Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
I found this book interesting, but the twists weren't particularly unexpected. I suppose that's the danger of old books. I will say, though, that the ending reveal/twist truly was unexpected, but unwanted. It's frustrating when world building like this is developed, only to drag us back to the modern day and all it's issues with a document like that.
I feel like the story didn't really have time to congeal properly. It was interesting, definitely, but we were never let into anyone's confidence. Everyone was suspect and no one was what they seemed. The story would have been more interesting if more could have been established at the beginning.
Naves, saltos interestelares, rebeliones, planetas por descubrir y conquistar y la extraña pero que a la vez me atrapa forma de contar historias que tiene Asimov han hecho de esto una grata aventura. Punto menos por la concepción que tiene el autor de las relaciones amorosas, pero lo demás ha estado genial. Y ese final que ha sido muy grato hace que necesite ahora leer el siguiente.
Asimov never fails. This is a great ride through the galaxy and he brings it "home" nicely.
Fun science fiction read with lots of twists and turns. (Even though the last surprise revealed was the most obvious one.)
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not great, but halfway decent. All the twists, turns, and hidden allies-traitors-double agents will have your head spinning only slightly less than whenever you last watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3. To be fair, Asimov isn't quite as confusing as the Pirates sequels.
The characters are a lot of fun, if not always well-developed. Asimov has a good knack for giving his characters grounding and little giveaways of their personalities. I like that the main character can show when he's irritated or scared, even when he doesn't mean to. Yes, there's only one female character, which I've come to expect in retro sci-fi. That being said, I like Arta a lot: she displays a lot of courage given her sheltered upbringing, she's knowledgeable about intergalactic politics and power dynamics, and she doesn't give in to threats or fear (and even heads out onto an unknown planet to go warn her love interest about a potentially fatal danger) so she has decent agency. The main character does display a bad habit of trying to shield her from difficult decisions and not letting her in on his plans (I hate that trope).
The ending is what really disappoints. There's no revolution, nothing more than a vague promise of one that might happen later. Oh, and the key to overthrowing the tyrants (Tyrannis, for god's sake) is the U.S. Constitution... Ok. I guess? It kind of came out of nowhere and I'm not sure why that seemed like a good ending but that's all we get.
Recommended if you just want to get through all the Empire books. If you don't want to bother, there's really no need. There isn't anything spectacular here, and Asimov himself considers it his least favourite book. I wish I'd known that before. Ah well.
The characters are a lot of fun, if not always well-developed. Asimov has a good knack for giving his characters grounding and little giveaways of their personalities. I like that the main character can show when he's irritated or scared, even when he doesn't mean to. Yes, there's only one female character, which I've come to expect in retro sci-fi. That being said, I like Arta a lot: she displays a lot of courage given her sheltered upbringing, she's knowledgeable about intergalactic politics and power dynamics, and she doesn't give in to threats or fear (and even heads out onto an unknown planet to go warn her love interest about a potentially fatal danger) so she has decent agency. The main character does display a bad habit of trying to shield her from difficult decisions and not letting her in on his plans (I hate that trope).
The ending is what really disappoints. There's no revolution, nothing more than a vague promise of one that might happen later. Oh, and the key to overthrowing the tyrants (Tyrannis, for god's sake) is the U.S. Constitution... Ok. I guess? It kind of came out of nowhere and I'm not sure why that seemed like a good ending but that's all we get.
Recommended if you just want to get through all the Empire books. If you don't want to bother, there's really no need. There isn't anything spectacular here, and Asimov himself considers it his least favourite book. I wish I'd known that before. Ah well.
Well, this certainly wasn't what I expected. I had seen a number of reviews prior to reading this book which said that, as it was one of the earliest of Asimov's works, the writing wasn't as remarkable as in the later Foundation or Robot series and that is certainly true.
That said, the writing was as convoluted as in some of the Robot series (which is more fresh in my brain than the Foundation series) with twists and turns coming without any warning or any indication at all.
The characters are wooden and the conversations between them somewhat stilted, but again I seem to recall levelling the same critique on other books by this author.
Criticisms aside though I enjoyed this, there were nice references back to the Robot series and I swear I picked up some Foundation references as well (though I'm not as certain on that front).
I wouldn't say this was a necessary read in terms of the over-arching plot of the other books but I am glad to have read it. I wouldn't necessarily say "oh I must re-read The Stars Like Dust again" but as I am planning on reading the entire body of works again next year in order I will see how well this stands up on a re-read level.
That said, the writing was as convoluted as in some of the Robot series (which is more fresh in my brain than the Foundation series) with twists and turns coming without any warning or any indication at all.
The characters are wooden and the conversations between them somewhat stilted, but again I seem to recall levelling the same critique on other books by this author.
