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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
A very early Asimov, probably most interesting seen as a pre-study to the foundation trilogy.
Interesting enough to keep me reading but the descriptions of the female character were so dated.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I like a lot of Asimov's work, but this book does not hold up, both in terms of the sexist tone of it, and in that the execution of its narrative reveals lacks a lot of the cleverness that usually draws me to his writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence
Minor: War
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Certainly a 2.5. Every author has that one book that doesn't measure up to the rest of their works and for Asimov it is by far The Stars, Like Dust. It is very much a novel that is a product of its time.
It is unfortunate because Farill and the plot has promise but doesn't manifest effectively though Asimov obviously hones his abilities in later works to a fine point.
It is unfortunate because Farill and the plot has promise but doesn't manifest effectively though Asimov obviously hones his abilities in later works to a fine point.
As part of my determination to reread older Science Fiction, my latest read is one of Isaac Asimov’s earliest novels.
In terms of context, The Stars, Like Dust is one of the so-called “Galactic Empire” novels. Like the more-famous Foundation series, it is set at a time when people are spread across the galaxy on hundreds of planets. Of the so-called Empire trilogy (Pebble in the Sky (1950), The Stars, Like Dust (1951) and The Currents of Space (1952)) The Stars Like Dust is the ‘middle’ book, written after Pebble in the Sky but actually set chronologically in the galaxy before it.
The setting is that humans have spread throughout the galaxy, approximately 10 000 years in the future. Mankind is settled on over 1000 planets.
This story begins on Earth with an assassination attempt on young student Biron Farrill, who finds himself drugged in his bedroom with a small radioactive bomb set to go off in his closet. As the son of the Rancher of Widemos, it seems that his removal is part of a covert coup. We then find that his father has been kidnapped and killed by the Tyranni for being the ringleader of an attempted revolutionary movement.
Assisted by older mentor Sander Jonti, Biron, under the alias of Biron Malaine, is given passage to Rhodia, where he can be mentored by the Director of Rhodia, the seemingly ineffectual Hinrik V.
On Rhodia, Biron meets Artemisia, the daughter of the Director, and her uncle Gillbret. Gillbret tells of a rebellion planet he once visited and the three of them together try to rediscover it, having narrowed the locations to one of five possible places, with the hope that they can work together to overthrow the Tyranni.
A mysterious ancient artefact may also be important, being described by the Rancher as “the most dangerous document he knew”, something dated from “between the fifteenth to twenty-first century.” “The matter is death for the Tyranni and death for us as well; but it would mean final life for the Galaxy.” Unfortunately, it has disappeared from Earth.
Pursued by Tyranni commissioner Simok Aratap, they escape using a Tyranni warship and travel to the planet Lingane, where Biron meets the Autarch. The Autarch has discovered that a rebellion planet may be in the difficult to navigate Horsehead Nebula. They travel to the planet, but find nothing living there. There is a confrontation between Biron and the Autarch. Afterwards, Biron, Gillbret and Artemisia, as well as the Autarch’s aide Tedor Rizzett, are captured by Aratap and interrogated for the whereabouts of the rebellion planet.
The ending to the tale is that there is really no rebellion planet but that the revolution is being masterminded at a place closer to home, by people they know but not under suspicion. Revealing themselves to Biron and Artemisia, their leader knows of the secret ancient Earth document – the Constitution of the United States.
Reading through the above synopsis, it is clear that there’s not a lot of originality here, though to be fair this predictability may be due to the familiarity created over time. It’s a typical space opera, with simple characters to love and hate, combined with a chase to create tension and a grand reveal at the climax that even at the time of its original publication may have seemed a little overblown.
From the perspective of the twenty-first century, the climatic event at the end – the revelation that the American constitution is the most-deadly weapon of all – is clearly meant to be a crowd-pleaser. To a contemporary audience it rather reads as a rather simplistic, even jingoistic, point slapped on as an afterthought. Whilst this total belief in democracy may be a reflection of the general mood after World War II, today it feels like a simplistic “get-out” which may sit uneasily with contemporary readers.
