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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
Well, I got through 564 pages of this 679 page tome. I was SO DONE with it after the Mule. Arkady irritated me from the get go, and I just lost interest. I have no regrets putting it down forever.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Great and expansive universe, set across multiple characters and thousands of years. A unique and interesting sci-fi concept.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
Basing the story arc of any writing on the prolonged ebb, flow and fall of the Roman Empire, and those that replaced it was a huge undertaking. Unfortunately the time span required to make it conceivable means we never get to know characters - their time passes often within 10 pages. This makes the book a challenging read.
However, we do get to know their empires, worlds and kingdoms. How the fortunes of these come and go, intertwined, is brilliant. And they change, depending on their current standing they can be aggressive and acquisitive, violent and murderous, or enlightened and self-sufficient. These entities are often changed by their ruling powers, an apt idea by an author who fought in WW2 against the Axis.
Now, onto the main consideration
This is a universe which features a pistol-blaster slinging maverick hero called Han, a brotherhood of monks who control a force beyond the ken of others. We have barren outposts where farmers are visited by revolutionaries. We have a battle between 2 characters where one uses mind control to tell the other to give in to his anger. We have a ruler called Dagobert (Dagobah system?). We have an evil empire, then we have a rebel alliance. And then alliance go on to be questionably evil. We have hyperspace, and planet destroying ships. We have ships with tracking devices. All in a universe which abounds with young apprentices.
So, it was ahead of its time...
However, we do get to know their empires, worlds and kingdoms. How the fortunes of these come and go, intertwined, is brilliant. And they change, depending on their current standing they can be aggressive and acquisitive, violent and murderous, or enlightened and self-sufficient. These entities are often changed by their ruling powers, an apt idea by an author who fought in WW2 against the Axis.
Now, onto the main consideration
So, it was ahead of its time...
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
While politically and philosophically repellant, the trilogy does manage to impress just out of sheer scope. Still, it's not psychologically satisfying on any level (and doesn't attempt to be). In the end, I felt like the books sketched out settings for what could have been thoughtful sci-fi plots, but the book is too busy with the grand sweep of history to slow down and investigate them.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Didn't realize, that the narrative would be more focused on a series of events rather than more of a more focused group of people. The characters just disappeared after each time skip and it felt like I was reading short stories instead of a novel.
Interesting ideas in a big space opera spread over many centuries. I kept wanting to get deeper into some of the stories and then it would end and time would advance 500 years.
Peculiar stuff. It's striking to see Asimov steadily become a better writer over the course of the series, but the overall trilogy just isn't that good. Better off reading one of the trilogy's descendents, like Parker's Engineer trilogy or Dickinson's Traitor Baru Cormorant.