Isaac Asimov: fantasy worlds in his books. The works of Isaac Asimov and their film adaptations

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Isaac Asimov is one of America's most significant and authoritative writers. He, along with Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, is one of the so-called "Big Three" science fiction writers. This fact speaks of the recognition of colleagues in the shop and of the gigantic contribution that he made to literature. In addition, this trio of magnificent masters of fantasy can also be called enlighteners of our time. Asimov and Clark did a lot to popularize science.

Biography of Isaac Asimov. Childhood years in Soviet Russia

Petrovichi (now the Shumyachsky district) of the Smolensk region is a place that was glorified by his birth on January 2, 1920, the boy Isaac, who later became the best science fiction writer of the 20th century, Isaac Asimov. He later said that he was born on the same land as Yuri Gagarin, and therefore still feels like he belongs to two countries at once.

The writer's father, Yuda Asimov, was an educated person at that time. At first he was employed in the family business, and after the revolution he became an accountant. The writer's mother, Khana-Rachel, was from a large family and worked in a shop.

Emigration

After being born in 1923daughter, Isaac's parents receive an invitation from the mother's brother, who has long since left for the United States and settled there. The family decides to emigrate to America.

Isaac Asimov claimed that before coming to the United States, his parents had the surname Ozimov, but immigration officials entered them as Asimov and changed the name of the writer to the American way. And so he became Isaac.

Parents could not master English well, so it was not possible to get a well-paid job. Then Yuda bought a small grocery store and opened a trade. But for his son, he did not want the fate of a small merchant and decided to give him a good education. Isaac himself studied with pleasure, and from the age of 5 he could visit the library.

With admission to the medical faculty, nothing happened - as it turned out, Asimov could not stand the sight of blood. Then it was decided to enter the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University.

Further there was a successful career. Isaac Asimov became a professor of biochemistry and began teaching at the Boston Medical School. In 1958, he suddenly stops his scientific activity. But he continued to read his famous lectures for several years.

How he becomes a science fiction writer

Asimov began to write as a child. One day his friend, after reading the beginning of the story, demanded to continue. And then it became clear to the future science fiction writer that he really did something.

Isaac Asimov's first stories were published in 1939 by John Campbell, legendary editor anddiscoverer of young talents. Already the second published work - "The Coming of the Night" - becomes, according to the American Science Fiction Writers Association, the best fantasy creation ever written in the world.

The best books of the writer

The best science fiction books by Isaac Asimov are such works as The Gods Themselves, The Foundation and the cycle I, Robot. But this is not all of his significant creations. No one could better look into the future millennia ahead than Isaac Asimov. "The End of Eternity" is the writer's best time travel novel.

The Incredible Asimov

Write 500 books - it seems incredible. Many people never read that much in their entire lives. Isaac Asimov not only wrote, he managed to do a huge number of other things. He was chairman of the American Humanist Association, promoted science, and edited the science fiction magazine that bears his name. He did not trust literary agents and preferred to do business himself, which was time consuming. Azimov managed, with his workload, to be the chairman of the men's club. He did everything conscientiously. Even a small speech in his club, he carefully prepared. There was no time that he had to blush for the result of his work.

The scope of the writer's interests is also striking. In the past, a professor of biochemistry, Asimov never limited himself to studying only this area of science. He was interested in everything around. Cosmology, futurology, linguistics, history, linguistics, medicine, psychology, anthropology -this is just a small list of hobbies of a science fiction writer. He was not only interested in these sciences, but also seriously studied them. And the books of Isaac Asimov, written by him in these areas of knowledge, are always accurate and flawless in the reliability of the material presented.

Work to popularize science

In the mid-1950s, Asimov began to write journalism, promoting science. His book for teenagers, The Chemistry of Life, was a great success with readers, and he himself realized that it was easier and more interesting for him to write documentary works than fiction. He writes articles on mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy for a large number of scientific journals. Most of his work was aimed at children and teenagers. In a form accessible to them, Asimov told young readers about serious things.

Asimov's popular science literature

The writer is better known in the world for his works in the genre of science fiction and mysticism. Few people know that Isaac Asimov is the author of numerous works in the form of popular science literature. The diversity of his interests is striking.

The famous science fiction author has written books about the history of the Middle East, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, races and genes, the evolution of the universe and the mystery of supernovae. He created a "Brief History of Biology", where he spoke in a fascinating way about the development of this science, starting from ancient times. Another work, The Human Brain, humorously describes the structure and operation of the central nervous system. The book also contains many fascinating development stories.science of psychobiochemistry.

Many of the writer's books are a must read for children. One of them is Popular Anatomy. Isaac Asimov in it talks in detail about the amazing structure of the human body. In his characteristic manner, easily and naturally talk about complex things, the author tries to arouse the reader's interest in anatomy.

