Isaac AsimovWhy?
An extraordinarily prolific author who covered a huge variety of subjects, biochemistry professor Asimov is another member of our list who grew up in the heady age of the pulp magazines like Astounding Science Fiction and Amazing Stories. Inspired by them, but wanting to break out in a different direction, he wrote numberous short stories, most notably Nightfall (1941), which was voted the best science fiction short story ever in 1968 by the Science Fiction Writers of America (many maintain this ruling still stands), and was later the direct inspiration for Pitch Black, starring Vin Diesel.
In 1942, the first of his Foundation short stories was published. In the '50s they would be assembled into an iconic trilogy, and one of his most famous works. Enormously influential (if you're a fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you owe Asimov a nod of thanks), even they were eclipsed by his assorted short stories about 'positronic robots', which were collected together in I, Robot. His famous Three Laws of Robotics are an ethical system which is still used today by writers and scientists alike, and go a long way to ensuring Asimov's enduring legacy.
Required reading:
I, Robot (1950)
Foundation (1951)
