The Martian Way
by Isaac Asimov
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Twenty of the finest science fiction short stories from one of the genre's greatest writers, Isaac Asimov. Isaac Asimov was the Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America, the founder of robot ethics, and one of the world's most prolific authors of fiction and non-fiction. Asimov's short fiction has been enjoyed by millions for more than half a century. Many of the stories in this collection are classics of the genre, including 'The Martian Way', where the colonists on Mars must show more locate an alternative water source after Earth threatens to stop supplying water to the red planet. In these stories Asimov's vivid awareness of the potential of technology is translated into human dilemmas that are more relevant today than ever before. show lessTags
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The Martian Way and Other Stories consists of four short works by Isaac Asimov. There is no overarching theme to this book, although one could draw connections and describe this book as really consisting of two pairs of thematically similar stories. The first pair, consisting of The Martian Way and Sucker Bait are basically engineering science fiction in which intrepid explorers must think outside the box to ensure their survival and the survival of those around them. The other two stories - Youth and The Deep - are alien contact stories, both of which have a Twilight Zone style twist ending.
The Martian Way is the first story in the volume, and it is also the best. A substantial chunk of the high rating for this book is based solely on show more this story. I must confess that long ago this was the first science fiction story that made me really think it was plausible, which was a real eye-opener for me. Despite being nearly sixty years old now, the story still seems plausible. In fact, despite the clumsy and heavy handed addition of a McCarthyesque villain and some minor scientific flaws involving the make up of the rings of Saturn, the story seems to me to point out why sending humans out to Mars and beyond would be incredibly lucrative and open up the true wealth that is out there to humanity. Sadly, sixty years on, and despite the fact that there isn't any technology in the story that could not have been plausibly made in the 1950s, we are no closer to realizing the world depicted now than we were then.
Sucker Bait, the other "explorers think outside the box to save their skins" story, is competent and readable, but far less compelling. The story mostly amounts to a rant about how experts have walled themselves into their own limited fields of knowledge and how this is limited and potentially dangerous. The theme of this story positing the benefits of having generalists in a world of experts is touched on elsewhere in Asimov's fiction in stories like Profession and in the works of other authors, making up one of the themes in John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar. This story is an adequate example of a story built on that theme, but not much more.
Of the two alien contact stories, Youth is the weaker. The story follows a farmboy and his city friend who stumble across an unknown organism and try to keep it as a pet with the intention of using it as a way to gain employment with the circus. Over the course of the story it is revealed that the organism is actually an alien and that the "city friend" is visiting the country with his father specifically so his father can make contact with these aliens. The story rambles along as the boys try to hide their discovery from their parents, certain that they will disapprove of any pet, and the adults try to figure out why the aliens they expected to meet have apparently not shown up. The story ends with a "twist" ending that is pretty much telegraphed to the reader and should surprise nobody, although it seems obvious that Asimov thought that it was terribly clever. The twist ending alone downgrades the story to being marginal at best, but up to that point it is decent.
The second alien contact story is The Deep and is told from the perspective of a race of insect like telepathic subterranean dwelling aliens living on a dying planet. despite the fact that Asimov rarely wrote about aliens in his fiction, this work makes clear that he had no trouble creating truly alien beings. The story itself is something of a subversion of the typical alien invasion story, because despite the fact that the aliens want to move from their dying planet to Earth, they are shown to be so truly alien that it is possible that humanity would never know they had arrived. Although this story does not get much attention, it is one of Asimov's better works, and along with The Martian Way it makes this collection well worth reading.
With one stellar story, one above average story, and two mediocre ones, this collection is certainly worth reading. Despite the fact that all of the stories in this volume are now well over fifty years old, they have all aged reasonably well. Reasonably well in all but one aspect, and that relates to women: Asimov's lack of skill in handling female characters is compounded by conventional 1950s social mores resulting in very few female characters, and the ones who are presented are almost ridiculous caricatures. Despite this failing the stories remain quite forward-looking in all other respects, making this is a very good collection that most science fiction fans will still enjoy despite its age.
This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. show less
The Martian Way is the first story in the volume, and it is also the best. A substantial chunk of the high rating for this book is based solely on show more this story. I must confess that long ago this was the first science fiction story that made me really think it was plausible, which was a real eye-opener for me. Despite being nearly sixty years old now, the story still seems plausible. In fact, despite the clumsy and heavy handed addition of a McCarthyesque villain and some minor scientific flaws involving the make up of the rings of Saturn, the story seems to me to point out why sending humans out to Mars and beyond would be incredibly lucrative and open up the true wealth that is out there to humanity. Sadly, sixty years on, and despite the fact that there isn't any technology in the story that could not have been plausibly made in the 1950s, we are no closer to realizing the world depicted now than we were then.
Sucker Bait, the other "explorers think outside the box to save their skins" story, is competent and readable, but far less compelling. The story mostly amounts to a rant about how experts have walled themselves into their own limited fields of knowledge and how this is limited and potentially dangerous. The theme of this story positing the benefits of having generalists in a world of experts is touched on elsewhere in Asimov's fiction in stories like Profession and in the works of other authors, making up one of the themes in John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar. This story is an adequate example of a story built on that theme, but not much more.
