The Fiction of Isaac Asimov
Part II: The Later Asimov (1953-)

This is a list of Isaac Asimov's fiction. The early years (1938-1952) are listed in Part I (www.storypilot.com/asimov1.html), where the items are listed according to completion date. These Part II items are listed by publication date since Asimov's autobiographies don't usually have exact completion dates for the later work. A list of what you'll need to track down to read all of Asimov's fiction is also available in Part I.

Michael Main
main@colorado.edu
I have also posted a list of some other favorite authors that I hope you will enjoy.

 

Listed by order of publication
1953

"Button, Button"
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

"The Monkey's Finger"
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

"Sally"
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

"Flies"
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

"Kid Stuff"
Jan Prentiss writes fantasy for a living, an occupation that makes him susceptible to certain unusual dangers.
ASIMOV STORY [A.88] Completed January 25, 1953.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Belief"
Scientist, Dr. Roger Toomey, has a scientific problem that no other scientists will touch.
ASIMOV STORY [A.89] Completed January 12, 1953.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

The Caves of Steel
Spacer robot R. Daneel Olivaw and Earthman Lije Baley are two unlikely partners as detectives who must solve the even more unlikely murder of a visiting spacer.
ASIMOV STORY [A.90] (Book #11) Completed May 24, 1953.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 5021 A.D. PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Everest"
Jimmy Robbins discovers the real reason why Everest has been unclimbable.
ASIMOV STORY [A.91] Completed April 7, 1953.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Micropsychiatric Applications of Thiotimoline"
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

"Nobody Here but--"
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids (Second Lucky Starr Book, pseudonym Paul French)
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

 

1954

"Sucker Bait"
Mark Annuncio is the most unusual member of a crew sent to a most unusual two-sunned planet to discover the reason for the demise of the first settlement 100 years ago.
ASIMOV STORY [A.92]
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 8500 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Immortal Bard"
Dr. Phineas Welch tells an English professor a disturbing story about a student in the professor's Shakespeare class.
ASIMOV STORY [A.93] Completed Fall 1953.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"It's Such a Beautiful Day"
Young Dickie Hanshaw discovers a new world outside his own door.
ASIMOV STORY [A.94] Completed Fall 1953.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Let's Not"
Charles Kittredge and Heber Vandermeer are the only two teachers left after the atomic war.
ASIMOV STORY [A.95] Completed October 1954.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Pause"
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

Lucky Starr and the Oceans of the Venus (Third Lucky Starr Book, pseudonym Paul French)
Lucky and Bigman visit Venus to investigate the out-of-character behavior of Lou Evans, a friend of Lucky's from college days and a member of the Council himself.
ASIMOV STORY [A.96] (Book #12) Completed March 1954.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1955

"The Singing Bell"
Dr. Wendell Urth has but a short time to interview the man who has committed the perfect crime, and prove that he had a short trip to the moon recently.
ASIMOV STORY [A.97] Completed Fall 1953.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 1985 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Question"
This was Asimov’s first Multivac story, in which Asimov unintentionally made use of a closing line from Robert Sherman Townes’ story “Problem for Emmy’ as the good doctor recounted in Gold.
ASIMOV STORY [A.98]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Risk"
Doctor Susan Calvin once again asks Gerald Black ("Little Lost Robot") to help her solve a robot problem in the asteroid belt.
ASIMOV STORY [A.99]
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: Some years after 2029 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Last Trump"
Etheriel, a very junior seraph, pits his will against a formidable Adversary who is bent on destruction of the world in 1957.
ASIMOV STORY [A.100] Completed June 1954.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Franchise"
Norman Muller has been selected by Multivac for a singular honor in the presidential election year of 2008.
ASIMOV STORY [A.101] Completed sometime after the 1952 presidential election.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Talking Stone"
Dr. Wendell Urth once again comes to the rescue, helping Larry Vernadsky solve the mystery of the last words of a rock-eating silicon life form among the asteroids.
ASIMOV STORY [A.102]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Dreamworld"
Young Eddie Keller loves to dream, even though his aunt disapproves.
ASIMOV STORY [A.103]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Dreaming is a Private Thing" (Asimov's original title "A Hundred Million Dreams at Once")
Jesse Weill faces a variety of day-to-day problems in the dream publishing business.
ASIMOV STORY [A.104] Completed Summer 1954.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Portable Star"
Holden Brooks, his wife Grace,and the Van Hornes find themselves trapped on a planet of prankish energy beings.
ASIMOV STORY [A.105] Completed April 1954.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 5500 A.D.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

The End of Eternity
Andrew Harlan, Technician in the everwhen of Eternity, falls in love and starts a chain of events that can mean the end of everything.
ASIMOV STORY [A.106] (Book #15) Completed Fall 1954.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: The ending sets up Asimov's Foundation galaxy.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1956

"The Message"
Time traveler and historian George tries to travel back to World War II without making any changes to the world.
ASIMOV STORY [A.107]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Dead Past"
History professor Arnold Potterley and the new physics instructor Jonas Foster discover that the government is supressing research into a device to view the past.
ASIMOV STORY [A.108]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Hell-Fire"
Alvin Horner has a ringside seat for the first slow-motion viewing of a surprising explosion.
ASIMOV STORY [A.109]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Living Space"
Alec Mishnoff and Bill Ching of the Housing Bureau have to deal with a complant from Clarence Rimbro, who claims that there are strange noises on the planet that he's been given to live in.
ASIMOV STORY [A.110]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"What's in a Name?"
(aka "Death of a Honey-Blonde")
Professor Helmuth Rodney helps solve a murder mystery in a chemistry library.
ASIMOV STORY [A.111]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Dying Night"
Four classmates scattered across the solar system are reunited on Earth and it takes Dr. Wendell Urth to solve the mystery when one of them dies and important papers disappear.
ASIMOV STORY [A.112]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Someday"
(aka The Story Machine)
Eleven-year-old Niccolo Mazetti has a friend with some ideas that Niccolo and his old Bard both think are pretty cool.
ASIMOV STORY [A.113]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Each an Explorer"
Space Explorer Herman Chouns has uncanny instincts to explain weird things, but his shipmate Allen Smith is skeptical about whether a strong telepatic ability could have anything to do with it.
ASIMOV STORY [A.114] Completed June 1956.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Pâté de Foie Gras"
A nameless researcher for the Department of Agriculuture tells the true story of the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs.
ASIMOV STORY [A.115]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"First Law"
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

"The Watery Place"
Bart Cameron is the first Earthling to meet the visitors from space.
ASIMOV STORY [A.116]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of the Mercury (Fourth Lucky Starr Book, pseudonym Paul French)
Lucky and Bigman must discover who is sabotaging Project Light on the dark side of Mercury.
ASIMOV STORY [A.117] (Book #17) Completed Spring 1955.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

The Naked Sun
Jehoshaphat! This time it's Earthman Lije Baley who must join robot R. Daneel Olivaw on the spacer world Solaria to solve a rare murder on this anti-gregarious planet.
ASIMOV STORY [A.118] (Book #20) Completed Mar 10, 1956.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 5022 A.D. PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Last Question"
A sequence of ever more powerful Multivac computers deal with the eventual fate of the universe.
ASIMOV STORY [A.119]
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2061 A.D. and beyond
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Gimmicks Three" (aka "The Brazen Locked Room")
Isidore Wellby makes a timely pact with the devil's demon.
ASIMOV STORY [A.120]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Jokester"
Computer Grand Master Noel Meyerhof, together with Multivac, is on the trail of the real jokesters of the universe.
ASIMOV STORY [A.121]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1957

"The Dust of Death"
Edmund Farley sets up a slightly mixed up scheme to murder the widely hated Great Llewes.
ASIMOV STORY [A.122]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Strikebreaker"
(aka "Male Strikebreaker")
Sociologist Steven Lamorak visits a small asteroid where a strike by a single man could end their entire society.
ASIMOV STORY [A.123]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Let's Get Together"
Elias Lynn knows that ten robots have penetrated America's borders and are planning to converge to create a massive explosion--but where?
ASIMOV STORY [A.124]
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: About 2050 A.D., but probably not part of Asimov's other Robot/Timeline universe.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Blank!"
Dr. Edward Barron has a theory that time is arranged like a series of particles that can be traveled up or down; his colleague and hesitant collaborator August Pointdexter isn't so sure about the application of the theory to reality.
ASIMOV STORY [A.125]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Does a Bee Care"
Will Kane be able to help make Earthlings a spacefaring race?
ASIMOV STORY [A.126] Completed October 1956
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Woman's Heart"
Flora Miller has the gift of eternal beauty and now faces the problem of selecting the perfect mate from among three candidates.
ASIMOV STORY [A.127]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Profession"
In the year 6511, young George Platen is told that he is not suited for any earthly Profession.
ASIMOV STORY [A.128] Completed January 6, 1957. This novella is in the direction of Heinlein's juvenile novels, which Asimov highly admired.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Loint of Paw"
Master criminal Montie Stein has found a way around the statute of limitations.
ASIMOV STORY [A.129]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Ideas Die Hard"
Bruce Davis and Marvin Oldbury are the first two men to travel out and around the moon where they find something unexpected on the far side.
ASIMOV STORY [A.130] Completed April 1, 1957
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"I'm in Marsport without Hilda"
When spacefaring Max finds himself for a night in Marsport without his wife, he decides to seek a little illicit adventure.
ASIMOV STORY [A.131] Completed May/June 1957.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Gentle Vultures"
Devi-en is the gentle creature in charge of waiting for Earthmen to blow themselves to destruction in a nuclear war.
ASIMOV STORY [A.132] Completed May 1957
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Galley Slave"
Dr. Susan Calvin must find a way to show that the proofreading mistakes in Professor Ninheimer's book were deliberately put there by the professor himself and not by EZ-27.
ASIMOV STORY [A.133] Completed April 18, 1957
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2030 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Insert Knob A in Hole B"
The brains down on Earth have a bright idea about how to stop the problems that astronauts Dave Woodbury and John Hansen have reassembling machines that have been sent to them in parts.
ASIMOV STORY [A.134] Completed August 21, 1957
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter (Fifth Lucky Starr Book, pseudonym Paul French)
Lucky and Bigman venture to Jupiter IX, the small moon where the prototype of an anti-gravity ship is being built and apparently being sabotaged.
ASIMOV STORY [A.135] (Book #21) Completed November 11, 1956.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1958