Criticisms aside though I enjoyed this, there were nice references back to the Robot series and I swear I picked up some Foundation references as well (though I'm not as certain on that front).
I wouldn't say this was a necessary read in terms of the over-arching plot of the other books but I am glad to have read it. I wouldn't necessarily say "oh I must re-read The Stars Like Dust again" but as I am planning on reading the entire body of works again next year in order I will see how well this stands up on a re-read level.
Originally published on my blog here in August 2002.
In retrospect, The Stars Like Dust is one of Asimov's most disappointing and dated science fiction novels. I'm not sure, reading it now, whether or not it was originally explicitly aimed at a young adult audience (the one that many people assume still that all science fiction is written for), but it certainly doesn't really have enough to offer to impress a reader who is not a novice reader of the genre.
The Horsehead Nebula region of the galaxy was divided into a large number of smallish aristocratic nations, until they were all suddenly overrun by the banally named Tyranni about a generation before the story is set. The old royal families have been left in place in a ceremonial role; the hero of The Stars Like Dust is the son and heir of the titular ruler of one of these planets. Biron Farrill is studying on Earth - largely ruined in an ancient nuclear war - when his father dies, executed for treason by the Tyranni. An apparent attempt on his own life leads him to flee back to the Horsehead Nebula, to the palace of the Hinriads on the planet of Rhodia. A series of adventures follow, which even at the time must have seemed derivative (they're a poor imitation of [a:A.E. van Vogt|1293688|A.E. van Vogt|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1226200601p2/1293688.jpg] or [a:E.E. Smith|4477395|E.E. Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1315184002p2/4477395.jpg]), ending with a stupendous discovery which should mark the end of the Tyranni.
This stupendous discovery is the main problem with The Stars Like Dust, at least for a non-American. It turns outthat this is the long-lost American Declaration of Independence, a document whose explosive power is supposed to doom tyrants. It shows, perhaps, a touchingly naive faith in the power of the admittedly inspiring words about freedom and independence (Asimov's background as a first generation immigrant in the thirties makes the alternative possibility, cynical manipulation of the reader, unlikely.) But it can hardly be argued that the example of the US constitution has made the Earth free of dictators, and even the US cannot be considered the epitome of freedom and equality. (Rodney King can't have thought so, in his final moments.) To use the discovery as the climax of the novel is not only a major weakness, it is the sort of twist which smacks of the inexperienced writer at this length - it is typical of the genre's short stories.
Other problems with The Stars Like Dust include the frankly unbelieveable plot - the base of a rebellion which is being gradually stocked up with men and weapons would be hard to hide economically, let alone be kept a secret by the thousands of people involved. The various conspiracies and plots which fill the book are not very convincing, and the people involved have inconsistent characters - to much insight in some areas, not enough in others. There is a romance subplot, but that is based on exactly the kind of portrayal of a female character that is one of the commonest criticisms of the science fiction genre ("it's written by and for geeks who have no idea what women are like").
In retrospect, The Stars Like Dust is one of Asimov's most disappointing and dated science fiction novels. I'm not sure, reading it now, whether or not it was originally explicitly aimed at a young adult audience (the one that many people assume still that all science fiction is written for), but it certainly doesn't really have enough to offer to impress a reader who is not a novice reader of the genre.
The Horsehead Nebula region of the galaxy was divided into a large number of smallish aristocratic nations, until they were all suddenly overrun by the banally named Tyranni about a generation before the story is set. The old royal families have been left in place in a ceremonial role; the hero of The Stars Like Dust is the son and heir of the titular ruler of one of these planets. Biron Farrill is studying on Earth - largely ruined in an ancient nuclear war - when his father dies, executed for treason by the Tyranni. An apparent attempt on his own life leads him to flee back to the Horsehead Nebula, to the palace of the Hinriads on the planet of Rhodia. A series of adventures follow, which even at the time must have seemed derivative (they're a poor imitation of [a:A.E. van Vogt|1293688|A.E. van Vogt|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1226200601p2/1293688.jpg] or [a:E.E. Smith|4477395|E.E. Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1315184002p2/4477395.jpg]), ending with a stupendous discovery which should mark the end of the Tyranni.
This stupendous discovery is the main problem with The Stars Like Dust, at least for a non-American. It turns out
Other problems with The Stars Like Dust include the frankly unbelieveable plot - the base of a rebellion which is being gradually stocked up with men and weapons would be hard to hide economically, let alone be kept a secret by the thousands of people involved. The various conspiracies and plots which fill the book are not very convincing, and the people involved have inconsistent characters - to much insight in some areas, not enough in others. There is a romance subplot, but that is based on exactly the kind of portrayal of a female character that is one of the commonest criticisms of the science fiction genre ("it's written by and for geeks who have no idea what women are like").