitted to call upon Azazel for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, Azazel's understanding of humans' wants and needs is sketchy at best, leading to far-fetched and hilarious denouments. Asimov is at his best when he (infrequently) stretches his humor muscles, and these are among his more successful efforts.
Just think "P.G. Wodehouse". Here is SF writer, Isaac Asimov, showing off his writing talents by imitating Wodehouse in a series of short stories about a little demon whose good deeds turn bad. It's not science fiction, and it's the sort of book to read a chapter at a time when you're having a cup of tea and cucumber sandwiches. Undemanding and lightweight, as Asimov intended.
An amusing collection of stories told over dinner with insulting deadbeat George who tells Asimov entertaining stories about the two centimeter demon he calls up for good deeds named Azazel. Azazel only does good deeds but never directly for George. And they often usually backfire in an entertaining way. George gets a little tiresome after awhile but Asimov claims he more than makes up for the loss in cadged meals and borrowed sawbucks with stories he sells. The book is just long enough to be entertaining without the formula being overly repetitious. Recommended light, amusing reading.
A nice collection of witty short stories, which is different from the usual Asimov fare. The stories, however all contain the same theme, of fulfilled wishes going awry, and would be much better read a couple at a time, than all in one day or two. Azazel is quite amusingly portrayed, the anecdotes of how the wishes go wrong (and the peculiarity of some of the wishes) are entertaining, and the comments the author makes about himself are interesting. All in all, a fun read, even with the repetition
This collection of stories is a series I think I would have preferred in the original setting of a magazine. The repetitive nature of the stories would have been more appreciated had I had some time in between them. After the fifth story in the book, I found myself grating my teeth at certain lines I would have loved if I had had more than 20 minutes since I had last read it.
Asimov is a master of fantasy with morals behind it, though. I would start a story, knowing full well that a twist was coming, either to teach a lesson or to show that fulfilled desires do not equal happiness, and I would still be surprised at the spin.
Asimov is a master of fantasy with morals behind it, though. I would start a story, knowing full well that a twist was coming, either to teach a lesson or to show that fulfilled desires do not equal happiness, and I would still be surprised at the spin.
I enjoyed the stories I got through, but they are pretty much all the same so I gave up on this pretty quickly. I skipped ahead and read the last two in case there was an overall arc I missed, but they were essentially the same as the first one. The serialized nature shows through pretty easily. They aren't bad, just repetitive.
Something a bit different from Asimov, a short story collection that is contemporary fantasy, not science fiction or science fact. All of these stories share a common theme - temptation by the imp Azazel.
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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
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Contains
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Azazel
- Original title
- Azazel
- Original publication date
- 1988-11
- People/Characters
- George Bitternut; Azazel; Isaac Asimov (unnamed narrator)
- Dedication
- To Sheila Williams, the sweet managing editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
- First words
- I met George at a literary convention a good many years ago, and was struck by the peculiar look of innocence and candor upon his round middle-aged face.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)What he said wasn't true, but I know it's probably the general opinion, so I decided there was no use arguing.
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- Collects short stories, most of which were originally published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Fiction Magazine from 1982 to 1988.
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- Media
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- ISBNs
- 21
- ASINs
- 10