Isaac Asimov's popular science books are always written in a lively, understandable language. He knows how to talk about very complex things in an exciting and interesting way.

Forecast of the future. What came true from the writer's prediction

At one time, the topic of predicting the future of mankind by famous science fiction authors was very popular. Especially many different options for the development of events were proposed by Asimov and Arthur Clark. This idea is not new. Even Jules Verne in his works described many discoveries that were made by man much later.

At the request of The New York Times in 1964, Isaac Asimov predicted what the world would look like in 50 years, in 2014. It seems surprising, but most of the science fiction writer's assumptions either came true or were predicted very accurately. Of course, these are not predictions in their pure form, the writer made his conclusions about the future of mankind on the basis of existing technology. But still, the accuracy of his statements is amazing.

What happened:

1. 3D television.
2. Cooking will be largely automated. Devices with the function of "autocooking" will appear in the kitchen.
3. Global population reaches 6 billion.
4. During a conversation with an interlocutor who is at a distance, it will be possible to see him. Phones will become portable and will be equipped with a screen. With it, it will be possible to work with images and read books. Satellites will help to contact a person anywhere in the world.
5. Robots will not be widely adopted.
6. Technique will work without an electric cord, on batteries or accumulators.
7. Man will not land on Mars, but programs will be created to colonize it.
8. Solar power plants will be used.
9. Computer sciences will be introduced in schools.
10. The Arctic and deserts, as well as the underwater shelf will be actively explored.

Films based on the works of Isaac Asimov. The most famous film adaptations

Few authors can boast that their books inspired directors to create films based on them. The works of Isaac Asimov have been filmed many times.

In 1999, the screens released "Bicentennial Man", based on the joint novel by Silverberg and Asimov "Positronic Man". And the basis was a short story of the writer with the same name as the filmed picture. The problems associated with the appearance of robots in the future have always worried the science fiction writer. The possible evolution of artificial intelligence, the likelihood of its confrontation with humanity, the safety of robots, fear of them, humanity - the range of issues that Asimov raises in his work is very wide.

In this moviea very interesting problem is considered: can a robot become a man. The protagonist of the tape is the android Andrew, brilliantly played by Robin Williams.

In 2004, another wonderful film was released - “I, Robot”. Isaac Asimov is considered the author of the novel of the same name, on the basis of which it was filmed. In fact, the plot of the picture is taken from a whole cycle of the writer's books about robots. This is one of the most successful adaptations of Asimov's works, in which the problems that he constantly raised in his work are very accurately conveyed.

This time the film deals with the problem of the evolution of artificial intelligence. The laws of robotics Isaac Asimov, invented by him in 1942, will play an important role in the plot. According to them, the robot is obliged to protect people and cannot harm them. He must obey his master in everything, if this does not violate the most important law of robotics - human immunity.

In the film, the artificial intelligence of VIKI, the brain of the largest robot manufacturing company, gradually evolves and comes to the conclusion that humanity needs to be protected from itself, otherwise people will destroy everything around. With the help of robots of the new improved series, he captures the entire city. In the meantime, civilians are dying. The main character, detective Del Spooner, with his assistants in the person of a company employee and the robot Sunny, destroys VIKI. The film also sharply touches upon the problem of people's rejection of these machines, distrust of them.

Another famous film adaptation of the bookIsaac Asimov's "Twilight" - the film "Pitch Black" with Vin Diesel in the title role. This is a very free retelling of the writer's work, having almost nothing in common with the original version.

In addition to these three well-known film adaptations, the films "Twilight", "End of Eternity" and "Android Love" were also created based on the works of the writer.

Prizes and awards

Azimov was very proud of his awards, especially in the field of science fiction. He has a huge number of them, and this is not surprising, given the writer's incredible ability to work and his bibliography of 500 written works. He has received several Hugo and Nebula awards and was a recipient of the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation Award. For his work in chemistry, Asimov received an award from the American Chemical Society.

In 1987, the Nebula Prize was presented to Asimov with a stunning wording - "Great Master".

Writer's personal life

Isaac Asimov was successful as an author, but the writer's personal life was not always cloudless. In 1973, after 30 years of marriage, he divorced his wife. There are two children left from this marriage. In the same year, he marries his longtime friend Janet Jeppson.

The last years of the writer's life

He didn't live very long by the standards of the Western world - 72 years. In 1983, Asimov underwent heart bypass surgery. During the event, the writer was infected with HIV through donated blood. No one suspected anything until the second operation, when during the examination he was diagnosed with AIDS. The fatal illness led to kidney failure, and on April 6, 1992the great writer is gone.