Generally though, the lines of logic throughout the novel are rather confused. Simok Antrap is shown not as a maniacal servant of tyranny, but instead as a quiet and intelligent administrator trying to do his job in difficult circumstances and bring order from chaos. At the same time, there are signs that democracy has not always been the salvation it is expected to be, for many parts of the Earth are radioactive waste from a nuclear war in the past – so much for democracy. And yet the ending of the whole novel centres on this point.
Asimov himself has been quoted as saying that the ending was a mistake, rather foisted on him by the story’s original publisher, H. L. Gold of Galaxy Magazine. In the end it may be the reason for Asimov being quoted as saying that The Stars Like Dust is his least favourite published story, though he never changed it, even when he had the chance to do so in novel rather than magazine form. To me it rather spoils what otherwise is a typical space opera of politics and romance.
Up to that point, though, there’s a lot to like. Whilst the inevitable romance is somewhat chaste and predictable, and the action of the “one bound and he was free” variety, The Stars, Like Dust is still an often charming and entertaining tale, with signs that science fiction is in transition. Its unsophistication is a throwback to the pulp stories of the 1930’s and 40s, but there are elements that show that things have moved on. It’s not The Stars My Destination, but its weariness of war and the author’s determination not to have everything end in a big battle show that things in science fiction are becoming more thoughtful and sophisticated.
Many of the bigger ideas here – the expansion of humans across the galaxy echo the novel’s more famous sibling, The Foundation Trilogy, and much of the attraction of The Stars Like Dust may be because it covers the central themes of Asimov’s more famous work but from a slightly different perspective, at an earlier time. There is a broad canvas here – all the galaxy is ours, so to speak – but the writer focusses on a much smaller story, as he did in the first three Foundation novels. This is not the only similarity. The two leads in Stars, Like Dust seemed reminiscent in tone and manner to Foundation and Empire’s Toran and Bayta Darell, with Gillbret being a similar template to Ebling Mis. Asimov hasn’t exactly strayed far from his archetypal outline.
In short, The Stars, Like Dust is an entertaining read – a mystery plot with a frenetically paced chase and with enough of a sense of awe to still engage the reader. Despite its misjudged ending, there’s a dated charm and naivety that makes it still readable. It is not Asimov’s best, but Asimov’s critical judgment of his own work may be a little harsh. It’s not Asimov’s best work, by a long way, but there’s a lot here to enjoy.
In terms of context, The Stars, Like Dust is one of the so-called “Galactic Empire” novels. Like the more-famous Foundation series, it is set at a time when people are spread across the galaxy on hundreds of planets. Of the so-called Empire trilogy (Pebble in the Sky (1950), The Stars, Like Dust (1951) and The Currents of Space (1952)) The Stars Like Dust is the ‘middle’ book, written after Pebble in the Sky but actually set chronologically in the galaxy before it.
The setting is that humans have spread throughout the galaxy, approximately 10 000 years in the future. Mankind is settled on over 1000 planets.
This story begins on Earth with an assassination attempt on young student Biron Farrill, who finds himself drugged in his bedroom with a small radioactive bomb set to go off in his closet. As the son of the Rancher of Widemos, it seems that his removal is part of a covert coup. We then find that his father has been kidnapped and killed by the Tyranni for being the ringleader of an attempted revolutionary movement.
Assisted by older mentor Sander Jonti, Biron, under the alias of Biron Malaine, is given passage to Rhodia, where he can be mentored by the Director of Rhodia, the seemingly ineffectual Hinrik V.
On Rhodia, Biron meets Artemisia, the daughter of the Director, and her uncle Gillbret. Gillbret tells of a rebellion planet he once visited and the three of them together try to rediscover it, having narrowed the locations to one of five possible places, with the hope that they can work together to overthrow the Tyranni.
A mysterious ancient artefact may also be important, being described by the Rancher as “the most dangerous document he knew”, something dated from “between the fifteenth to twenty-first century.” “The matter is death for the Tyranni and death for us as well; but it would mean final life for the Galaxy.” Unfortunately, it has disappeared from Earth.
