End of Eternity
Lewis Stiller
Look, with all this talk about Foundation, I'd like to know if anyone
agrees with me that Asimov's greatest novel was The End of Eternity.
I thought this novel was beautifully plotted and a very clever
pre-archetypal creation myth in a way. It surely is one of the best
time travel tales ever, weaving together many strands in a virtuouso
manner. Anyway, I liked it more than any of the Foundation books, and
surely it is more tightly plotted than they.
--
Lewis Stiller
Dept. of Computer Science, The Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD 21218-2194
email: sti...@cs.jhu.edu
Silent Dreamer
>Look, with all this talk about Foundation, I'd like to know if anyone
>agrees with me that Asimov's greatest novel was The End of Eternity.
>I thought this novel was beautifully plotted and a very clever
>pre-archetypal creation myth in a way. It surely is one of the best
>time travel tales ever, weaving together many strands in a virtuouso
>manner. Anyway, I liked it more than any of the Foundation books, and
>surely it is more tightly plotted than they.
I loved that book---am looking for it, really (borrowed it from the library).
It was certainly one of the most creative time-travel stories, ever.
--
Quote: "Love may conquer everything, but it needs Time as its Field General."
Let darkness disappear/In the rays of sunshine/That come from within my heart/
Whenever I think of you.
Ed Seiler
(Lewis Stiller) wrote:
>
> Look, with all this talk about Foundation, I'd like to know if anyone
> agrees with me that Asimov's greatest novel was The End of Eternity.
>
> I thought this novel was beautifully plotted and a very clever
> pre-archetypal creation myth in a way. It surely is one of the best
> time travel tales ever, weaving together many strands in a virtuouso
> manner. Anyway, I liked it more than any of the Foundation books, and
> surely it is more tightly plotted than they.
Hmm, I wouldn't call it his greatest, but certainly very good, and I
enjoyed it immensely. As for time travel stories, I believe Heinlein has
written a couple that some regard as the classics in the category, though I
haven't read them yet, and so cannot offer my own opinion.
One theme I find very interesting in EoE is that, unless it is challenged
by adversity, humankind never progresses to space travel. The implication
is that the great discoveries and accomplishments of history are born in
times of hardship of some sort; the desire for something better provides a
motivation. If we lived in a prosperous world without any significant
problems, civilization would stagnate. And the analogy might even be
extended to the individual, to say that the creative force is greatest in
individuals who are never content. I don't know if Asimov intended to
deliver this message (personally I doubt it), but nevertheless I think the
message may be there, though the premise itself is certainly debatable.
Finally, I read something very interesting about the inspiration for the
story. Supposedly Asimov was at the library scanning through some old
issues of Time magazine (pre-1945) when he came across a picture that at
first glance looked exactly like what is mentioned in the story (I won't be
more specific for those who haven't read it yet; those who have read it
will know what I am talking about). When he looked more closely, he
realized he was mistaken, but it set him to wondering, if his first
impression was correct, how could such a thing be explained? And we all
know that whenever something got Isaac wondering, a story was soon to
follow.
--
Ed Seiler
sei...@nibbles.gsfc.nasa.gov
"If puns are outlawed, only outlaws will have puns."
Ed Seiler
>
> Look, with all this talk about Foundation, I'd like to know if anyone
> agrees with me that Asimov's greatest novel was The End of Eternity.
>
> I thought this novel was beautifully plotted and a very clever
> pre-archetypal creation myth in a way. It surely is one of the best
> time travel tales ever, weaving together many strands in a virtuouso
> manner. Anyway, I liked it more than any of the Foundation books, and
> surely it is more tightly plotted than they.
Hmm, I wouldn't call it his greatest, but certainly very good, and I
Lewis Stiller
Ed Seiler <sei...@nibbles.gsfc.nasa.gov> wrote:
>In article <28i4sh$3...@rhombus.cs.jhu.edu>, sti...@rhombus.cs.jhu.edu
>(Lewis Stiller) wrote:
>
>>
>> Look, with all this talk about Foundation, I'd like to know if anyone
>> agrees with me that Asimov's greatest novel was The End of Eternity.
>>
>> I thought this novel was beautifully plotted and a very clever
>> pre-archetypal creation myth in a way. It surely is one of the best
>> time travel tales ever, weaving together many strands in a virtuouso
>> manner. Anyway, I liked it more than any of the Foundation books, and
>> surely it is more tightly plotted than they.
