Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Humans have discovered an energy source that is abundant but may blow up the universe in the future. Can the few scientists who know convince people that this risk is great enough to give up the energy for? Does our desire for comfort in the present take precedent over the cost for future generations.
This novel by Asimov feels particularly resonant in our time, even though it pre-dates the climate crisis by half a century.
These is also a significant amount weird sex and gender dynamics material going on both with humans and with aliens.
This novel by Asimov feels particularly resonant in our time, even though it pre-dates the climate crisis by half a century.
These is also a significant amount weird sex and gender dynamics material going on both with humans and with aliens.
Honestly, not my favorite Asimov. Of the three parts, the last was the most enjoyable. I found the pacing of Part 1 to be too slow making it hard to get into. Part 2 was honestly too odd for me and just when the plot was building it ended. I wish we could have revisited the Para universe.
The alien parts and the human parts seem very disconnected. Slow paced, had a lot of interesting ideas but poorly executed.
My first Asimov book. I came upon it in the Little Free Library in my neighborhood and snatched it up. I liked the three parts it was divided into and the view and reasoning behind each Universe's need for the Electron Pump. Then, how the dangers could be canceled out with a solution by the end of the book. Interesting themes on empathy, arrogance, the greater good, human psychology (of comfort, ease, and denial of danger to future generations of humans and to the future), and what's possible with science and technology in the future. All with the need for ethical considerations, always. I also enjoyed that Asimov included some diversity in terms of ethnicities, genders, and gender roles. Am I being presumptuous that all his books are like this?
Book coincidences:
- The name “Schiller” appears in this book when the author talks about the title phrase and in the book I just read, Lolita, that became Dolores’s last name: “Schiller. A German dramatist of three centuries ago. In a play about Joan of Arc, he said, ‘Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.’” pg. 64-65
Are there only two billion people on Earth (pg. 57) during this period when the story takes place? Maybe that’s how many people are left? [I found out this is discussed briefly later on pg. 184]
“‘The plutonium/tungsten can make its cycle endlessly back and forth between Universe and para-Universe, yielding energy first in one and then in another, with the net effect being a transfer of twenty electrons from our Universe to theirs per each nucleus cycled. Both sides can gain energy from what is, in effect, an Inter-Universe Electron Pump.’” pg. 18
“‘It is a mistake,’ he said, ‘to suppose that the public wants the environment protected or their lives saved and that they will be grateful to any idealist who will fight for such ends. What the public wants is their own individual comfort. We know that well enough from our experience in the environmental crisis of the twentieth century. Once it was well known that cigarettes increased the incidence of lung cancer, the obvious remedy was to stop smoking, but the desired remedy was a cigarette that did not encourage cancer. When it became clear that the internal-combustion engine was polluting the atmosphere dangerously, the obvious remedy was to abandon such engines, and the desired remedy was to develop non-polluting engines.
‘Now then, young man, don’t ask me to stop the Pumping. The economy and comfort of the entire planet depend on it. Tell me, instead, how to keep the Pumping from exploding the Sun.’” pg. 50
“‘You understand, first, that everything is made up of tiny particles called atoms and that these are made up of still tinier subatomic particles.’
‘Yes, yes,’ said Dua. ‘That’s why we can melt.’
‘Exactly. Because actually we are mostly empty space. All the particles are far apart and your particles and mine and Tritt’s can all melt together because each set fits into the empty spaces around the other set. The reason matter doesn’t fly apart altogether is that the tiny particles do manage to cling together across the space that separates them. There are attractive forces holding them together, the strongest being one we call the nuclear-force. It holds the chief subatomic particles very tightly together in bunches that are spread widely apart and that are held together by weaker forces. Do you understand that?’
‘Only a little bit,’ said Dua.
‘Well never mind, we can go back later. . . . Matter can exist in different states. It can be especially spread out, as in Emotionals; as in you, Dua. It can be a little less spread out, as in Rationals and in Parentals. Or still less so, as in rock. It can be very compressed or thick, as in the Hard Ones. That’s why they’re hard. They are filled with particles.’
‘You mean there’s no empty space in them.’
’No, that’s not quite what I mean,’ said Odeen, puzzled as to how to make matter clearer. ‘They still have a great deal of empty space, but not as much as we do. Particles need a certain amount of empty space and if all they have is that much, then other particles can’t squeeze in. If particles are forced in, there is pain. That’s why the Hard Ones don’t like to be touched by us. We Soft Ones have more space between the particles than are actually needed, so other particles can fit in.’
