As an addendum, that professor I mentioned in the GP comment thought Asimov was obviously important, but not worthy of inclusion in the survey, given other grea

As an addendum, that professor I mentioned in the GP comment thought Asimov was obviously important, but not worthy of inclusion in the survey, given other great works (like Dune, Ender’s Game, Neuronancer, Left Hand of Darkness, ...). I think Asimov’s “The Last Question”, like “They’re Made Out of Meat” are triumphs of short stories. With Asimov, character development is a weakness, but he’s still more than worthy of inclusion in the pantheon of great sci-fi writers.