Chapter 45 Isaac Asimov and his "Sunset"--Yao Haijun

The birth of "Sunset" itself is a good story. On March 17, 1941, Isaac Asimov walked into the office of the famous Campbell. At that time, Isaac Asimov was not a world-renowned science fiction master. Although he had published more than 30 short stories and was regarded by Campbell as the most promising science fiction writer under his command, his novels sold well. Still not good enough; and Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction magazine was in full swing, with a slew of star writers like Van Vogt, de Camp, and Del Rey. Campbell read to Asimov a passage from one of Emerson's earlier essays:

"How heaven would be believed, adored, and long remembered if the stars appeared only one night in a thousand years!" Then, Fa asked, "What do you think will happen?" Asimov looked bewildered, unable to figure out Campbell's intentions.So Campbell broke the subject, he said: "I think Emerson was wrong. If people only see the stars on one night in a thousand years, they must be crazy." Then he asked Asimov to Based on this, he wrote a short story; he had already chosen the name, and it was called "Nightfall". Twenty-two days later, Asimov delivered the manuscript on schedule.

Fifteen days later, Asimov received a check from Amazing Stories in the mail. Asimov couldn't believe his eyes. It was a check for $150.Based on the standard of 1 cent per word at the time, the 12,000-word "Sunset" was only worth $120.The honest Asimov immediately called Campbell to explain the situation.The call entertained both Asimov and Campbell.On the one hand, Asimov was pleased to learn that it was not that Campbell had miscalculated, but that he was very satisfied with the novel and paid Asimov a high standard of 1.25 cents per word; On the one hand, most of what Campbell heard before was complaints about the low remuneration. This is the first time he has heard the author tell him that the remuneration is too high.

Campbell once again proved his correct judgment in science fiction with his actions, and he paid a reasonable price for "Sunset".The novel was a smash hit, and more than half a century later it remains the most revered masterpiece of short science fiction. Alexei Panxin, who is also a science fiction writer, believes that: Campbell has spotted Asimov, and has already planned to let Asimov write "Sunset"; This opportunity was purely accidental.If it had been Del Rey that day, or Van Vogt visiting, it couldn't have been him who ended up writing the novel. Regardless, Asimov admitted, he had a lucky day. "Sunset" expanded the lineup of star writers under Campbell's command, changed Asimov's status, made him one of the top science fiction writers, and soon surpassed others to become the most dazzling star in science fiction literature at that time.In his later years, Asimov still vividly remembers the change that "Sunset" brought to him.In one of his autobiography, he described with some irony: "From now on, I don't have to worry about the sales of my novels anymore. As long as I write, people will want it."

"Sunset" was so successful, but it was excluded from Asimov's own five favorite novels, and the reason is closely related to Campbell.First, although Asimov was grateful to Campbell, he was dissatisfied that he added a poetic sentence at the end without authorization.What particularly annoyed Asimov was that this passage was clearly not Asimov's style, yet many critics took it as evidence that Asimov could write lyrically (for a writer Second, Campbell's contribution is often overemphasized when people talk about this novel, which Asimov also deeply dislikes.He always believes that it is one thing to be asked to write a story on a certain topic, but it is another thing to face the blank paper after returning home, type out the title, and put it into words.

Asimov's feelings for "Sunset" were complicated, but despite this, when a friend suggested to him 47 years later (1988) that he find someone to expand the novel into a full-length novel, he still showed his love for the novel. general concern.He was afraid that others would spoil the story. Even after learning that Robert Silverberg took over the job, he was still a little worried, and tactfully reserved the final right to edit it. Like Asimov, Robert Silverberg is also an amazing science fiction writer with extensive knowledge and amazing creation speed, and has won many science fiction awards.More importantly, he likes "Sunset" very much.Soon, he completed the extension work.

As it turned out, Asimov's concerns were unfounded.When Silverberg sent the manuscript to Asimov for review, Asimov was pleased.Soon, the novel "Sunset" was published. The full-length version of "Sunset" (1990) retains the framework of the short original work exceptionally well.The story still takes place on the planet Kargash with six suns.The people there don't know what darkness is, because every 2049 years, they will usher in a dark night and see the true colors of billions of stars.Silverberg divides the novel into three parts: the first part tells the process of scientists discovering the solar eclipse that causes the night; the second part tells about the coming of night and the conflict between science and religion caused by it; , the madness and chaos of the world.

It's clear that Silver Gerber's handling of Asimov's original idea was deliberate; but it's also clear that his focus was not quite the same as Asimov's.Although Asimov also wrote about the attack of ignorant forces on science in the original short story "Sunset", his focus is obviously to show readers a once-in-a-thousand-year, shocking classic science fiction scene; What Greg is interested in is the confrontation between religion and science.In his writing, the night falls and the appearance of the stars have become the background of this confrontation scene.

From the perspective of Silverberg's creative intentions, "Sunset" is a success.This confrontation between science and religion is described sharply, fiercely and shockingly by him.What is particularly intriguing is that scientists who grasp the truth have no power to overcome ignorance; while religious forces take advantage of the public's fear of darkness to control the world and make civilization fall back to the dark age.This ending is depressing. It is with this extreme consequence that the author warns against reality, reminding people that only when science is popularized can it become powerful and the world be rational.

From a comparative point of view, the long version of "Sunset" lost the compactness and simplicity of Asimov's original short story, and became somewhat loose.In particular, Silverberg's attempt to leave a glimmer of hope at the end is regarded by critics as a destruction of Asimov's original work. Despite these criticisms, the feature-length version of Sunset was generally a success.The first edition of the book printed 100,000 copies.Like many books by Asimov and Silverberg, it has been readily available in English for over a decade.This also proves the value of this novel from another aspect.