[Lyrebird]

I tend to prefer short fiction, myself... though this heavily depends on the writing (Who's writing what). For example, in almost all cases where I'd read both a short and a long version of the same story, I have liked the short version... (A couple or so were AC's works, though I can't recollect the names.) Also, observe that it's always possible to shorten a novel, while the reverse is less often likely to work.

Did somebody say Vision? I'm reminded how underappreciated Asimov seems to be...

Oh, did I say underappreciated? That's just what a good short story always seems to be. I doubt the majority of readers know AC for his short fiction, or any other author, for that matter.