>
>Hmm, I wouldn't call it his greatest, but certainly very good, and I
>enjoyed it immensely.
:-) Well, yes, his "greatest" will always be controversial---what did you like
more?
>
>One theme I find very interesting in EoE is that, unless it is challenged
>by adversity, humankind never progresses to space travel. The implication
>is that the great discoveries and accomplishments of history are born in
>times of hardship of some sort; the desire for something better provides a
>motivation. If we lived in a prosperous world without any significant
>problems, civilization would stagnate. And the analogy might even be
>extended to the individual, to say that the creative force is greatest in
>individuals who are never content. I don't know if Asimov intended to
>deliver this message (personally I doubt it), but nevertheless I think the
>message may be there, though the premise itself is certainly debatable.
Yes, that's a very good observation. I even found this bit of
political philosophy more intriguing than, say, psychohistory (although
there are some implicit psychohistorical techniques I guess in EofE).
Anyway, I definitely agree with it (the first part about great discoveries;
I'm not so sure about the individual part).
>
>Finally, I read something very interesting about the inspiration for the
>story. Supposedly Asimov was at the library scanning through some old
>issues of Time magazine (pre-1945) when he came across a picture that at
>first glance looked exactly like what is mentioned in the story (I won't be
>more specific for those who haven't read it yet; those who have read it
>will know what I am talking about).
Come now: surely everyone on this newsgroup has read End of Eternity!
Or should have.
>When he looked more closely, he
>realized he was mistaken, but it set him to wondering, if his first
>impression was correct, how could such a thing be explained? And we all
>know that whenever something got Isaac wondering, a story was soon to
>follow.
Really? That's a neat story! I can just see Asimov sitting there scanning
through old issues of Time. If you happen to see a reference for it,
please post it. It would be quite doubly awesome if the reference actually
contained a pointer to the inspirational picture itself :-) .
Technically though, I mean, EofE kind of precedes ALL OTHER SCI FI stories,
in particular, all other Asimov stories, and so technically should be
read first. :-) . That's why I called it a pre-archetypal creation myth.
Complete with Adam and Eve :-) .
By the way, I get several intensively pro-End of Eternity letters via
email, so there are others anyway who do love that novel.
Thanks for the info,
Bad Bob
Well, I liked The End of Eternity...
But, I also liked Foundation and The Gods Themselves. Foundation was not
really a novel, but a collection of short stories. In The Gods
Themselves there were some sexual inuendoes that I found amusing. You
can probably make a good argument for The End of Eternity. It's short!
Personally, I found it a little hoaky that they avoided a paradox by
having the lights out when the "time tracker" bumped into himself.
Eckhard Rueggeberg
>Look, with all this talk about Foundation, I'd like to know if anyone
>agrees with me that Asimov's greatest novel was The End of Eternity.
I do agree. And I was even more impressed when I read the first version
of it, a short story printed in "The alternate Asimov's".
---
Eckhard R"uggeberg
eck...@ts.go.dlr.de
Sandie A. Grow
: I do agree. And I was even more impressed when I read the first version
: of it, a short story printed in "The alternate Asimov's".
Which is where he related his inspiration to the story that was mentioned
earlier in the thread.
If I remember correctly it also included a different version of "Ugly Little
Boy", the original novella which became A Pebble in the Sky, and maybe
something else...? He also mentioned how he'd submitted the first third of
The Gods Themselves as a story and the editor (can't remember who, maybe
Gold?), said he wanted a full novel out of it...
Sandie A. Grow
: I do agree. And I was even more impressed when I read the first version
: of it, a short story printed in "The alternate Asimov's".
Which is also where he talked about the aforementioned inspiration. If I
remember correctly, it also had a different version of "Ugly Little Boy",
the original novella which became A Pebble in the Sky, and maybe something
else...?
He also talked about originally submitting the first third of The Gods
Themselves as a story to an editor (Gold maybe?), who rejected it on the
grounds that he instead submit a full novel...
Sandie A. Grow
posted it twice! :]
aps...@igc.apc.org
I love some of the other stuff asimov has done like robot dreams
in his short stories you guys o have got me inspired now and
I think that ill go read empire to eternity. I hadnt heard of it before.