Day of the Hunters
Encyclopedia
"Day of the Hunters" is a science fiction
short story
by American writer Isaac Asimov
. It was published in the November 1950 issue of Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, edited by Robert W. Lowndes, and reprinted in the 1975 collection Buy Jupiter and Other Stories
. "Day of the Hunters" is based on "Big Game", a story written many years earlier that was unpublished and assumed to have been lost until discovered in the author's collected papers at Boston University.
era to see for himself what happened to cause the extinction of the dinosaur
s. He becomes more belligerent as he is teased and pressed, eventually revealing that by the time of his arrival, all the large lizards had already been killed by small intelligent dinosaurs armed with guns, who were systematically wiping out their own kind until there were none left to kill.
and the USA, which might have resulted in another extinction event
.
Stephen Baxter
's Evolution published in 2002 contains a more sophisticated version of the same sapient dinosaur hunter idea.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by American writer Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. It was published in the November 1950 issue of Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, edited by Robert W. Lowndes, and reprinted in the 1975 collection Buy Jupiter and Other Stories
Buy Jupiter and Other Stories
Buy Jupiter and Other Stories is a 1975 collection of short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov.It includes the following stories:*"Darwinian Pool Room"* "Day of the Hunters" * "Shah Guido G." * "Button, Button"...
. "Day of the Hunters" is based on "Big Game", a story written many years earlier that was unpublished and assumed to have been lost until discovered in the author's collected papers at Boston University.
Plot summary
A group of technicians in a bar meet whom they assume to be a drunken down-and-out. It slowly emerges that he is an ex-university professor who has not only built a time machine but has traveled back to the MesozoicMesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
era to see for himself what happened to cause the extinction of the dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s. He becomes more belligerent as he is teased and pressed, eventually revealing that by the time of his arrival, all the large lizards had already been killed by small intelligent dinosaurs armed with guns, who were systematically wiping out their own kind until there were none left to kill.
Story notes
As in many of his stories, the author was influenced by the then-current fear of nuclear war between the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the USA, which might have resulted in another extinction event
Extinction event
An extinction event is a sharp decrease in the diversity and abundance of macroscopic life. They occur when the rate of extinction increases with respect to the rate of speciation...
.
Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :...
's Evolution published in 2002 contains a more sophisticated version of the same sapient dinosaur hunter idea.