"Spell My Name with an S"
(aka "S, as in Zabatinsky")
A small change in the name of nuclear physicist Marshall Zebatinsky has far reaching consequences.
ASIMOV STORY [A.136]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Lenny"
(Asimov's original title: "What's the Use?")
Late in her career at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Dr. Susan Calvin finds interest in a robot that was accidentally produced with an infant's mind.
ASIMOV STORY [A.137] Completed August 1957.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: Circa 2035 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Feeling of Power"
Technician Myron Aub has an idea about how to replace computers, and Programmer Jehan Shuman takes the idea to military men.
ASIMOV STORY [A.138]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Silly Asses"
Great One Naron, galactic record keeper, has no doubt about the ultimate fate of the intelligent race from the planet Earth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.139] Completed July 29, 1957.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"All the Troubles of the World"
In a world carefully watched by Mulitvac, Ali Othman discovers a planned crime much worse than first-degree murder, but each action he takes seems to increase the probability that the crime will succeed.
ASIMOV STORY [A.140] Completed July 1957.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Buy Jupiter"
(Asimov's first title: "It Pays")
Earth's Secretary of Science must discover the reason why the Mizzarett want to buy Jupiter.
ASIMOV STORY [A.141]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Up-to-Date Sorcerer"
Elderly Judge Nicholas Nitely tells of the effect of a modern-day love potion created by Professor Wellington Johns and administered to a group of upstanding young college students.
ASIMOV STORY [A.142] Completed November 10, 1957.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Ugly Little Boy"
(Title in Galaxy: "Lastborn")
Edith Fellowes is hired to look after young Timmie, a Neanderthal boy brought from the past, but never able to leave the time statis bubble where he lives.
ASIMOV STORY [A.143] Completed December 1957
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn (Sixth Lucky Starr Book, pseudonym Paul French)
Lucky and Bigman must once again face the Sirians who have settled a colony on Saturn's largest moon.
ASIMOV STORY [A.144] (Book #26) Completed Feb 26, 1958.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

The Death Dealers
(aka Sit with Death)
(aka A Whiff of Death)
Lou Brade, Assistant Professor of Chemistry for 19 years, Has his life turned upside down by the apparent murder of his promising graduate student.
ASIMOV STORY [A.145] (Book #28) Completed September 22, 1957.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

The Bounds of Infinity
This was to be a third novel of Lije Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw.
ASIMOV STORY [A.145½] Abandoned October 20, 1958

Lucky Starr and the Snows of Pluto
This was to be another Lucky Starr novel.
ASIMOV STORY [A.145¾] Abandoned sometime around 1958.

 

1959

"A Statue for Father"
(Asimov's original title: "Benefactor of Humanity")
A wealthy man's father was a time travel researcher who died some years ago, but not before leaving a legacy for all mankind.
ASIMOV STORY [A.146] Completed Summer 1958.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Anniversary"
Warren Moore reunites with his two crewmates on the 20th anniversary of their miraculous rescue from a deep space collision, and now they are faced with the problem of their own anonymity.
ASIMOV STORY [A.147] Completed November 22, 1958.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Unto the Fourth Generation"
During an ordinary day of business, Sam Marten keeps being drawn to men named Lewkowitz.
ASIMOV STORY [A.148] Completed August 29, 1958.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Obituary"
The wife of Lancelot Stebbins (not his real name) tells of the difficulties of being married to a man who is obsessively driven to find fame as a physicist, even to the point of worrying about what his obituary will say—but perhaps time travel can put that worry to rest.
ASIMOV STORY [A.149]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Rain, Rain, Go Away"
Lillian and George Wright have strange new neighbors who appear to love cotton candy, but are deathly afraid of a little rain.
ASIMOV STORY [A.150] Completed November 1, 1958.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1960

"The Covenant"
Captain Ban, son of the Warden, is told by an oracle that he alone must fly to the island stronghold of those masters of time, the Cloud-People.
ASIMOV STORY [A.151]
NOTE: A round robin story written with Poul Anderson, Robert Sheckley, Murray Leinster, Robert Block, and Asimov. Asimov wrote the second part.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Thiotimoline and the Space Age"
At the 12th annual meeting of the American Chronochemical Society, the founder of the field warns of advances that have been made behind the Iron Curtain.
ASIMOV STORY [A.152] Completed November 14, 1959.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1961

"What is This Thing Called Love?"
(Title for initial publication: Playboy and the Slime God)
Marge Skidmore and Charlie Grimwold find themselves in the clutches of slimey aliens who want to understnad human mating.
ASIMOV STORY [A.153] Completed November 1960.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Machine That Won the War"
Lamar Smith talks about a machine that may overcome some of Multivac's shortcomings, even though it appears that Multivac is responsible for leading humanity to victory over the Denebians.
ASIMOV STORY [A.154] Completed May 23, 1961
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1962

"My Son, the Physicist"
Dr. Cremona turns to his mother for help when there's a need for a rapid conversation with men on Pluto.
ASIMOV STORY [A.155]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Star Light"
Arthur Trent has committed the crime of the future; his only remaining task is escape via random hyper jump.
ASIMOV STORY [A.156]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1964

"Author! Author!"
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

 

1965

"Eyes Do More Than See"
Billions of years in the future, man has evolved beyond a physical body, but an artist named Ames wonders what may have been left behind.
ASIMOV STORY [A.157]
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Man Who Made the 21st Century"
Richard Anthony Hartnett, born 100 years ago in 1965, reflects back on a life in which he has been a pioneer with a micro-computer, studied the human brain, made innovations at the lunar colony inspired by R.A. Heinlein, and turned his mind to the stars.
ASIMOV STORY [A.158]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Founding Father"
(Asimov's Original Title: The Last Tool)
Peterson and his four companions fight a battle against ammonia on a planet far from the Corps usual fare.
ASIMOV STORY [A.159] Completed March 16, 1965.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1966

"Fantastic Voyage"
Secret Service Agent Granite Grant and four companions enter the bloodstream of a famous scientist in a miniature submarine to save the scientist's life.
ASIMOV STORY [A.160] (Book #67) Completed July 23, 1965.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Key"
Punster Karl Jennings dies on the moon, leaving a cryptic clue that only Dr. Wendell Urth can unearth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.161] Completed December 24, 1965.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1967

"Segregationist"
For reasons of his own, a surgeon tries to talk a heart-transplant patient into receiving a fibrous heart rather than a metal heart.
ASIMOV STORY [A.162] Completed April 10, 1967.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Billiard Ball"
(alternate title suggested by Asimov's friend: "Dirty Pool")
Ed Bloom has made his millions by exploiting the theoretical discoveries of Dr. James Priss, but in the end he may have underestimated Priss's quick mind and billiard ability.
ASIMOV STORY [A.163]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1968

"Exile to Hell"
Dowling and Parkinson, computer programming lawyers on opposite sides of a major case, discuss the cruelty of exile as an ultimate punishment.
ASIMOV STORY [A.164] Completed June 1967
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Key Item"
(Also published in Saturday Evening Post as "The Computer That Went on Strike")
It's up to Jack Weaver to figure out why Multivac has stopped answering questions.
ASIMOV STORY [A.165] Completed 1959.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Proper Study"
Professor Oscar Harding must convince a stubborn general to declassify his research.
ASIMOV STORY [A.166] Completed Early 1968.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Holmes-Ginsbook Device"
Drs. Holmes and Ginsbook race to find a discovery that will make reading easier and win them the Nobel prize.
ASIMOV STORY [A.167] Completed April 16, 1968.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1969

"Feminine Intuition"
Susan Calvin's successor, Clinton Madarian, is designing a robot that can make unpredictable correlations--call it feminine intuition if you like, but don't let Susan hear you--and he plans to have her pinpoint which star systems are most likely to have habitable planets.
ASIMOV STORY [A.168] Started Feb 8, 1969.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2060 A.D.. Five years after Susan Calvin's retirement. Susan, who was born in 1982, is said to be nearly 80 now.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1970

"Waterclap"
The head safety man on the moon, Stephen Demerest, visits Ocean-Deep to negotiate cooperation on the matter of financial grants.
ASIMOV STORY [A.169] Started September 1, 1969; completed November 26, 1969.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"As Chemist to Chemist"
(Asimov's original title: "A Problem of Numbers")
Hal Kemp goes to Professor Neddring to receive his blessing in marrying his daughter, but instead he is given a numerical puzzle to solve.
ASIMOV STORY [A.170]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"2430 A.D."
Mankind has made its choice to stay only on Earth, and all but one man, Cranwitz, have conformed to that decision and what it means for other forms of life.
ASIMOV STORY [A.171] Completed April 26, 1970.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1971

