Isaac Asimov's Nightfall

It's been a while. I've sadly neglected my Kirkus column: work has been busy, which means that on my off-days, I'm trying to stay away from the computer and focus on other writing / reading. I'm trying to get back into it, though, and to celebrate yesterday's eclipse, I put together a story about Isaac Asimov's famous story, Nightfall.

This is probably the first story that I read of Asimov's, or at least, it was an early one. It's one of my favorites, and going back to revisit it after years and years was something. It holds up nicely, I think. I also got a chance to interview the director behind one of the adaptations, which was a delight.

Go read History in a nutshell: Isaac Asimov's Nightfall over on Kirkus Reviews.

Sources:

• I, Asimov, Isaac Asimov. Asimov devotes a couple of chapters to this story, from the conception of it to the later novelization by Robert Silverberg.
• The History of Science Fiction, Second Edition, Adam Roberts. Roberts' book is a fantastic resource, and when I learned that there was a new edition to it, I rushed out to buy it. This one is significantly longer, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he has to say about other parts of SF history. This one has some good analysis of Asimov's story.

I also interviewed Gwenyth Gibby, who directed the 2000 adaptation of the film. She noted that the film doesn't hold up all that well, but she was happy with the work that she did on it. She's no longer directing movies: She's working on a PhD, and works at a small press, and was a delight to speak with, with some really interesting insights into not only the film, but the story.