Dua didn’t look at all certain about that.
Odeen hastened onward. ‘In the other Universe, the rules are different. The nuclear-force isn’t as strong as in ours. That means the particles need more room.’
‘Why?’
Odeen shook his head, ‘Because—because—the particles spread out their wave-forms more. I can’t explain better than that. With a weaker nuclear-force, the particles need more room and two pieces of matter can’t melt together as easily as they can in our Universe.’” pg. 132-134
“The lack of her hurt more with each passing day. And with each passing day, he realized that there was a gathering fright inside himself over her absence. He didn’t know why.” pg. 156
“‘The population is two billion now from its six billion peak.’
‘Earth is much better for that, isn’t it?’
‘Oh, undoubtedly, though I wish there had been a better way of achieving the drop. . . . But it’s left behind a permanent distrust of technology; a vast inertia; a lack of desire to risk change because of the possible side-effects. Great and possibly dangerous efforts have been abandoned because the danger was feared more than greatness was desired.’
‘I take it you refer to the program on genetic engineering.’
‘That’s the most spectacular case of course, but not the only one,’ said Montez, bitterly.
‘Frankly, I can’t get excited over the abandonment of genetic engineering. It was a tissue of failures.’” pg. 184
“‘It could make sense to suppose that our own Universe is the only one that can exist or does exist, because it is the only one we live in and directly experience. Once, however, evidence arises that there is a second Universe as well, the one we call the para-Universe, then it becomes absolutely ridiculous to suppose that there are two and only two Universes. If a second Universe can exist, then an infinite number can. Between one and the infinite in cases such as these, there are no sensible numbers. Not only two, but any finite number, is ridiculous and can’t exist.’” pg. 240
Book: borrowed from the Little Free Library on Evergreen.
Book coincidences:
- The name “Schiller” appears in this book when the author talks about the title phrase and in the book I just read, Lolita, that became Dolores’s last name: “Schiller. A German dramatist of three centuries ago. In a play about Joan of Arc, he said, ‘Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.’” pg. 64-65
Are there only two billion people on Earth (pg. 57) during this period when the story takes place? Maybe that’s how many people are left? [I found out this is discussed briefly later on pg. 184]
“‘The plutonium/tungsten can make its cycle endlessly back and forth between Universe and para-Universe, yielding energy first in one and then in another, with the net effect being a transfer of twenty electrons from our Universe to theirs per each nucleus cycled. Both sides can gain energy from what is, in effect, an Inter-Universe Electron Pump.’” pg. 18
“‘It is a mistake,’ he said, ‘to suppose that the public wants the environment protected or their lives saved and that they will be grateful to any idealist who will fight for such ends. What the public wants is their own individual comfort. We know that well enough from our experience in the environmental crisis of the twentieth century. Once it was well known that cigarettes increased the incidence of lung cancer, the obvious remedy was to stop smoking, but the desired remedy was a cigarette that did not encourage cancer. When it became clear that the internal-combustion engine was polluting the atmosphere dangerously, the obvious remedy was to abandon such engines, and the desired remedy was to develop non-polluting engines.
‘Now then, young man, don’t ask me to stop the Pumping. The economy and comfort of the entire planet depend on it. Tell me, instead, how to keep the Pumping from exploding the Sun.’” pg. 50
“‘You understand, first, that everything is made up of tiny particles called atoms and that these are made up of still tinier subatomic particles.’
‘Yes, yes,’ said Dua. ‘That’s why we can melt.’
‘Exactly. Because actually we are mostly empty space. All the particles are far apart and your particles and mine and Tritt’s can all melt together because each set fits into the empty spaces around the other set. The reason matter doesn’t fly apart altogether is that the tiny particles do manage to cling together across the space that separates them. There are attractive forces holding them together, the strongest being one we call the nuclear-force. It holds the chief subatomic particles very tightly together in bunches that are spread widely apart and that are held together by weaker forces. Do you understand that?’
‘Only a little bit,’ said Dua.
‘Well never mind, we can go back later. . . . Matter can exist in different states. It can be especially spread out, as in Emotionals; as in you, Dua. It can be a little less spread out, as in Rationals and in Parentals. Or still less so, as in rock. It can be very compressed or thick, as in the Hard Ones. That’s why they’re hard. They are filled with particles.’