"The Best New Thing"
Rada and Jonny can't remember anything except life on a space station, but now they are going to Earth with their parents where they will find many new things including the best new thing, which they have kept as a secret between them.
ASIMOV STORY [A.172] (Book #113) Completed early 1962 (for children).
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1972

"The Greatest Asset"
Computers make all the decisions about the ecology of the world, but that doesn't stop Lou Tansonia from appealing to Adrastus, the Secretary General of Ecology--asking to overrule the computer's decision to not fund a program in experimental ecology.
ASIMOV STORY [A.173] Completed July 8, 1970.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Acquisitive Chuckle"
(Asimov's original title: "The Chuckle")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Hanley Bartram, a private investigator, brings a problem to the Black Widowers with a strong suspicion that one of them can tell him what the always honest Jackson stole from his ex-partner in business.
ASIMOV STORY [A.174] Completed March 6, 1971.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Gods Themselves"
In our universe, Pete Lamont and Mike Bronowski understand the danger of the Electron Pump that brings energy from another universe; in the other universe, the Hard-Ones seem to understand the danger, but only Dua, the strangely rational Emotional of the Odeen-Dua-Tritt soft triad, seems to care.
ASIMOV STORY [A.175] (Book #121) Completed September 7, 1971.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Mirror Image"
R. Daneel brings a mystery to Lije Bailey: Which of two mathematicians stole the other's idea?
ASIMOV STORY [A.176] Completed Fall 1971.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 5023 A.D., between The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Phoney Ph.D."
(Asimov's original title: "Ph as in Phoney")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
When the Black Widowers' guest is from Jim Drake's alma mater, Drake takes the opportunity to tell the story of his chum who couldn't possibly get anything better than B-, but somehow managed to score the highest in history in the chemistry department's hardest course.
ASIMOV STORY [A.177] Completed Fall 1971.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Man Who Never Told a Lie"
(Asimov's original title: "Truth to Tell")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
John Sands swears to the Black Widowers that he did take the cash or the bonds from his uncle's safe, but then who could possibly have taken both those items?
ASIMOV STORY [A.178] Completed February 14, 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Matchbook Collector"
(Asimov's original title: "Go, Little Book")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
When Ronald Klein speaks of a matchbook collector, Tom Trumbull of the Black Widowers brings up a problem of how a matchbook collector might use the matchbooks to send secret messages.
ASIMOV STORY [A.179] Completed March 14, 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Take a Match"
Neither Captain Per Hanson nor ship's astronomer Henry Strauss has any idea on how to get the tempermental Fusionist, Anton Viluekis, to solve the problem of no hydrogen for the next jump, but Louis Martand, an eighth grade teacher, has an idea.
ASIMOV STORY [A.180] Completed March 21, 1971.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1973

"The Biological Clock"
(Asimov's original title: "Early Sunday Morning")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
The Black Widowers tackle their first case of murder: Mario Gonzalo's sister on a simple Sunday morning in April.
ASIMOV STORY [A.181] Completed May 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Obvious Factor"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Professor Voss Eldridge, who studies the paranormal, tells the Black Widowers of a girl, Mary, who sees unpleasant events in the future.
ASIMOV STORY [A.182] Completed July 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Pointing Finger"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Simon Levy's tells the Black Widowers of his father-in-law pointing to a volume of >I>The Complete Shakespeare as a dying clue to the whereabouts of a $3000 bond.
ASIMOV STORY [A.183] Completed July 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Warning to Miss Earth"
(Asimov's original title: "Miss What?")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
A policeman, Aloysius Gordon, brings a test for Henry to the club: Figure out which entrant in the Miss Earth contest is the target of a death threat.
ASIMOV STORY [A.184] Completed July 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Thiotimoline to the Stars"
Admiral Vernon addresses the graduating class of '22 to tell them of the amazing way that thiotimoline can provide faster-than-light travel, if it is handled carefully enough.
ASIMOV STORY [A.185] Completed March 21, 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1973

"Light Verse"
What could bring the most gentle Mrs. Avis Lardner, kind even to her maladjusted robots, to commit murder?
ASIMOV STORY [A.186] Completed May 7, 1973.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Six Suspects"
(Asimov's original title: "Out of Sight")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Dr. Waldemar Long, a researcher at NASA, tells the Black Widowers of a talk that he was to give on a cruise ship, but when the subject of his talk became classified, a copy was stolen, and now his career is at risk.
ASIMOV STORY [A.187] Completed early 1973.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1974

"The Dream"
Asimov himself has a dream in which he is visited by a near-death Benjamin Franklin who urges new policies for world unity to be undertaken on the 200th anniversary of the birth of the United States.
ASIMOV STORY [A.188] Completed September 19, 1973.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"When No Man Pursueth"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Asimov himself lives in this story, disguised as writer Mortimer Stellar, who tells the Black Widowers of a story that an editor bought and then refused to publish.
ASIMOV STORY [A.189] Completed Spring 1973.
NOTE: Asimov on Asimov: "I just write," said Stellar, a bit impariently. "It's not so difficult to do that. I have a simple, straightforward, unornamented style, so that I don't have to waste time on clever phrases. I present my ideas in a clear and orderly way because I have a clear and orderly mind. Most of all, I have security. I know I'm going to seel what I write, and so I don't agonize over every sentence, worrying about whether the editor will like it."
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Benjamin's Dream"
(Asimov's original title: The Second Dream)
Once again, Asimov talks to Ben Franklin in a dreamlike state, reaching the conclusion that communication satellites must play an important role in maintaining peace on Earth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.190] Completed early December 1973
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"--That Thou Art Mindful of Him"
Keith Harriman, head of the U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men Corp., turns to an experimental robot, JG-10, to devise a plan that will save the corporation even when robots are completely banned in the Earth-Moon system.
ASIMOV STORY [A.191] Completed March 1973.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: Circa 2196 A.D. (U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men is about 200 years old)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Party by Satellite"
(Asimov's original title: The Third Dream)
Asimov and Ben Franklin share a third dream in which they decide that the best route to world unity is to find a new Thomas Paine or maybe a bunch of writers from all of the world's nations who together can have the impact of a new Paine.
ASIMOV STORY [A.192]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Quicker Than the Eye"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Tom Trumbull's boss, Robert Alford Bunsen, tells the Black Widowers of how his department laid a trap for a suspected spy, but the spy took the item from the trap and made it disappear in a way that nobody (except Henry) can figure out.
ASIMOV STORY [A.193] Completed mid-1973.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Stranger in Paradise"
William Anti-Aut and Anthony Smith are (oh the shame of it!) real brothers (same mother and same father), and now they must work together to build a brain for a robot that will explore Mercury.
ASIMOV STORY [A.194]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Benjamin's Bicentennial Blast"
Asimov and Ben Franklin share a final dream in which the doctor is urged to work for international peace and to attack the energy crisis.
ASIMOV STORY [A.195]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Chip of the Black Stone"
(Asimov's original title: "The Iron Stone" or "The Iron Gem")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Latimer Reed, a jeweler, carries an iron meteorite as a lucky piece; he also carries a tall tale that his great grandfather chipped it from the sacred Muslim Black Stone and that a mysterious stranger once offered $500 for the rock.
ASIMOV STORY [A.196] Completed summer 1973.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Half-Baked Publisher's Delight" (with Jeffry S. Hudson)
Giant typewriters appear in the Hudson and in San Francisco Bay, a competition ensues: Asimov vs. Silverberg.
ASIMOV STORY [A.197]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"All in the Way You Read It"
(Asimov's original title: "The Three Numbers")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Yes, by all means read this story, but keep in mind (warning: spoiler coming) that had Henry been raised using a computer, he could never have figured out the combination to Dr. Samuel Puntsch's friend's safe.
ASIMOV STORY [A.198] Completed August 1973.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Nothing Like Murder"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
The Black Widowers Russian guest, Grigori Deryashkin, has just that morning overheard two college students talking of murder.
ASIMOV STORY [A.199] Completed September 1973.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Confessions of an American Cigarette Smoker"
(Asimov's original title: "No Smoking")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
While the Black Widowers argue over a Trumbull-proposed smoking ban, their guest Hilary Evans tells of how a man pretended to be a smoker during a job interview, thereby losing the job to another candidate who eventually took the firm for a million dollars.
ASIMOV STORY [A.200] Completed late 1973.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Heavenly Host"
On Planet Anderson Two, the colonists are anxious to receive permission to make the entire planet earth-like, but young Jonathan Derodin claims that the native life includes a little one named Yellow-Yellow-Green who has communicated with him and is part of an intelligent species.
ASIMOV STORY [A.201] Completed May 1974.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Big Game" (alternative Asimov title: "The Hunted")
See the listing in the early Asimov web page.