Pursued by Tyranni commissioner Simok Aratap, they escape using a Tyranni warship and travel to the planet Lingane, where Biron meets the Autarch. The Autarch has discovered that a rebellion planet may be in the difficult to navigate Horsehead Nebula. They travel to the planet, but find nothing living there. There is a confrontation between Biron and the Autarch. Afterwards, Biron, Gillbret and Artemisia, as well as the Autarch’s aide Tedor Rizzett, are captured by Aratap and interrogated for the whereabouts of the rebellion planet.
The ending to the tale is that there is really no rebellion planet but that the revolution is being masterminded at a place closer to home, by people they know but not under suspicion. Revealing themselves to Biron and Artemisia, their leader knows of the secret ancient Earth document – the Constitution of the United States.
Reading through the above synopsis, it is clear that there’s not a lot of originality here, though to be fair this predictability may be due to the familiarity created over time. It’s a typical space opera, with simple characters to love and hate, combined with a chase to create tension and a grand reveal at the climax that even at the time of its original publication may have seemed a little overblown.
From the perspective of the twenty-first century, the climatic event at the end – the revelation that the American constitution is the most-deadly weapon of all – is clearly meant to be a crowd-pleaser. To a contemporary audience it rather reads as a rather simplistic, even jingoistic, point slapped on as an afterthought. Whilst this total belief in democracy may be a reflection of the general mood after World War II, today it feels like a simplistic “get-out” which may sit uneasily with contemporary readers.
Generally though, the lines of logic throughout the novel are rather confused. Simok Antrap is shown not as a maniacal servant of tyranny, but instead as a quiet and intelligent administrator trying to do his job in difficult circumstances and bring order from chaos. At the same time, there are signs that democracy has not always been the salvation it is expected to be, for many parts of the Earth are radioactive waste from a nuclear war in the past – so much for democracy. And yet the ending of the whole novel centres on this point.
Asimov himself has been quoted as saying that the ending was a mistake, rather foisted on him by the story’s original publisher, H. L. Gold of Galaxy Magazine. In the end it may be the reason for Asimov being quoted as saying that The Stars Like Dust is his least favourite published story, though he never changed it, even when he had the chance to do so in novel rather than magazine form. To me it rather spoils what otherwise is a typical space opera of politics and romance.
Up to that point, though, there’s a lot to like. Whilst the inevitable romance is somewhat chaste and predictable, and the action of the “one bound and he was free” variety, The Stars, Like Dust is still an often charming and entertaining tale, with signs that science fiction is in transition. Its unsophistication is a throwback to the pulp stories of the 1930’s and 40s, but there are elements that show that things have moved on. It’s not The Stars My Destination, but its weariness of war and the author’s determination not to have everything end in a big battle show that things in science fiction are becoming more thoughtful and sophisticated.
Many of the bigger ideas here – the expansion of humans across the galaxy echo the novel’s more famous sibling, The Foundation Trilogy, and much of the attraction of The Stars Like Dust may be because it covers the central themes of Asimov’s more famous work but from a slightly different perspective, at an earlier time. There is a broad canvas here – all the galaxy is ours, so to speak – but the writer focusses on a much smaller story, as he did in the first three Foundation novels. This is not the only similarity. The two leads in Stars, Like Dust seemed reminiscent in tone and manner to Foundation and Empire’s Toran and Bayta Darell, with Gillbret being a similar template to Ebling Mis. Asimov hasn’t exactly strayed far from his archetypal outline.
In short, The Stars, Like Dust is an entertaining read – a mystery plot with a frenetically paced chase and with enough of a sense of awe to still engage the reader. Despite its misjudged ending, there’s a dated charm and naivety that makes it still readable. It is not Asimov’s best, but Asimov’s critical judgment of his own work may be a little harsh. It’s not Asimov’s best work, by a long way, but there’s a lot here to enjoy.
L'univers se met en place mais les personnages sont en carton!
This is the first Asimov book I've read and I can see his appeal. He explores ideas that are taken for granted in the US and when you consider this book is from the 1950s it makes even more sense. As a story, however, I felt it was a bit lacking. The characters are not clearly developed and the ending is rushed and incomplete. But, it was enjoyable and a good introduction to Asimov.
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Very fun and clever from Asimov as usual, took a bit of time to get to know the characters but then plot was very good and smart and characters were pretty good