‘You mean there’s no empty space in them.’
’No, that’s not quite what I mean,’ said Odeen, puzzled as to how to make matter clearer. ‘They still have a great deal of empty space, but not as much as we do. Particles need a certain amount of empty space and if all they have is that much, then other particles can’t squeeze in. If particles are forced in, there is pain. That’s why the Hard Ones don’t like to be touched by us. We Soft Ones have more space between the particles than are actually needed, so other particles can fit in.’
Dua didn’t look at all certain about that.
Odeen hastened onward. ‘In the other Universe, the rules are different. The nuclear-force isn’t as strong as in ours. That means the particles need more room.’
‘Why?’
Odeen shook his head, ‘Because—because—the particles spread out their wave-forms more. I can’t explain better than that. With a weaker nuclear-force, the particles need more room and two pieces of matter can’t melt together as easily as they can in our Universe.’” pg. 132-134
“The lack of her hurt more with each passing day. And with each passing day, he realized that there was a gathering fright inside himself over her absence. He didn’t know why.” pg. 156
“‘The population is two billion now from its six billion peak.’
‘Earth is much better for that, isn’t it?’
‘Oh, undoubtedly, though I wish there had been a better way of achieving the drop. . . . But it’s left behind a permanent distrust of technology; a vast inertia; a lack of desire to risk change because of the possible side-effects. Great and possibly dangerous efforts have been abandoned because the danger was feared more than greatness was desired.’
‘I take it you refer to the program on genetic engineering.’
‘That’s the most spectacular case of course, but not the only one,’ said Montez, bitterly.
‘Frankly, I can’t get excited over the abandonment of genetic engineering. It was a tissue of failures.’” pg. 184
“‘It could make sense to suppose that our own Universe is the only one that can exist or does exist, because it is the only one we live in and directly experience. Once, however, evidence arises that there is a second Universe as well, the one we call the para-Universe, then it becomes absolutely ridiculous to suppose that there are two and only two Universes. If a second Universe can exist, then an infinite number can. Between one and the infinite in cases such as these, there are no sensible numbers. Not only two, but any finite number, is ridiculous and can’t exist.’” pg. 240
Book: borrowed from the Little Free Library on Evergreen.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I haven't read much classic science fiction, and have set out to try to rectify that. This title comes up a lot in that context. But I didn't appreciate this story perhaps as much as others do. I think part of that is that it is a product of the time in which it was written. Also, the story stalls out and the ending feels anti-climactic. I finished the book out of curiosity and simply the reputation of the book.
The book moves slowly. Forty years ago, an author had the luxury of developing characters and setting up the story. Today, we expect a faster-paced story. Characters had discussions about what was happening (instead of things happening) and much time was spent on the history of the project they were working on. It feels like a lot of time passes before anything really happens, although I won't say the story doesn't start right away.
The story leans heavily on dialogue, but the dialogue often didn't seem to be relevant to the larger story. My bigger problem was that the dialogue doesn't feel authentic. It felt like the characters were reciting lines, and often they were rather melodramatic. Because of that, it was hard to ever get fully engrossed in the story.
This novel is more like three connected but separate short stories. Because we get a new set of characters in each part, we have to start all over again with some characterization and set up. So it slows down again with each new part.
Part 2 is odd, especially at first. The aliens are so well crafted as *alien* that I had trouble relating to the characters. I was just observing. Eventually, things start happening, just when I thought I might skim, and connecting to the end of part 1.
Part 3 seems to jump ahead in time a bit. This part involves mostly new characters. We only see one character again from the beginning.
One side note: the Lunar culture is portrayed as having already shed many cultural conventions of those living on Earth, including wearing clothes. I've noticed this trend in books written at the same time. There seems to have been this idea that in the future certain cultural conventions would just be set aside by most of the population because they served no practical purpose. There was no sense of the force of culture itself, the hold that culture has on the psyche. Those that grew up on the moon were raised by those who grew up in an Earth culture, or who were themselves raised by those from Earth, and so would still be raised within an Earth-based culture. In two generations, they would not feel so separate as to feel no need for clothes simply because their environment is controlled. The clothes we wear are part of every Earth culture. They do not have a solely practical purpose. They define you as part of a culture. People don't shed culture so quickly. Clothing would adapt and evolve but not be abandoned. It makes this all seem a little ridiculous.