"The Lullaby of Broadway"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Manny Rubin, the writer of the group, invites all the Black Widowers to his house for the monthly meeting with Henry as the special guest who gets to grill Manny about the unusual and irritating banging noise that he hears when he tries to work.
ASIMOV STORY [A.202] Completed October 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Yankee Doodle Went To Town"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Colonel Samual Davenheim brings to the Black Widowers a tale of a humming private who's under suspicion of bilking the army.
ASIMOV STORY [A.203] Completed November 9, 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Curious Omission"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Jeremy Atwood's best friend, a continual game player, left a dying clue--The Curious Omission in Alice--as to the whereabouts of a $10,000 bequest; the usual group suspect that it refers to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but only Henry can spot the likely omission.
ASIMOV STORY [A.204] Completed December 1972.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1975

"The Life and Times of Multivac"
(Asimov's original title: "Mathematical Games")
Ron Bakst is being shunned by fellow human beings because he seems to be in cahoots with Multivac in turning all of humanity into happy, complacent slaves of the computer.
ASIMOV STORY [A.205] Completed December 6, 1974.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Try Sarah Tops"
(Larry the Detective Story)
A dying crook leaves a clue--"Try Sarah Tops"--to the whereabouts of a stolen diamond, and Larry thinks he knows what it means.
(Asimov's original title: "Sarah Tops")

ASIMOV STORY [A.206] Completed August 26, 1974.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The One and Only East"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
A church elder, Ralph Murdock, can claim a $50,000 inheritance if the Black Widowers can help him decipher a clue left by his unexpectedly rich uncle.
ASIMOV STORY [A.207] Completed June 1974.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Boy's Best Friend"
Jimmy Anderson, a boy on the moon, has no doubt that he loves is robo-mutt.
ASIMOV STORY [A.208]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Little Things"
Mrs. Clara Bernstein tells her downstairs neighbor about the constant dripping noise coming from 22-G.
ASIMOV STORY [A.209] Completed August 4, 1974.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Point of View"
Roger Atkin's dad isn't making any headway in solving the problem with Multivac, so he takes Roger to lunch and explains the problem.
ASIMOV STORY [A.210]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"About Nothing"
Professor Jerome Hieronymus has discovered a black hole racing toward Earth that will bring the destruction of the planet.
ASIMOV STORY [A.211]
NOTE: The start of the story has Asimov's definitive word First publication: This was written for a Story Postcard project in the United Kingdom (1975), but Asimov says he does not know whether the project went through, so the Science Fiction Review publication might well be the first. Some listing of Asimov fiction list the Science Fiction Review item as "Untitled Short Fiction," but it is the same as "About Nothing." It is listed in the table of contents as "FICTION (?)" and there is a second short short story on the same page (page 22) by Ursula K. Le Guin.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Earthset and the Evening Star"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
French guest Jean Servais tells the Black Widowers of the curious irritation of his creative partner over the choice of a particular crater--Bahyee--as the site for an upcoming movie.
ASIMOV STORY [A.212] Completed October 15, 1974.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Case of Need"
(Larry the Detective Story)
Someone peeked a look at the science final ahead of time, and Larry suspects it was not the boy who was accused.
ASIMOV STORY [A.213]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Halloween"
It's up to Haley to find the one room that a thief used to hide a box of plutonium.
ASIMOV STORY [A.214]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Santa Claus Gets a Coin"
(Larry the Detective Story)
The museum is loosing valuable coins near Christmastime, and one of the coins turns up in a Santa Claus bucket.
ASIMOV STORY [A.215]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1976

"Friday the Thirteenth"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Dr. Evan Fletcher's grandfather in-law was tried, convicted and hung for an assasination attempt on Calvin Cooledge, but perhaps a letter that the grandfather wrote with cryptic mentions of Friday the Thirteenth can help support his innocence.
ASIMOV STORY [A.216] Completed December 31, 1974.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Bicentennial Man"
Andrew Martin is a robot created in times when positronic paths weren't as precise as nowadays: a difference that leads him through life as an artist, an historian, a robobiologist, and eventually to the pursuit of his deepest wish.
ASIMOV STORY [A.217]
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: Circa 2250 A.D. (about 200 years after the death of Susan Calvin).
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Cross of Lorraine"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
The Amazing Larri tells the Black Widowers of a pleasant woman he met on a nighttime busride, a woman he would like to meet again if he could only figure out where her debarking point, The Cross of Lorraine, lies along the route.
ASIMOV STORY [A.218] Completed summer 1975.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Case of Income-Tax Fraud"
(Asimov's original title: "The Family Man")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Simon Alexander, an IRS agent, tells the Black Widowers of the one time when his experience (or intuition?) failed him because he interpreted a remark from a tax fraud suspect as indicating that the man had a strong love of family.
ASIMOV STORY [A.219] Completed February 1976.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Good Taste"
After spending a year in a Grand Tour of the other Orbits, Chawker Minor returns to Gammar with an idea for a recipe that will outdo even the finest cooks in the finest culinary world among all the Orbits.
ASIMOV STORY [A.220] (Book #174) Completed early 1976.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Old-Fashioned"
Ben Estes and Harv Funarelli are trapped in a wrecked spaceship around a mini black hole in the asteroid belt, and they have no way to send a message to Vesta for a rescue.
ASIMOV STORY [A.221] Completed October 19, 1975.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Winnowing"
Dr. Aaron Rodman is approached by the government to create a new plague that will solve the world's food shortage problem.
ASIMOV STORY [A.222] Completed January 19, 1975.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Marching In"
A composer, Jerome Bishop, is asked to create music that will help depressed patients.
ASIMOV STORY [A.223] Completed September 18, 1975.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Birth of a Notion"
The world's first time traveler, Simeon Weill, goes back to 1925 and gives some ideas to Hugo.
ASIMOV STORY [A.224] Completed November 22, 1975.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Tercentenary Incident"
(Asimov's original title: "Death at the Tercentenary")
Special agent Lawrence Edwards has a theory about what really happened when a robot lookalike for the president was disintigrated on the country's 300th birthday.
ASIMOV STORY [A.225] November 1975.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: July 4, 2076 and October 13, 2078 A.D.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Season's Greetings!"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Rexford Brown and his wife receive an inordinate number of fancy Christmas cards every year, but this year they got a dead plain one that couldn't possibly be for them--but then who would it be for and what secret messages is the intended recipient tossing around?
ASIMOV STORY [A.226] Completed May 1974.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Unabridged"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Jason Leominster's uncle has left him a valuable stamp, and his aunt swears it is hidden in the house in "one of his unabridged."
ASIMOV STORY [A.227] Completed February 3, 1975.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Ultimate Crime"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Ronald Mason wants to write an article for the Baker Street Irregulars to explain what Moriarty's mathematical treatse, The Dynamics of an Asteroid, could have been about.
ASIMOV STORY [A.228] Completed February 6, 1975.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Murder at the ABA
Second-string writer Darius Just discovers the body of his prot&eacture;gé in a hotel room at a convention of booksellers; and because of a series of unfortunate events, Darius feels responsible for the murder.
ASIMOV STORY [A.229] (Book #172) Completed August 3, 1975.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Think!"
Genevieve Renshaw, M.D., has invented a laser application that can read thoughts.
ASIMOV STORY [A.230] Completed first half of 1976.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1977

"To Tell at a Glance"
Twenty four year old tour guide Elaine Metro must figure out which of her five tourists on the Gamma Orbit world is an Earth saboteur.
ASIMOV STORY [A.231] Completed early 1976.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"True Love"
Milton calls his special portion of the world wide computer "Joe," but perhaps a better name for this true love finding computer would be Cyrano de Multivac.
ASIMOV STORY [A.232] Completed Late November 1976.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Sports Page"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
A retired U.S. spy bemoans to the Black Widowers about a dying message left by a double agent that could have averted the disasterous Bay of Pigs invasion.
ASIMOV STORY [A.233] Completed July 1976.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Sure Thing"
No one has ever seen Jim Sloane's alien pet, Teddy, move on its own, but nonetheless, Sloane enters Teddy in a race with Laverty's heli-worm.
ASIMOV STORY [A.234]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Thirteenth Day of Christmas"
(Larry the Detective Story)
Larry and his mom have a long Christmas Day because Larry's dad is providing extra security to prevent a threat to the Russian U.N. delegation, but it's only later that Larry realizes the real threat.
ASIMOV STORY [A.235] Completed July 23, 1976.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Missing Item"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Jonathan Thatcher, a visitor to the Black Widowers Club, is worried that his wife has been taken in by a fake cult that claims to have astral projection to Mars.
ASIMOV STORY [A.236] Completed March 8, 1977.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Key Word"
(Larry the Detective Story)
Larry's dad brings home a newspaper that he hopes contains the key to breaking a criminal encoding of messages.
ASIMOV STORY [A.237] Completed February 1977.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1978

"The Next Day"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
A promising author has withdrawn a manuscript from editor Stephan Bentham, and only the Black Widowers (or at least Henry) can get to the reason why.
ASIMOV STORY [A.238] Completed July 1977.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Disappearing Man"
(Larry the Detective Story)
Larry sees a jewel thief go into a building, but now he has disappeared without coming out.
ASIMOV STORY [A.239]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Fair Exchange?"
John Sylva has invented a temporal transference device that allows his friend Herb to enter the mind of a man in 1871 London and to thereby attend three performances of a lost Gilbert & Sullivan play.
ASIMOV STORY [A.240]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Found!"
Joe and his partner go into space to fix orbiting Computer-Two, which has suffered decompression and a malfunction seemingly caused by tiny invading cylinders.
ASIMOV STORY [A.241]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1979

