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A review by angel_kiiss
The Currents of Space by Isaac Asimov
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The Empire novels, in my opinion, are some of Asimov’s slower works.
It’s a well thought out depiction of class and classism, however, the added sub-plot of race (or specifically skin tone) reads obviously as a white man writing commentary on race. A sub-plot on the difference in skin tone between the planet which is being oppressed vs. their oppressors, as well as a planet of people on the opposing color spectrum are educated and self-governed - reads hallow as the oppressed are “pale” or “white” while the rest of the galaxy is specified to be “of darker colors” or mixed-race.
It’s a well thought out depiction of class and classism, however, the added sub-plot of race (or specifically skin tone) reads obviously as a white man writing commentary on race. A sub-plot on the difference in skin tone between the planet which is being oppressed vs. their oppressors, as well as a planet of people on the opposing color spectrum are educated and self-governed - reads hallow as the oppressed are “pale” or “white” while the rest of the galaxy is specified to be “of darker colors” or mixed-race.
It’s progressive to depict a future where race is no longer a factor because over thousands of years we have all intermarried and the only race distinguisher is planet of origin. But to write specifically of how the remaining “white people” in the galaxy are a race of men being oppressed, genetically governed, and genetically weeded out because of their inferiority requires more context. Is it Asimov’s own commentary on how racism is wrong and how eventually the superiority that white people believe in will become extinct and be turned against them? Probably. But for the specifically identified “darker skinned” planet of people to identify with their oppression based simply based on their extreme differences in skin tone could read as a white man coopting the struggle of Black people.
I’m more familiar with Asimov’s political ideas, so I’d likely believe that it’s the former, however when taken into account that Elon Musk’s favorite author is Isaac Asimov - an author who continually wrote on the effects on capitalism on space travel and the future - I think it’s important to continuously have discussions around the politically meanings and implications of Asimov’s work.