Of the two alien contact stories, Youth is the weaker. The story follows a farmboy and his city friend who stumble across an unknown organism and try to keep it as a pet with the intention of using it as a way to gain employment with the circus. Over the course of the story it is revealed that the organism is actually an alien and that the "city friend" is visiting the country with his father specifically so his father can make contact with these aliens. The story rambles along as the boys try to hide their discovery from their parents, certain that they will disapprove of any pet, and the adults try to figure out why the aliens they expected to meet have apparently not shown up. The story ends with a "twist" ending that is pretty much telegraphed to the reader and should surprise nobody, although it seems obvious that Asimov thought that it was terribly clever. The twist ending alone downgrades the story to being marginal at best, but up to that point it is decent.
The second alien contact story is The Deep and is told from the perspective of a race of insect like telepathic subterranean dwelling aliens living on a dying planet. despite the fact that Asimov rarely wrote about aliens in his fiction, this work makes clear that he had no trouble creating truly alien beings. The story itself is something of a subversion of the typical alien invasion story, because despite the fact that the aliens want to move from their dying planet to Earth, they are shown to be so truly alien that it is possible that humanity would never know they had arrived. Although this story does not get much attention, it is one of Asimov's better works, and along with The Martian Way it makes this collection well worth reading.
With one stellar story, one above average story, and two mediocre ones, this collection is certainly worth reading. Despite the fact that all of the stories in this volume are now well over fifty years old, they have all aged reasonably well. Reasonably well in all but one aspect, and that relates to women: Asimov's lack of skill in handling female characters is compounded by conventional 1950s social mores resulting in very few female characters, and the ones who are presented are almost ridiculous caricatures. Despite this failing the stories remain quite forward-looking in all other respects, making this is a very good collection that most science fiction fans will still enjoy despite its age.
This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. show less
Isaac Asimov is one of my favorite science fiction authors. Some of his novels and story collections I've ranked five stars as simply amazing. Not in style or characterizations--but in ideas. Asimov's style I'd call decent--workmanlike. It's well-crafted but you don't linger over the prose as this thing of beauty. Asimov can (rarely) pull at the heartstrings (try reading the short story "The Ugly Little Boy") and at times he can create, if not complex, then memorable characters. (Such as "the Mule" in his Foundation series.) Arthur C. Clarke said that science fiction done well at the least can give the pleasure of a "good puzzle" and entertain. Asimov is always science fiction done well, but I wouldn't rank any of the stories here as show more among the most memorable by him I've read, such as "The Dead Past" or "Nightfall" that just stun me and make me see the world in a whole new way.
But all of these certainly have that twist in the tale, that pleasure of a good puzzle. The title novella, "The Martian Way" does have that little "hmmm" moment where you see the universe a little differently. Not enough I'd count it a standout among Asimov's fiction, but it's there. I actually preferred all the stories that followed. "Youth" I thought a hoot. Asimov does have a sense of humor, and this one is funny and has a classic twist only the written word could bring off. It's my second favorite of the collection. "The Deep" has both cool world-building (literally) and one of those truly original alien perspectives. The story that closes the collection, "Sucker Bait" is the longest and definitely my favorite of the book. Together with "Youth" it just pulls the collection up to four stars. For one, it is that rare Asimov story with a character--Mark Annuncio--who is unusual and memorable. Not autistic, not an idiot savant exactly and not simply adolescent genius. He really is different among Asimov's characters and the story itself an interesting scientific mystery. show less
But all of these certainly have that twist in the tale, that pleasure of a good puzzle. The title novella, "The Martian Way" does have that little "hmmm" moment where you see the universe a little differently. Not enough I'd count it a standout among Asimov's fiction, but it's there. I actually preferred all the stories that followed. "Youth" I thought a hoot. Asimov does have a sense of humor, and this one is funny and has a classic twist only the written word could bring off. It's my second favorite of the collection. "The Deep" has both cool world-building (literally) and one of those truly original alien perspectives. The story that closes the collection, "Sucker Bait" is the longest and definitely my favorite of the book. Together with "Youth" it just pulls the collection up to four stars. For one, it is that rare Asimov story with a character--Mark Annuncio--who is unusual and memorable. Not autistic, not an idiot savant exactly and not simply adolescent genius. He really is different among Asimov's characters and the story itself an interesting scientific mystery. show less
This collection of short fiction represent Asimov's response to several ways of thinking at the time. The titular story responds to McCarthyism, while the middle two respond to the view of humans as the most important element of the universe (sometimes called anthropocentricism), both physically and psychologically. The final story discusses the importance of being a generalist.
Though responding to the times, these stories do not come off as preachy, but instead aim to entertain while informing, as good writers tend to do. This collection of short stories is in some ways the antithesis of Earth is Room Enough, featuring interplanetary settlements and the attempts thereof.
