Asimovs Science Fiction

[Zadakeem]

Hey All!

 

Since these boards have come to be my favorite place to ask questions and get real responses from people who seem to care. I chose to come here to ask yet another overall question.

 

Lately, I have been tearing through Novels at a searing rate. However, I find myself getting burnt out. To the point that Warbreaker took me three weeks to get through. And I fully expected to be through The Rithmatist by now...so I think I need a respite. Something to re-energize my novel reading desire.

 

So I was thinking that some short stories and Novelettes could satisfy me. I found Asimovs Science Fiction.

 

Now I ask an age tired question "Is this magazine worth my time?"

 

My two biggest things are 1. Quality. I want to be reading something good. Something that I will finish and think "that was worth my staring at paper for the last few hours". 

2. Sex. I dont like sexuality in my books Warbreaker was about as much as I can stand in a book, Is Asimovs magazine presses that line often. I dont want it.

 

So sound of as the 17th sharders so wonderfully do!

[Shardlet]

The Foundation books are excellent.  The robot books are also great.  But be careful, there are a couple of parts which are on par with Warbreaker for sexuality and even go a bit farther (this is only in the Lige Bailey and Daneel Ollivaw robot books).   It made me sad because I like the stories.  The other robot books are clean and are very philosophically rich with the three laws.

 

Edit: Peter's comment makes me feel like an idiot.  You were asking about "Asimov's Science Fiction" not "Asimov's science fiction".  I thought you were talking about his books not the magazine.   

Edited June 5, 2013 by Shardlet

[PeterAhlstrom]

I've subscribed to the magazines (Asimov's, Analog, F&SF) in years past but not recently. My taste just doesn't align with the editors often enough. It is also very common for multiple stories in an issue to have sexual content.

Tor.com and Clarkesworld both have often high-quality stories online for free—but again, often sexual content. You have to be willing to stop reading a story if you want to avoid it, nowadays.

[Phantom Monstrosity]

Have you looked at the public domain stuff on wikisource?

 

Lord Dunsany is an underappreciated writer, IMO.  You can find a lot of his short stories here.  Fall of Babbulkund is pretty good.

 

Lovecraft gets referenced a lot, but a lot of people haven't read his short stories.   I especially like the dream cycles stuff.  The Cats of Ulthar is one of the best dark short stories I've read.

 

The King in Yellow (Robert W. Chambers) is particularly interesting once you realize it was published in 1895 - it's got this weird alternate history feel, since the setting is after a World War, but the details are just not quite right.  The stories in general are kinda surreal.

 

E.E. "Doc" Smith is just inimitable, and he founded space opera as a genre.  Skylark is a pretty fast read, and the unique writing style really grows on you.

Edited June 17, 2013 by Phantom Monstrosity

[Jedidiah]

Lovecraft is fantastic, and he also created his own universe in which his stories take place although the stories are unconnected in regards to characters and plots. He's my favorite horror writer besides Poe, for sure, and his work is not sexually explicit at all.