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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book kind of makes me sad. I like Asimov. I like his writing a solid amount. I loved the Foundation Trilogy, and even liked the Second Foundation trilogy well enough. But this book does not belong to either of those.
In of itself, it is not a bad story. But it is not standalone - it's a prequel to the Foundation series, taking place before even Pebble in the Sky. It's a decent mystery story, with some intrigue, but it begins to fall a little flat when some of the same stuff that happened in the Second Foundation trilogy starts happening here (a search for a lost planet, the only woman falling in love with the MC, etc etc). The ending was decent enough, although the final lines were unnecessarily cheesy.
Because it's Isaac Asimov, "The Stars, Like Dust" is worth reading if you want something to not take seriously. But other than that, it's not really worth going out of your way for. Although he wrote his own Author's Biography at the end, and that's actually really funny.
In of itself, it is not a bad story. But it is not standalone - it's a prequel to the Foundation series, taking place before even Pebble in the Sky. It's a decent mystery story, with some intrigue, but it begins to fall a little flat when some of the same stuff that happened in the Second Foundation trilogy starts happening here (a search for a lost planet, the only woman falling in love with the MC, etc etc). The ending was decent enough, although the final lines were unnecessarily cheesy.
Because it's Isaac Asimov, "The Stars, Like Dust" is worth reading if you want something to not take seriously. But other than that, it's not really worth going out of your way for. Although he wrote his own Author's Biography at the end, and that's actually really funny.
adventurous
mysterious
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
I read this book as part of my Asimov binge so that I can follow a certain chronological timeline through his body of work. It will be interesting to see whether the big revelation at the end of the book (regarding how the world should be governed) ties into any future works or not.
It was also interesting to read this book while visiting the Air and Space Museum and seeing how far off we are technologically from what Asimov dreamt up for humanity. Our space-going technology is still so very clunky and primitive.
Reading 'vintage' sci-fi is funny because, although Asimov could dream up space travel technology and robotics, he could not quite imagine things like digital cameras and tablet computers. What was not amusing was the amount of misogyny in this book! Ohhh the sexism was just staggering. Women can't possibly occupy high positions, they can't possibly go without their cosmetics and perfumes and they are silly damsels in distress. UGH! Nearly abandoned this book because of the misogyny on several occasions. (Which made me think that perhaps it's a good thing that my favorite early 20th century authors wrote stories with no female characters in them *cough Tolkien cough*)
It was also interesting to read this book while visiting the Air and Space Museum and seeing how far off we are technologically from what Asimov dreamt up for humanity. Our space-going technology is still so very clunky and primitive.
Reading 'vintage' sci-fi is funny because, although Asimov could dream up space travel technology and robotics, he could not quite imagine things like digital cameras and tablet computers. What was not amusing was the amount of misogyny in this book! Ohhh the sexism was just staggering. Women can't possibly occupy high positions, they can't possibly go without their cosmetics and perfumes and they are silly damsels in distress. UGH! Nearly abandoned this book because of the misogyny on several occasions. (Which made me think that perhaps it's a good thing that my favorite early 20th century authors wrote stories with no female characters in them *cough Tolkien cough*)
Esta leitura foi bastante dificultosa pra mim, não consegui simpatizar com o protagonista, o achei bastante tapado e infantil em diversos momentos, mas em outros ele era um gênio, capaz das mais brilhantes deduções. Seu interesse romântico também é uma personagem completamente rasa, que parece ser colocada na trama somente para este fim. Outros personagens coadjuvantes e antagonistas tornaram um pouco mais interessante as cenas em que estes dois personagens citados apareciam, principalmente o tio da garota e um dos Tiranos.
Como mencionei no título, o final tornou o livro melhor do que o estava considerando até ali, pois estava achando tudo muito previsível e este final deu uma alterada no que eu tinha pensado e levou a história pra outro caminho. Porém, algo resgatado nesse final que é mencionado lá pro começo do livro, é bastante deprimente. É dado ao objeto um grau de importância que não acredito que ele o mereça.
Por fim, notei algumas menções a conceitos que parecem levar a uma futura construção da psico-história na saga Fundação, e isso me manteve engajado, pelo menos com a esperança de que no futuro terei algo melhor.
Como mencionei no título, o final tornou o livro melhor do que o estava considerando até ali, pois estava achando tudo muito previsível e este final deu uma alterada no que eu tinha pensado e levou a história pra outro caminho. Porém, algo resgatado nesse final que é mencionado lá pro começo do livro, é bastante deprimente. É dado ao objeto um grau de importância que não acredito que ele o mereça.
Por fim, notei algumas menções a conceitos que parecem levar a uma futura construção da psico-história na saga Fundação, e isso me manteve engajado, pelo menos com a esperança de que no futuro terei algo melhor.
i didn't know what to expect and had a wonderful ride in to Asimov's Empire sequence. It's influence on George Lucas is obvious from the first few chapters and only proceeds to grow as the plot unfolds and I imagine as the series of books unfolds.
Incredibly well written like only the Grand Master himself could achieve, for a book written in 1951 it has not dated in any way. Not as enjoyable as the Lije Baley stories but good solid science fiction entertainment.
Incredibly well written like only the Grand Master himself could achieve, for a book written in 1951 it has not dated in any way. Not as enjoyable as the Lije Baley stories but good solid science fiction entertainment.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was a good book but the last few paragraphs were so cringey