Part 3 was the most ambiguous and slow moving of the three. There was something happening, but in increments. Small steps, a hint in one conversation, a small revelation in another. Many conversations seem unrelated or shrouded in mysteries that aren't really resolved. It really just got tedious and I just wanted to be finished. Sorry, not my cup of tea, I guess.
The book moves slowly. Forty years ago, an author had the luxury of developing characters and setting up the story. Today, we expect a faster-paced story. Characters had discussions about what was happening (instead of things happening) and much time was spent on the history of the project they were working on. It feels like a lot of time passes before anything really happens, although I won't say the story doesn't start right away.
The story leans heavily on dialogue, but the dialogue often didn't seem to be relevant to the larger story. My bigger problem was that the dialogue doesn't feel authentic. It felt like the characters were reciting lines, and often they were rather melodramatic. Because of that, it was hard to ever get fully engrossed in the story.
This novel is more like three connected but separate short stories. Because we get a new set of characters in each part, we have to start all over again with some characterization and set up. So it slows down again with each new part.
Spoiler
Part 1 seems to be the set up of the problem. The scientists discover the communication with the other universe and that it can supply endless free energy. We meet the scientists involved in the discovery and the discovery by one of them that this energy might not be so free after all.Part 2 is odd, especially at first. The aliens are so well crafted as *alien* that I had trouble relating to the characters. I was just observing. Eventually, things start happening, just when I thought I might skim, and connecting to the end of part 1.
Part 3 seems to jump ahead in time a bit. This part involves mostly new characters. We only see one character again from the beginning.
One side note: the Lunar culture is portrayed as having already shed many cultural conventions of those living on Earth, including wearing clothes. I've noticed this trend in books written at the same time. There seems to have been this idea that in the future certain cultural conventions would just be set aside by most of the population because they served no practical purpose. There was no sense of the force of culture itself, the hold that culture has on the psyche. Those that grew up on the moon were raised by those who grew up in an Earth culture, or who were themselves raised by those from Earth, and so would still be raised within an Earth-based culture. In two generations, they would not feel so separate as to feel no need for clothes simply because their environment is controlled. The clothes we wear are part of every Earth culture. They do not have a solely practical purpose. They define you as part of a culture. People don't shed culture so quickly. Clothing would adapt and evolve but not be abandoned. It makes this all seem a little ridiculous.
Part 3 was the most ambiguous and slow moving of the three. There was something happening, but in increments. Small steps, a hint in one conversation, a small revelation in another. Many conversations seem unrelated or shrouded in mysteries that aren't really resolved. It really just got tedious and I just wanted to be finished. Sorry, not my cup of tea, I guess.
Audiobook: 4.5/5
"The easiest way to solve a problem is to deny it exists."
So this is the first Asimov book I have read and I was incredibly impressed. This is a near piece of perfect hard science fiction. I was expecting something with a more classic feel and though there were elements of this, I found the science and political aspects to be completely grounded. This book felt very appropriate to the current American political and scientific landscape in which technological progression is always projected as good and rarely questioned. Our need for boundless energy is overcoming our self preservation. We tend to uplift minds whom give us what we want and demonize minds who tell us what we do not want to hear. I highly recommend this book for skeptics of science and those who fully rely on it for their livelihood.
"The easiest way to solve a problem is to deny it exists."
So this is the first Asimov book I have read and I was incredibly impressed. This is a near piece of perfect hard science fiction. I was expecting something with a more classic feel and though there were elements of this, I found the science and political aspects to be completely grounded. This book felt very appropriate to the current American political and scientific landscape in which technological progression is always projected as good and rarely questioned. Our need for boundless energy is overcoming our self preservation. We tend to uplift minds whom give us what we want and demonize minds who tell us what we do not want to hear. I highly recommend this book for skeptics of science and those who fully rely on it for their livelihood.
Too slow and technical for my taste. The words are so hard to penetrate
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
Fantastic book! This was my first Asimov read, and it definitely lived up to the hype. The central theme, which explores the dangers of rushing technological advancements (“free” energy) fueled by greed and vanity, while ignoring long-term consequences ( blowing up the sun), feels just as relevant today, especially when talking about climate change.
I loved second part exploring a completely alien society, yet it felt familiar. That's what makes great science fiction—describing something that doesn't exist, but making it feel completely believable!
I loved second part exploring a completely alien society, yet it felt familiar. That's what makes great science fiction—describing something that doesn't exist, but making it feel completely believable!