"It Is Coming"
It's up to Josephine Durray plus her husband and Multivac(!) to communicate with the alien that will be arriving at Earth in mere days, preceded by the message to be efficient or be destroyed.
ASIMOV STORY [A.242]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Strike!"
When the doctors of Los Angeles went on strike, the death rate among the entire populace rapidly dropped; what other counterintuitive correllations are to be found?
ASIMOV STORY [A.243]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Nothing for Nothing"
An exploration and trade ship visits Earth circa 15,000 B.C., and they find a valuable commodity, but what can they offer in exchange?
ASIMOV STORY [A.244]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Irrelevance!"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
A high school principal, Dan Burry, has intercepted a coded letter to a bright young man who might be on the wrong path, and Burry needs the help of the Black Widowers to find the letter's meaning.
ASIMOV STORY [A.245].
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"How It Happened"
An inspired man begins to dictate the history of the universe, all fifteen billion years worth, to his loyal brother.
ASIMOV STORY [A.246]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"None So Blind"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Black Widowers visitor Ananias St. John tells of his dyning neighbor's words: "The blind man".
ASIMOV STORY [A.247].
NOTE: The start of the story has Asimov's definitive word on limericks: "A limerick is made up of thirteen metrical feet divided into five lines with three, three, two, two, three feet each. There are [exactly] two unaccented syllables between each accented one in each line, one or two unaccented sylables at the start of each line, and zero, one or two unaccented syllables at the end of each line (after the last accented syllable)." If I'm reading this right, then the pattern of syllables is the following, with parentheses marking optional syllables: 
  da (da) DUM da da DUM da da DUM (da) (da)
  da (da) DUM da da DUM da da DUM (da) (da)
  da (da) DUM da da DUM (da) (da)
  da (da) DUM da da DUM (da) (da)
  da (da) DUM da da DUM da da DUM (da) (da)
And, of course, the end of lines 1, 2 and 5 rhyme, as do lines 3 and 4. Finally, there is often an unexpected twist or play on words for the final rhyme.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"To the Barest"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Ralph Ottur, one of the Black Widowers founders, left a puzzle in his will for his old friends--and Henry--to solve.
ASIMOV STORY [A.248].
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Backward Look"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Black Widower and writer, Manny Rubin, tells an aspiring writer, Milton Peterbourough, "When you write a short story, you had better know the ending first. The end of a story is only the end to a reader. To a writer, it's the beginning. If you don't know exactly where you're going every minute you're writing, ou'll never get there--or anywhere.... You don't have to know the exact road you're going to take. You have to know your destination, that's all." With this in mind, the Black Widowers help young Milton find the crux of a science fiction mystery that he's writing about an eclipse and a murder.
ASIMOV STORY [A.249].
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1980

"The Last Answer"
When physicist/atheist Murray Templeton dies, he finds himself conversing with a powerful being who doesn't know quite everything.
ASIMOV STORY [A.250]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"For the Birds"
Fashion designer Charles Modine is hired by Space Station Five to design wings that people will want to use in the low gravity of the station.
ASIMOV STORY [A.251]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Sixty Million Trillion Combinations"
(Asimov's original title: "The Fourteen Letters")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Black Widower Thomas Trumbull tells the others of his own problem: Cracking the 14-letter password of an important mathematician, a password that has more than sixty million trillion possibilities.
ASIMOV STORY [A.252]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Man Who Pretended to Like Baseball"
(Asimov's original title: "The Woman in the Bar")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Darius Just (hero from Murder at the ABA) tells the Black Widowers of an encounter with a lady at a bar who seemed to know a few things about baseball, but didn't know how to extricate herself from thugs by herself.
ASIMOV STORY [A.253]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Getting Even"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
Griswold calls forth a short demon (Azazel's precursor) to help him get even with a man who made millions from Griswold's idea, but the business of getting even must take the form of removing but two grams of matter from our world.
ASIMOV STORY [A.254]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"To Spot a Spy"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's Original Title: "No Refuge Could Save")
Griswold uses free association to determine whether a job candidate is actually a spy.
ASIMOV STORY [A.255]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Good Samaritan"
(Asimov's original title: "The Fourteen Letters")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Manny Rubin throws a fit when Gonzalo invites Barbara Lindemann (a woman!) to tell her story to the Black Widowers, though she is allowed to do so only after dinner, whence Henry, of course, solves the riddle of the identity of the mysterious young man who rescued her from a gang of hoodlums.
ASIMOV STORY [A.256]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Winning Number"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Telephone Number")
Griswold must figure out a phone number by knowing only its first digit and scant other information.
ASIMOV STORY [A.257]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Death of a Foy"
The extremely rare event of a Foy dying is occuring on Earth, and Maude Briscoe wants his heart to study.
ASIMOV STORY [A.258]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Pigeon English"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Men Who Wouldn't Talk")
Griswold must discover a crytic clue given by a prisoner who is afraid to talk.
ASIMOV STORY [A.259]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Big Shot"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "A Clear Shot")
When Griswold gives a graduation speech, he must keep a watchful eye for an assasin.
ASIMOV STORY [A.260]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Second Best"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
A dying soldier in the Korean War talked about how he was the namesake of the second-best vote getter, and the Black Widowers must figure out who that name might be.
ASIMOV STORY [A.261] Completed August 1976.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"What Time Is It?"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Lawyer Barry Levine tells the Black Widowers of an eyewitness who says he saw Barry's client hurridly leave a hotel just minutes after a murder, but the client swears that he hadn't even arrived at the hotel by that time.
ASIMOV STORY [A.262]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Middle Name"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Mr. Washburn desperately loved a woman who finnaly agreed to marry him if he could but solve a riddle about a middle name; he couldn't solve the riddle, but can the Black Widowers' waiter do so?
ASIMOV STORY [A.263]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1981

"The Gilbert and Sullivan Mystery"
(Asimov's original title: "The Year of the Action")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Herb Graff hopes to make a film of The Pirates of Penzance, but only if the Black Widowers can help him settle on whether the action takes place in 1873 or 1877.
ASIMOV STORY [A.264]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Call Me Irresistible"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Irresistible to Women")
Griswold must figure out which of four jilted women put a knife in an irresistible man.
ASIMOV STORY [A.265]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Spy Who Was Out-of-Focus"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "He Wasn't There")
A writer who is also a spy has disappeared and Griswold must determine his whereabouts.
ASIMOV STORY [A.266]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Taxicab Crackdown"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Thin Line")
Griswold must figure out how to contact an important double agent.
ASIMOV STORY [A.267]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Death Song"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Mystery Tune")
A minor gangster leaves a musical clue as to the identity of his killer.
ASIMOV STORY [A.268]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Last Shuttle"
Virginia Ratner has been pegged to fly the last space shuttle into orbit along with 616 passengers.
ASIMOV STORY [A.269]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Hide and Seek"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
A six foot package disappears and Griswold must discover its whereabouts.
ASIMOV STORY [A.270]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Decipher Deception"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Gift")
A dying double agent sends a one-word clue about the identity of another double agent, and Griswold must discover the underlying meaning.
ASIMOV STORY [A.271]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Can You Prove It?"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "What's My Name?")
According to the tale he tells the Black Widowers, John Smith of Fairfield, CT, traveled to an eastern European country and was mistaken for a spy, upon which he had to prove that he was indeed John Smith of Fairfield, CT.
ASIMOV STORY [A.272]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Hot or Cold"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
A dying scientist leaves a partial message describing the secret of immortality.
ASIMOV STORY [A.273]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Thirteenth Page"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
A spy among the Vietcong sends a two part secret message as he dies, but the receivers of the message can't understand the key.
ASIMOV STORY [A.274]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"One in a Thousand"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "1 to 999")
A brilliant scientist dies, leaving a cryptic message about who should inherit his papers.
ASIMOV STORY [A.275]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The 12-Year-Old Problem"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Twelve Years Old")
Griswold must persuade a reluctant 12-year-old to tell what he knows about a murder.
ASIMOV STORY [A.276]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Perfect Fit"
Ian Bradstone lives in a computerized society but cannot use or touch computers himself.
ASIMOV STORY [A.277]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Cloak and Dagger Duel"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Testing, Testing!")
Griswold is called into government training and put to an immediate test by a renowned instructor who thinks Griswold is too cocky.
ASIMOV STORY [A.278]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Last Laugh"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Appleby Story")
A minor clerk in an obscure branch of HEW tells a joke and then dies a violent death, and Griswold must figure out the reason.
ASIMOV STORY [A.279]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Ignition Point!"
Nicholas Jansen, a student of mob psychology, writes speaches for empty-headed Barry Winsotn Bloch.
ASIMOV STORY [A.280]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1982

