# The Last Question by Isaac Asimov

50 Hacker News commenters recommended The Last Question by Isaac Asimov and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 52 years (3 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A short Asimov story about a question asked across vast spans of time, recommended for its ending and for how often readers return to it. Some critics find the ending trite and the reveal obtuse.

## Why people recommend it

- Short, often named among Asimov's best (5 comments): "This is by far my favorite story of all those I have written." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47806420)) "It's short and it's one of Asimov's best." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47806103)) "My favorite short story of all time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47805416))
- People reread it again and again (4 comments): "every single time I see it posted I just have to read the entire thing again. I love it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47805326)) "it is one that I deeply loved when I was 14 or alike, and read it again multiple times" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47806320)) "I've read it countless times. It still brought a tear to my eye." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47807261))
- Shaped readers since youth (4 comments): "All time great short story. Has shaped my world view since I first read it many years ago." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47805329)) "When i first read this story as a teenager in 1971 it started me on the road to atheism" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47808540)) "I had read this in my youth, and carried its memory for many years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47812972))
- Ending stays with readers (3 comments): "I've read it countless times. It still brought a tear to my eye." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47807261)) "Every time I read this one, I get chills at the end." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47806066)) "that ending sticks with you for a long time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47806089))

## What people warn about

- Ending seen as trite (2 comments): "the ending is kind of trite (especially given the author's humanist beliefs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47809491)) "The triteness was more in the ending than the overall exposition." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47810323))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-will-come-soft-rains.md): 27 recommend
- [They're Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/they-re-made-out-of-meat.md): 17 recommend
- [Lena by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lena.md): 16 recommend
- [The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster](https://hackerapproved.com/p/machine-stops.md): 15 recommend
- [The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges](https://hackerapproved.com/p/library-of-babel.md): 11 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Last+Question+by+Isaac+Asimov&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Last Question by Isaac Asimov", https://hackerapproved.com/p/last-question/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).