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A review by leslierholm
The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov
4.0
The first of the Galactic Empire Series, and I remember falling in love with it when I first read it, lo those many, many years ago. There have been great strides in astronomy and cosmology since it was written in 1950, some of the discoveries in Asimov's own lifetime, but if you can (as the author so aptly puts it) suspend belief, it's still a cool book.
Isaac Asimov found a - template, if you will - for writing popular books, and he stuck to it in this one. There is the essential mystery, there is an intrepid but underestimated hero (sometimes it was a heroine; Asimov was not as misogynistic as some of the other early sci-fi writers), and said hero/heroine comes to a few conclusions before actually solving the mystery. As a kid, I didn't always figure it out; as an adult it's a lot easier.
It's a quick read, it's comforting and entertaining, and sometimes that's all you need from a book.
Isaac Asimov found a - template, if you will - for writing popular books, and he stuck to it in this one. There is the essential mystery, there is an intrepid but underestimated hero (sometimes it was a heroine; Asimov was not as misogynistic as some of the other early sci-fi writers), and said hero/heroine comes to a few conclusions before actually solving the mystery. As a kid, I didn't always figure it out; as an adult it's a lot easier.
It's a quick read, it's comforting and entertaining, and sometimes that's all you need from a book.