"Countdown to Disaster"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Dollars and Cents")
A terrorist leaves only the cryptic clue "Dollars and Cents" on which Griswold must deduce the room number where a bomb has been planted.
ASIMOV STORY [A.281]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Mirror Image"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Friends and Allies")
Intelligence sources in Britain indicate that an important even will happen on June 6, but when the event doesn't occur, Griswold is called in.
ASIMOV STORY [A.282]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Lest We Remember"
Average man John Heath agrees to be a test subject for an injection that will give him perfect recall.
ASIMOV STORY [A.283]
NOTE: This story is mentioned by Jeff Avalon in the Black Widowers Mystery, "The Phoenician Bauble".
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Perfect Alibi"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Which is Which?")
Griswold stumbles upon a robbery in progress and must then help the police identify which of two nearly identical gangsters was the actual robber.
ASIMOV STORY [A.284]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Telltale Sign"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Sign")
An important intelligence man is murdered while trying to work a double-cross, and Griswold must use astronomical information to work out who the murdered was.
ASIMOV STORY [A.285]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"One Night of Song"
For just three hours, Azazel gives the gift of a perfect voice to the ex-mistress of one of George's friends.
ASIMOV STORY [A.286]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Phoenician Bauble"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Enrico Pavolini, head of a museum of ancient artifacts, knows that his agent procured a valuable Phoenician bauble, but the agent died with just one clue as to the bauble's whereabouts, one clue that only Henry sees the meaning of.y
ASIMOV STORY [A.287]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Stopping the Fox"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Catching the Fox")
Griswold helps catch an elusive color-blind drug smuggler.
ASIMOV STORY [A.288]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Playing It by the Numbers"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Getting the Combination")
Griswold helps a friend discover the combination of her husband's new safe.
ASIMOV STORY [A.289]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Mystery Book"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Library Book")
Griswold must help a widow find an important message hidden in a library book.
ASIMOV STORY [A.290]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"To the Victor"
Azazel makes George's friend irresistible to women.
ASIMOV STORY [A.291]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Flash of Brilliance"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Three Goblets")
Griswold must figure out how illegal diamonds are hidden in a package.
ASIMOV STORY [A.292]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Book Smart"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Spell It!")
Griswold suspects foul play when a book store clerk doesn't know how to spell the name of a famous author.
ASIMOV STORY [A.293]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Lucky Seven"
(Larry the Detective Story)
In a movie theatre, a man tells his wife "Seven, like in the old clock" as a clue to the location of a valuable stolen stamp, and Larry must figure out where the stamp is.
ASIMOV STORY [A.294]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Cherchez la Femme: The Case of the Disappearing Woman"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Two Women")
Young Miss Harkness has disappeared and the police believe that she has become a terrorist.
ASIMOV STORY [A.295]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Dim Rumble"
George asks Azazel to arrange for a drinking companion to forget about a dangerous cave that he stumbled upon.
ASIMOV STORY [A.296]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Super Runner"
Dave, a gene-modified runner, stops to have lunch at a diner with Jimmie and his dad.
ASIMOV STORY [A.297]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Piece of the Rock"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Sending a Signal")
Griswold must determine which of five agents has the code name Granite.
ASIMOV STORY [A.298]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Smile That Loses"
Azazel warns George that creating one perfect photograph must come at a cost.
ASIMOV STORY [A.299]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Ghost of a Chance"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Half a Ghost")
One member of a gang has the nickname Half a Ghost and Griswold must figure out who the elusive figure is.
ASIMOV STORY [A.300]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Winds of Change"
Jonas Dinsmore is not half the physicist as his colleagues, the politically astute Adams and the brilliant Muller, but in their presence, he claims to have figured out how to interpret Muller's Grand Unified Theory to allow time travel.
ASIMOV STORY [A.301]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Foundation's Edge
Mayor Harla Branno of the Foundation, Speaker Stor Gendibal and the rebelious Councilman Golan Trevize each travel across the galaxy to converge on a power stronger than both Foundations that could lead them eventually to the mythical Earth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.302] (Book #262) Completed March 25, 1982.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 498 F.E.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1983

"Poetic License"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "There Was a Young Lady")
Griswold must use a limerick to determine the whereabouts of a young lady named Alice.
ASIMOV STORY [A.303]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Chemical Solution"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "State Capital")
A brilliant but antisocial chemists leaves his deathbed notes in a safety deposit box, and Griswold must deduce the location of the bank.
ASIMOV STORY [A.304]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Potential"
Two researchers go to Plainview, Iowa, to test Roland Washman, a tennaged boy whom Multivac says could have telepathic powers.
ASIMOV STORY [A.305]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Amusement Lark"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Never Out of Sight")
Griswold tells the story of accused spy Sanford Brown, whose fiance claims she was with him every moment of that day in the amusement park, so he couldn't possibly have passed a microfilm to the beautiful enemy agent.
ASIMOV STORY [A.306]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Face the Music"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Favorite Piece")
Griswold must determine the theatrical location of a planned murder using a scant musical clue.
ASIMOV STORY [A.307]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Stormy Weather"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Magic Umbrella")
Griswold tells the tale of two old men who have played chess together in the park for forty years, until Myerson claims that Levy stole his magic umbrella.
ASIMOV STORY [A.308]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"A Monday in April"
The Gentle Reader reads the rare full name of the inestimable waiter, Henry's Jackson, but this knowledge does not change the fact that only Henry can help the handsome Charles Soskin, who believes that his one true love has betrayed him in a contest involving a timed translation.
ASIMOV STORY [A.309]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Circuit Breaker"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Briefcase in the Taxi")
A western-dressed man is suspected of transferring secret computer information in a briefcase that he deliberately threw into a taxi.
ASIMOV STORY [A.310]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Riddled with Clues"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Bird That Sang Bass")
A Soviet agent is likely carrying information out of the country on a microfilm, but the authorities are unlikely to search him unless they have confidence that they'll find the item based on a single clue of "elephant-bird".
ASIMOV STORY [A.311]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Great Caesar's Ghost"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Last Caesar")
When the gang at the Union Club wonder about Griswold's source of income, he assures them that winning wagers is part of his livelihood, and he offers as an example a bet about who the last Ceaser was.
ASIMOV STORY [A.312]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Saving Humanity"
Azazel removes almost all of the curse that afflicts George's friend Menander Block.
ASIMOV STORY [A.313]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Speck"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
Shortly after World War II, Griswold (so he says), was asked by a colonel to determine whether a released American POW was actually a famed Canadian traitor.
ASIMOV STORY [A.314]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Christmas Solution"
(Larry the Detective Story)
Larry's dad is trying to solve a murder where the victim grabbed the letter X from a scrabble set as his last act.
ASIMOV STORY [A.315]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Nothing Might Happen"
Sam Gelderman hatches a plot that might, just might, result in his rich uncle's quick demise; then again, nothing might happen.
ASIMOV STORY [A.316]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby, The Mixed-Up Robot (with Janet Asimov)
Space cadet Jeff Sells buys a seemingly defective robot (Norby!) to teach him Martian Swahili, but Norby turns out to be more than just a teaching robot, and the Jeff/Norby combination is up to saving the galaxy from Ing the Ingrate.
ASIMOV STORY [A.317] (Book #278)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

The Robots of Dawn
Dr. Han Fastolfe calls on Lije Baley and R. Daneel to come to Aurora to prove him innocent of murdering a robot, all with the help of new friend, R. Giskard Reventlov.
ASIMOV STORY [A.318] (Book #281) Completed March 28, 1983.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 5024 A.D., two years after The Naked Sun
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1984

"A Matter of Principle"
George can't get Azazel to directly make him rich, but perhaps he could arrange for the demon to create a great author and indirectly receive some riches.
ASIMOV STORY [A.319]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Neither Brute Nor Human"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Jonathan Dandle's creackpot sister is dying of cancer, and she intends to leave the house to a crackpot organization unless Jonathan (with the help of the Black Widowers, Edgar Allan Poe and maybe even H.P. Lovecraft) can identify the origin star of the aliens that a infesting mankind.
ASIMOV STORY [A.320]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Evil Drink Does"
In order to loosen inhibitions, Azazel changes the chemistry of beautiful young Ishtar so that alcohol has but a mild intoxicating effect.
ASIMOV STORY [A.321]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Triply Unique"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
Griswold tells of a murderer on Independence Day who leaves a clue that his name is the "triply unique name on the list."
ASIMOV STORY [A.322]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Writing Time"
Azazel arranges for writer Mordecai Sims to have more writing time by making sure that he will never wait for anything again.
ASIMOV STORY [A.323]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Redhead"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
John Anderssen's redheaded wife claims to be a witch, and unless the Black Widowers can explain how she did what she did, he might just have to accept her at her word.
ASIMOV STORY [A.324]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Ten-Second Election"
Gene Whittaker is worried about the Cook County results in a completely computerized--no human voters needed--presidential election.
ASIMOV STORY [A.325]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Year of the Feast"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
Griswold tells of a lawyer whose client was born in a year after an unusual turkey dinner.
ASIMOV STORY [A.326]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Queen and King"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)

ASIMOV STORY [A.327]
PUBLICATION RECORD:
  • ----- Only publication: Espionage (December 1984)

"Dashing Through the Snow"
Azazel offers to alter George's friend to make it easier to spend a winter in snowy upstate New York.
ASIMOV STORY [A.328]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby's Other Secret (with Janet Asimov)
Norby and Jeff travel to the planet of the Jamya dragons to save Norby's creator, Mentor First, and to learn of the Others.
ASIMOV STORY [A.329] (Book #298)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1985

"Hallucination"
Sam Chase is unexpectedly sent to a planet on an astrophysics apprenticeship around a neutron star, even though what he's been studying is neurophysiology--so, maybe he's there to study the hallucinations that have been plaguing the astrophysicists of the planet.
ASIMOV STORY [A.333]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Fourth Homonym"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Alfred Hunzinger left a single syllable, t-o-o, for his lawyer, Nicholas Brant, to decide which son should rule the family business, but which of several meanings should be assigned to that syllable and which son does it apply to?
ASIMOV STORY [A.334]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Upside Down"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)

ASIMOV STORY [A.335]
PUBLICATION RECORD:
  • Only publication: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (June 1985)

