There is an english series of books (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine) with 
its german counterpart having nearly the same title. The series runs through 
several dozen books, collecting short stories of numerous authors. I am now 
looking for one spceific short story (i.e. the number of the book in the series 
in which this story appeared). The story appeared at least ten, maybe 20, years 
ago, and I read it in the german version of the series (that should not matter). 
 
The main theme is a private detective, who, after becoming suspicious, finds out 
that the owner of a coffee shop or restaurant is an immortal (or near-immortal). 
At the end of the story, she serves him a very special coffee, which gives him a 
chance of becoming immortal too. (Or die in the process). 

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Clarification of Question by philip_lynx-ga on 23 Apr 2002 04:00 PDT

Hi mplungjan-ga, 
no, you misunderstood me. The story in question is not written by Asimov. It was 
printed in Asimov's SF Magazine, which is not the same. I found a link to the 
complete collection with all titles on <a href="http://www.sfsite.com/isfdb/asimovs.html">http://www.sfsite.com/isfdb/asimovs.html</a>, 
 but that does not help me in finding the one particular story that I am looking 
for. 

---

Clarification of Question by philip_lynx-ga on 23 Apr 2002 04:11 PDT

Well. My clarification might be more confusing than the original questions. So, 
let me rephrase: I look for a short story (not a book), and the story has very 
probably not been written by Asimov. It has appeared in Asimov's SF Magazine. 

Hi Philip!

The story you are looking for is called "Cautionary Tales" by Larry
Niven.  It originally appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction
Magazine, Jul-Aug 1978, George H. Scithers, 1978.  It was also
collected in _Convergent Series_ by Larry Niven. Ballantine Books
(1979).  This collection is out of print, but you may be able to find
a copy of it used.

In case you're curious as to how I found it, I remembered the story
from your description, thought it was probably by Larry Niven, and was
pretty sure I had read it.  I searched the web for bibliographies of
Larry Niven, and found the following two sites:

The Locus Index to Science Fiction
http://www.locusmag.com/index/s553.html

Larry Niven - Bibliography Summary
http://www.sfsite.com/isfdb-bin/exact_author.cgi?Larry_Niven

From there I was able to find the stories which appeared both in Isaac
Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and in collections of Larry Niven
which I owned.  "Cautionary Tales" fit the bill, and I confirmed it by
skimming the story in my copy of _Convergent Series_.

If you're interested in buying a copy of the story, the best approach
is probably to try to find a copy of _Convergent Series_.  Amazon.com
has 39 copies available:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/offering-page/ref=sdp_used_b/104-5496377-1491965?index=fixed-price&field-offering-type=used&field-asin=0345339223&field-status=open&size=25&rank=+price

I really enjoyed answering your question!  Best of luck finding a copy
of the story!

---

Clarification of Answer by david-ga on 31 May 2002 07:49 PDT

I'm very sorry that this wasn't the story you were looking for.  I
will add one thing: private detectives and coffee figure prominently
in so many of Larry Niven's stories that I'm convinced that the story
you are looking for was written by him.  I hope that this clue will
help you eventually find the exact story you are looking for!

I am sorry: the story that you found has nothing to do with what I am
looking for. Look at the last paragraph of my question. I bought
cautionary tales, and
read it.
Cautionary tales does not involve a private detective, an owner of a
coffee shop, or the serving of coffee. And, saddest of all, it is not
the story I am looking for. However, thank you very much for pointing
me to a very good collection of short stories (convergent series),
that is why you get 3 stars.
Please keep the money, thank you for your efforts.

This perhaps?

Search:
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Isaac+Asimov%27s+Science+Fiction%
22+detective+immortal


http://www.chuqui.com/downloads/OtherRealms/06-01.txt

                          A JUNGLE OF STARS
                           by Jack Chalker
                  Ballantine Books, 1976, 217 pages
                          ISBN 0-345-28960-9
                                 [***]
                                   
                             Reviewed by
                            Alan Wexelblat
                       ut-sally!im4u!milano!wex

This book is actually three novellas woven together and it suffers some
as a result.  The first novella is about the horrors of the Vietnam war
and what being there can do to people.  The second is a detective story
with an SF twist about hunting down a parasite that can take over not only
its host's body but also the minds of others.  The third story is about a
conflict between good and evil, neither of which is defined in human terms.

Protagonist Paul Savage is a soldier-turned-immortal-detective.  He is
involuntarily drafted into an aeons-old conflict between the last two
members of a race called the Kreb.  The Kreb have evolved into a higher
life form leaving behind a villain and a hero called The Bromgrev and
The Hunter.  Savage is recruited by the Hunter but is not sure which is
the hero and which the villain.  Much of the story revolves around how
he plays their game(s) and is used by them.

Ok, sorry. Anyway the short story I posted was by Jack Chalker (not an asimov 
pseudonym, or he has grown a brown mustache ;-)

Good luck with your quest

Michel

PS: I had hoped you were looking for "Welt Am Draht" by Galloye which was 
turned into a tv series by R.W Fassbinder  - I am looking for that book 
myself :-)

OH NO!!!
I Missed it!!!

WELT AM DRAHT im WDR

http://www.sf-fan.de/sf-film/tv/welt_am_draht/neuausstrahlung.html

Am Samstag, dem 16. Februar 2002, strahlt der WDR ab 22:15 Uhr die legendäre 
zweiteilige Fernsehverfilmung von Daniel F. Galouyes Science Fiction-
Roman "Simulacron-3" aus. "Welt am Draht", so der Name der Fernsehfassung aus 
dem Jahre 1973, entstand unter der Regie von Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Eine 
damals und auch heute noch sehr beeindruckende Verfilmung, die trotz ihrer 
Fehler und Alterserscheinungen alle späteren Versuche ("The 13th Floor") 
deutlich in ihre Schranken verweist.

Since it sounds like you are looking for a short story that was included in an 
anthology (and not simply printed in Asimov's magazine), you might want to take 
a look at William Contento's Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and 
Collections, specifically http://users.ev1.net/~homeville/isfac/t148.htm#A3104

The anthologies that look most appropriate to me were published 1979-1982, 
which fits the time frame you mentioned. Hope this helps.

-- Therem