Review: The Stars, Like Dust

The Stars, Like Dust The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a part of trying to read the entire Foundation Universe, starting from the early ones.

It is always humbling to see someone grow up, struggling through the growing pains and teething problems. It is doubly so when the person involved is a genius like Asimov.

I started reading "The Stars, Like Dust" one depressing evening. The story takes place in a far away future, when the Earth itself has been abandoned, and forgotten in many places of the Galaxy. Asimov's writing always cheers me up, but alas, this was not the case with TSLD. The author of the book was not someone I knew, not someone who always knew just how much science to throw in to maintain the book unputdownable. This was an amateur, struggling to build memorable characters, with very less subtlety when going to science, often straight out jumping to defining things, with not so much as a thought to blend them in to the plot.

Yet, somehow, the connection to the Trantorian Empire, the mentions of visisonar and visiplates invokes memories of the Foundation Saga, and that is enough motivation to push through the book.
Indeed the Asimov of the Foundation Saga and the Asimov of the earlier (and later) days is very different. But it is a hard thing, to give just three stars to my favorite author of all time.
I do not regret the time spent reading it though. In fact spending time with your favorite author's book is like spending time with your family. You can't always expect it to be roses and unicorns. :)

Recommended only to Asimov Fans.

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Comments

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