Sure to be enjoyed by fans of Asimov, those following the literary show more responses of McCarthyism, or even fans of old school science fiction. show less
Though responding to the times, these stories do not come off as preachy, but instead aim to entertain while informing, as good writers tend to do. This collection of short stories is in some ways the antithesis of Earth is Room Enough, featuring interplanetary settlements and the attempts thereof.
Sure to be enjoyed by fans of Asimov, those following the literary show more responses of McCarthyism, or even fans of old school science fiction. show less
This 4 story collection, published in 1955, was a great reading experience. Asimov explores several classic SF themes here including first contact, the social/economic impact of human expansion beyond Earth, and more.
The last story "Sucker Bait" felt the most Asimovian story because it is SCIENCE fiction - scientists and scientific concerns are the core of the story. I also very much enjoyed the other stories. At 176 pages, this slim paperback made for a perfect weekend read.
The collection includes:
The Martian Way (1952)
Youth (1952)
The Deep (1952)
Sucker Bait (1954)
The last story "Sucker Bait" felt the most Asimovian story because it is SCIENCE fiction - scientists and scientific concerns are the core of the story. I also very much enjoyed the other stories. At 176 pages, this slim paperback made for a perfect weekend read.
The collection includes:
The Martian Way (1952)
Youth (1952)
The Deep (1952)
Sucker Bait (1954)
Four short stories, a mixture of hard and soft sci-fi (that is, some more 'hard sciencey' and more 'soft sciencey'). I enjoyed it; it's typically event-based, but Asimov does a good job of painting characters in a few broad strokes and titbits. They've aged somewhat, partly by including elements like smoking and certain technologies that seem laughable now. Hard-copy-only photos that are kept in a safe, for example. Other elements seem obvious or 'done' these days, especially social ideas and things about alien society, but I suspect a lot of that is because since 1964 they've been written about again. When they came out, they were probably fresh and novel. One story, "Youth", has a twist ending I saw coming miles away, but then I've show more read a lot of Asimov before. "Sucker Bait" is interesting, depicting a time when specialists focus exclusively on their own field, with no time or interest for learning other disciplines - something you can imagine already with the sheer volume of knowledge there is. You know the kid everyone igores is going to solve the problem, but it's still interesting.
One complaint: the edition I have (Panther) has massively over-explanatory blurb, which manages to give away too much about every story in only four lines each. I hope the editor responsible moved into academic abstracting. show less
One complaint: the edition I have (Panther) has massively over-explanatory blurb, which manages to give away too much about every story in only four lines each. I hope the editor responsible moved into academic abstracting. show less
A collection of four short stories (or maybe technically novellas) from the 1950s. Like much of Asimov's work, the driving force behind all the plots is "what if?" The characters aren't much to write home about, but the concepts and visuals are unforgettable. My favorite is the mental picture I got of floating in space with Saturn looming overhead, as described in the titular story. Breathtaking.
A collection of four fine short stories (more like novelettes) by Asimov, each with a nice twist at the end of the kind Asimov is so fond of. Asimov's strengths are generally not in characterization or emotional string-pulling (although he can be quite adept at these when he tries), but at the careful construction of a layered and logically plotted sequence of events that make perfect sense upon completion, no matter how fantastic the book.
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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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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- A lo Marciano
- Original title
- The Martian Way and Other Stories
- Alternate titles
- The Martian Way and Other Stories
- Original publication date
- 1955
- People/Characters
- Mario Esteban Rioz; Ted Long; John Hilder; Hamish Sankov; Richard Swenson; Canute Swenson (show all 31); Slim; Red; George G. Grundy; Mark Annuncio; Miguel Antonio Rodriguez y Lopez; Dora Swenson; Peter Swenson; Myron Digby; Wenda; Roi; Laura; Walter; George Ellis; Eleanor Ellis; Gan; Walter Jr.; Captain Follenbee; Dr. Emmannuel George Cimon; Dr. Groot Knoevenaagle; Dr. Boris Vernadsky; Dr. Oswald Mayer Sheffield; Dr. Nevile Fawkes; U Karaganda; Makoyama; Hidosheki Mikoyama
- Important places
- Mars; Earth; Venus; The Moon (Luna); Saturn; Troas (Junior) (show all 15); Junior (Troas); Coralemon; Aurora; Sarmatia; Coma Minor; Hesperus; Pretoria; Altmark (planet); Lepta
- Dedication
- To L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, whose work together is equaled only by the work of each separately
- First words
- From the doorway of the short corridor between the only two rooms in the travel-head of the spaceship, Mario Esteban Rioz watched sourly as Ted Long adjusted the video dials painstakingly.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He could only think that he might die; and that if he did, there were so many things, so many, many things in the Universe that he would never learn.
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- This is the collection containing the story "The Martian Way" and three other stories and is not to be combined with short story, "The Martian Way."
Contents: The Martian Way -- Youth -- The Deep -- Sucker Bait
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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