"Logic is Logic"
Azazel and George come up with a scheme to stop poor Alistar Tobago Crump, VI, from being such a bore.
ASIMOV STORY [A.336]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Triple Devil"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
When he was a boy of 15, Benjamin Manfred had a wealthy, fatherly friend who let Ben read any books from his vast library, but on the friend's death, Ben got to choose only one to take as his own, and his choice was based on a cryptic clue: "Triple Devil."
ASIMOV STORY [A.337]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Taunter"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "The Suspect")

ASIMOV STORY [A.338]
PUBLICATION RECORD:
  • Only publication: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (October 1985)

"He Travels the Fastest"
In one of his first gifts, Azazel gives the urge to travel to wealthy recluse Sophocles Moskowitz.
ASIMOV STORY [A.339]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Straight Lines"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
Which states have borders that are all straight lines? (Not Wyoming, by the way.) According to Griswold, the answer to this riddle could have provided a means to capture Pancho Villas in 1916.
ASIMOV STORY [A.340]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Unique Is Where You Find It"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Manny Rubin's nephew Horace, a PhD candidate in chemistry, has been asked by a troublesome professor to come up with the name of a chemical element that is most unique.
ASIMOV STORY [A.341]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Twins"
(Larry the Detective Story)
To Larry, young twins Joshua and Jeremiah have distinct personalities that occasionally switch.
ASIMOV STORY [A.342]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Man In the Park"
(Larry the Detective Story)
A man in the park seems to be using kids as a cover-up while he cases the bank.
ASIMOV STORY [A.343]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby and the Lost Princess (with Janet Asimov)
Jeff and Norby find the far-away planet of Melodia, ruled by the Princess Iz, one of the descendants of humans who were transplanet millennia ago.
ASIMOV STORY [A.344] (Book #318)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Robots and Empire
Two hundred years after Earthpeople (but not Spacers!) began settling planets, robots Daneel and Giskard realize that an Auroran Spacer may have a plan to strike a fatal blow to Earth, but even with the help of an ex-Solarian (Gladia) and a Baley-descendant (D.G.), it may be impossible for them to foil the plan because of their inability to violate the First Law of Robotics.
ASIMOV STORY [A.345] (Book #328)
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 5224 A.D., 200 years after The Robots of Dawn
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby and the Invaders (with Janet Asimov)
Norby and Jeff play diplomat between the Jamya dragons and the anti-technology invaders.
ASIMOV STORY [A.346] (Book #333)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1986

"Child's Play"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
As a nine-year-old before the great depression, Griswold earned his first $50 by solving a puzzle presented by a dinner guest.
ASIMOV STORY [A.347]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Eye of the Beholder"
A happy young married couple comes under Azazel's spell when George decides that the young woman could do with more beauty.
ASIMOV STORY [A.348]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"New England Equinox"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
Griswold helps a stranger determine whether his painting is an authentic Louis Hazlett--all without ever seeing the piece of art.
ASIMOV STORY [A.349]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Sunset on the Water"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Chester Dunhill has received a letter from an American who watches sunsets over the water in a large city that has harsh winters, and he asks the Black Widowers to figure out what city that could be.
ASIMOV STORY [A.350]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Ten"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)

ASIMOV STORY [A.351]
PUBLICATION RECORD:
  • First publication: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (August 1986)

"Zip Code"
(Larry the Detective Story)

ASIMOV STORY [A.352]
PUBLICATION RECORD:
  • ----- Only publication: Boys' Life (September 1986)

"Where Is He?"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Roger Halsted, the junior high math teacher, does a nice job of introducing all the members to his guest at the start of this story: "I want you to meet Emmanual Rubin, who writes mysteries; Mario Gonzalo, who will be doing your portrait soon; James Drake, who's coughing over his cigarette, and was a chemist before he retired; Geoffrey Avalon, a patent attorney, though I've never found out what they do; and Thomas Trumbull, who works for a hush-hush branch of the government. --And this is our waiter, Henry [Jackson], who's also a member..." Afterward, of course, Roger's guest, W. Bradford Hume is grilled and provides a mystery of a reliable cameraman who never showed up for a television taping.
ASIMOV STORY [A.353]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Mind's Construction"
Even Azazel might not be able to give a man the ability to tell truth from prevarication all the time.
ASIMOV STORY [A.354]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Common Name"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)

ASIMOV STORY [A.355]
PUBLICATION RECORD:
  • Only publication: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (mid-December 1986)

"More Things in Heaven and Earth"
In order to avoid a curse on the presidents of the Club of Diminishing Returns, Azazel arranges for George's friend to become invulnerable to all earthly perils.
ASIMOV STORY [A.356]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Burnside and the Courts"
(Asimov's original title: "Feghoot and the Courts")
Ferdinand Feghoot visits the planet Lockmania to report on its legal system and strange maxims.
ASIMOV STORY [A.357]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Robot Dreams"
Roboticist Linda Rash brings robot LVX-1 (Elvex) to an aged Susan Calvin because Elvex is having dreams.
ASIMOV STORY [A.358]
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: Circa 2050 A.D.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Foundation and Earth
Councilman Golan Trevize, along with Janov Pelorat and Blissenobiarella, search for the mythical ancentral home of humanity--Earth!
ASIMOV STORY [A.359] (Book #349)
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 499 F.E.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby and the Queen's Necklace
Norby and Jeff come across a replica of Marie Antoinette's necklace which has powers to transport them back to the French Revolution.
ASIMOV STORY [A.360] (Book #351)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1987

"Left to Right" (with Harrison Roth)
Real-life scientist and sometimes sf writer Robert L. Forward decides to use himself as the test subject for a device that will interchange left-to-right...perhaps.
ASIMOV STORY [A.361]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Fights of Spring"
George visits the 97-pound weakling son of a college buddy and gets Azazel to improve his reflexes, but does the son show any appreciation?
ASIMOV STORY [A.362]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Snatched Purse"
(Asimov's original title: "The Old Purse")
(Black Widowers Mystery)
William Teller had her purse unobtrusively lifted from her shoulder, but, surpisingly, all the contents were returned save for the old purse itself.
ASIMOV STORY [A.363]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Teddy Bear"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
Two college friends of Griswold, Oswald Tracy and David Stern, have an elaborate game of giving a teddy bear back and forth on their mutual birthday.
ASIMOV STORY [A.364]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Stamp"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
Griswold tells of a man whose second cousin once removed created a museum to glorify his writing when he died--and left a valuable stamp that nobody can find.
ASIMOV STORY [A.365]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Galatea"
Azazel brings a statue to life according the the strict requirements expressed by George's goddaughter.
ASIMOV STORY [A.366]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Fable of Three Princes"
Triplet princes from the poorest and smallest kingdom of the empire vie for the hand of the emperor's daughter.
ASIMOV STORY [A.367]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby Finds a Villian (with Janet Asimov)
The dastardly Ing is back and plans to destroy the universe, but instead he makes a universe where the Buguglies have conquered all life and only Jeff and Norby (plus Princess Rinda and her robot Pera) can set things right again.
ASIMOV STORY [A.368] (Book #364)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain
The voyagers are microscopically sized scientists who aim to enter a comatose colleague's brain to retrieve memories.
ASIMOV STORY [A.369] (Book #365)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1988

"The Quiet Place"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Theodore Jarvik was once taken to a quiet, idyllic place by a man called Dark Horse, but now he can't find the spot and he hopes that the Black Widowers can help him do so.
ASIMOV STORY [A.370]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Turning Point"
I have not yet read this story of exactly 100 words.
ASIMOV STORY [A.371]
PUBLICATION RECORD:
  • ----- Only publication: The Drabble Project (Rob Meades and David B. Wake, eds.) (April 1988)

"The Legacy"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
In order to establish the rightful heir to a legacy in a writer's will, Griswold must determine whether one particular John Anderson was living in Washington D.C. in the early '60s.
ASIMOV STORY [A.372]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Flight of Fancy"
Someone should warn Baldur that it is dangerous to wish for the gift of flight when you have a friend named George who can summon a demon called Azazel.
ASIMOV STORY [A.373]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Lost Dog"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
When a homeless man named Jeff is brought to a hospital to die alone, a pretty nurse, Katherine Adelman, coaxes young Griswold into finding his dog.
ASIMOV STORY [A.374]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Man as the Ultimate Gadget"
(Asimov's original title: The Smile of the Chipper)
Years ago, at the outset of the 21st century, junior executive Johnson's career depended on choosing between two "chippers"--those men with implanted microchips that gave them power over others' emotions.
ASIMOV STORY [A.375]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"I Love Littly Pussy"
George tells of how he got Azazel to make his cousin's cat love only her, hoping that the cousin would be so grateful that she would leave her considerable estate to him.
ASIMOV STORY [A.376]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Christmas without Rodney"
Gracie adores her robot Rodney and decides to give him a vacation over the Christmas holidays, even though her son (along with his awful wife and son) are coming to visit.
ASIMOV STORY [A.377]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Two-Centimeter Demon"
The story of how Our Author came to meet George Bitternut, how George conjured Azazel, and how Azazel bestowed a gift upon a mediocre basketball player.
ASIMOV STORY [A.378]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Prelude to Foundation
During Cleon I's reign, Hari Seldon begins to spread his idea of a practical theory of psychohistory, with the venerable Dors always at his side.
ASIMOV STORY [A.379] (Book #379) Completed November 1987.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 46 B.F.E.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby Down to Earth (with Janet Asimov)
Jeff and Norby head to Earth to help Jeff's brother unravel a mystery involving mixed-up robots and computers.
ASIMOV STORY [A.380] (Book #404)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1989

"The Instability"
Professor Firebrenner explains to Atkins how they can go forward in time to study a red dwarf and then return back to Earth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.381]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Good-Bye to Earth"
An inhabitant of the settlements in orbit around Earth writes to warn of a future happening that Earth might be unaware of.
ASIMOV STORY [A.382]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Last Man"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)

ASIMOV STORY [A.383]
PUBLICATION RECORD:
  • Only publication: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (March 1989)

"The Envelope"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Francis MacShannon tells the Black Widowers of a time when, as a young man, he spotted an unfriendly neighbor discard a letter but keep the envelope--and he has wondered why ever since.
ASIMOV STORY [A.384]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Alexander the God"
Alexander Hoskins and his computer Bucephalus set out to conquer the world by financial might.
ASIMOV STORY [A.385]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Mad Scientist"
Azazel arranges for George's scientist friend to have his scientific papers published and widely circulated.
ASIMOV STORY [A.386]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"To Your Health"
In order to even the odds among two opticians who are competing for the heart of a young lady, George plans to make the sickly one immune to the common cold.
ASIMOV STORY [A.387]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Alibi"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Leonard Koenig tells the Black Widowers of a man who was the prime suspect in the transfer of sensitive data to an enemy country, but he seemed to be on a Bremuda vacation when the thief and transfer occurred in the states.
ASIMOV STORY [A.388]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Too Bad!"
Noble Mike, the Fantastic Robot Voyager, has a mission to eliminate the cancerous cells from Dr. Gregory Arnfeld's body.
ASIMOV STORY [A.389]
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 22nd century A.D.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Ho! Ho! Ho!"
(Griswold Union Club Mystery)
Griswold's friend, Dan Arbutus, once worked as a security guard in a store at Christmastime--a time when he suspected that a silent Santa stole a necklace.
ASIMOV STORY [A.390]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Northwestward"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Bruce Wayne, a guest at the Black Widower's Club and the real life model for Batman, tells a tale of how his butler traveled to Minneapolis...and beyond.
ASIMOV STORY [A.391]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Nemesis
Young Marlene lives on an orbital structure that leaves the solar system for a nearby red dwarf that may be more dangerous--to all humanity--than it seems.
ASIMOV STORY [A.392] (Book #429) Completed March 1989.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby and Yobo's Great Adventure (with Janet Asimov)
Jeff, Norby and Admiral Yobo have an adventure in prehistoric times.
ASIMOV STORY [A.393] (Book #437)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1990

"Lost in a Space Warp"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
The Black Widowers' guest, Gary Nemerson, was late to dinner because he'd lost his umbrella into a kind of space warp that swallows one or two things of _my_ own every year.
ASIMOV STORY [A.394]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Yes, But Why?"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Henry himslef brings a puzzle to the Black Widowers: Someone has been sending anonymous and embarrasing letters to his lady friend, Hester Amberley.
ASIMOV STORY [A.395]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Fault-Intolerant"
Abram Ivanov, America's most prolific writer, gets an uppity word processor.
ASIMOV STORY [A.396]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Star Empire"
This is a one-page comic strip, the first of an unrealized series that beins in the 287th year of the Imperial Era, written by Asimov and drawn by Charles Schneeman.
ASIMOV STORY [A.397]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Police at the Door"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Someone reported falsely to police that Arnie Kriss was threatening his wife with a knife at the throat, and unless the Black Widowers can help him figure out the culprit, Arnie will have a hard time trusting any of his few friends.
ASIMOV STORY [A.398] Completed mid-October 1989.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Latter-Day Martian Chronicles" (Part I) (aka "In the Canyon")
This is one of five epistolary pictures of what life on Mars might have been like had we taken the most ambitious advice of a 1969 space task force. The other four letters-to-home are by Pat Murphy, Bruce Sterling, Joan D. Vinge and Gregory Benford.
ASIMOV STORY [A.399]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Wine Is a Mocker"
George's young newlywed friend is continuously drunk until Azazel provides the friend with an ultradiscerning sense of taste.
ASIMOV STORY [A.400]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Haunted Cabin"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Marcellus DaRienzi spends a night in an obviously faked haunted house, but how did the fakers know his name (even if they did mispronounce it)?
ASIMOV STORY [A.401] Completed early 1990.
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Time Traveler"
A world-renowned writer travels back in time to see his first writing teacher at a 1934 school that is remarkably like Asimov's own Boys High in Brooklyn.
ASIMOV STORY [A.402]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Kid Brother"
Charlie Janowitz's father tells the police about how and why he and Josie bought a kid brother robot for Charlie.
ASIMOV STORY [A.403]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Lucky Piece"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Albert Silverstein tells the Black Widowers of a boy who lost his lucky piece in a room of a dozen vacationers and of the strangely persistent search carried out by the boy's father.
ASIMOV STORY [A.404]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Four-Leaf Clover"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
University President John Poindexter knows of a faculty member who was kidnapped and killed for being a spy, but the victim sent one last message--a four-leaf-clover--as a clue to the identity of his betrayer.
ASIMOV STORY [A.405]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Recipe"
(Black Widowers Mystery)
Myron Dynast's wife's recipe for blueberry muffins was stolen, even though she wrote it down only once on a card inside a tightly locked house and almost immediately destroyed the card.
ASIMOV STORY [A.406]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby and the Oldest Dragon (with Janet Asimov)
The Grand Dragon is having a birthday on the planet Jamyn, and Jeff will be there with Norby.
ASIMOV STORY [A.407] (Book #446)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1991

"A Safe Place"
(Gris wold Union Club Mystery)
(Asimov's original title: "Missing")
ASIMOV STORY [A.408]
PUBLICATION RECORD:
  • Only publication: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (March 1991)

"Robot Visions"
A team of Temporalists send robot RG-32 200 years into the future where it seems to almost all that mankind is doing better than expected on Earth and in space.
ASIMOV STORY [A.409]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Baby, It's Cold Outside"
George's beautiful goddaughter loaths any physical affection from men, even from her husband, which is a challenge even for Azazel.
ASIMOV STORY [A.410]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Guest's Guest"
(Black Widowers Mysteryy)
Thw Black Widowers' guest, David S. Rose, has a bottomless pit for a mind--he forgets things--and the group must help him figure out who his Thursday Lunch Club has invited to perform and speak that week.
ASIMOV STORY [A.411]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Gold"
Apparently, Asimov didn't write The Gods Themselves afterall (!), and now, the real author, Gregory Laborian, wants the world's foremost compu-drama director, Jonas Willard, to bring the story to life.
ASIMOV STORY [A.412]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Forward the Foundation" (aka "Eto Demerzel" in Forward the Foundation)
Part I of the novel.
ASIMOV STORY [A.413] (Book #502)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"It's a Job"
George's friend is in love, but the object of his affection wants the friend to get a job--a task that seems impossible without Azazel's intervention.
ASIMOV STORY [A.414]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Prince Delightful and the Flameless Dragon"
A newborn prince inadvertantly receives the gift of clumsiness but that very gift helps him win favor with the flameless dragon.
ASIMOV STORY [A.415]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Frustration"
Peter Jonsbeck is certain that no computer will always be missing a key element that's needed to start a rightious war.
ASIMOV STORY [A.416]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Cal"
Cal, a.k.a. Robot CL-123X, longs to be a writer, just like his master.
ASIMOV STORY [A.417]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

Norby and the Court Jester (with Janet Asimov)
Norby, Jeff and the Admiral travel to planet Izz for the annual toy festival.
ASIMOV STORY [A.418] (Book #480)
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1992

"Cleon the Emperor" (aka "Cleon I" in Forward the Foundation)
Part II of Forward the Foundation.
ASIMOV STORY [A.419]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Critic on the Hearth"
When a critic marries a writer, sparks are sure to fly, unless Azazel can figure out a way to throw water on the fire.
ASIMOV STORY [A.420]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1993

"The Consort" (aka "Dors Venabili" in Forward the Foundation)
Part III of Forward the Foundation.
ASIMOV STORY [A.421]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Wanda Seldon"
Part IV of Forward the Foundation.
ASIMOV STORY [A.422]
NOTE: This story was written explicitly as a new section for the final foundation book, Forward the Foundation Foundation.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

"Epilogue"
Part V of Forward the Foundation.
ASIMOV STORY [A.423]
NOTE: These few pages were written explicitly as a new section for the final foundation book, Forward the Foundation Foundation.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

Forward the Foundation
As those who are closest to Hari Seldon die, he continues to develop and promote his growing theory of psychohistory.
ASIMOV BOOK #502 (but no new Asimov number since each part has its own)
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 38 to 8 B.F.E.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD::

 

1994

"March Against the Foe"
Azazel arranges for George's friend to have the perfect talent for the position of vice president of enthusiasm at a large company.
ASIMOV STORY [A.424]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

1995

"Battle-Hymn"
Young Devers proposes that the national anthem of France be used in a campaign to persuade the Martians to vote yes on the issue of hyperspatial tests.
ASIMOV STORY [A.425]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

"The Nations in Space"
Traditional enemies, the Gladovians and Saroninians, are thrown together to manage the orbiting solar power collector.
ASIMOV STORY [A.426]
PUBLICATION RECORD:

 

 

Michael Main main@colorado.edu

Thanks for your visit to the Isaac Asimov fiction page, ©2000-2016 by Michael Main.
The earlier works (before 1953) are listed in Part I (www.storypilot.com/asimov1.html).