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Title: Nemesis by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0-553-28628-5 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 September, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (34 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: "Nemesis had indeed come."
Comment: Out of all the works of Isaac Asimov that I have read, my favorites are undoubtedly The Foundation Trilogy, and Nemesis. Nemesis is an interesting book. Its not really an adventure like so much science-fiction writte today. No, it's more of a social commentary on the types of changes we could likely expect when humanity reaches out for unknown territory. And it's also the story of a girl who is blessed with an uncanny ability to read people like an open book. Needless to say, it's quite interesting to observe what happens when a person simply cannot be lied to in any way, shape or form. And it's also about her mother and father and how they adapt to and deal with their environment.
But the real meat of this book is three-fold. First, it's about a planet in peril. The earth is going to be wiped out when the Sun's closest star approaches it, and no seems to belive the girl who knows. Second, this book is about the alien intelligence living on an inhospitable planet and it's desire to communicate with humans. And thirdly, this book is about the development of super-luminal (faster than light-speed) travel. Asimov explains the science of this like it's an actual phenomena that's really possible (which of course it is not as far as we know). I really enjoyed the science part of this novel. And I found the characters and their actions interesting too...
But the real kicker comes at the end of the book, when the man who's dreams of isolation and subsequent experimentation on a small group of humans are destroyed. To say much more would spoil it. But let's just say that the word Nemesis has several meanings, and the plot twist on the last page (as we realize what's REALLY going to happen in the years to come) is awesome. Perhaps the greatest ending plot twist I have ever seen (and a darn cool tie-in to the Foundation Series to boot).
If you love Asimov's sci-fi writing, definitely check this one out. Especially if you love the Foundation Trilogy. Highly recommended.
Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting story, few interesting characters
Comment: In the past year I have read all 11 of the novels from the Foundation and Robot series and have enjoyed all of them immensely (4 to 5 star range). I was eagerly anticipating Nemesis, as another book written later in Mr. Asimov's career, and a book extolled by one of my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card, as "...almost certainly one of the finest novels in science fiction." Notice the hedge in the word 'almost'. In my view, it is almost certainly one of the weakest sci-fi books in Mr. Asimov's extraordinary collection. The story follows the initial explorations out of the solar system after the development of hyperspatial technology. There is an interesting teenage girl, Marlene, with an unusually astute capacity to read people's true motivations through perception of non-verbal cues. Unfortunately, she is kind of a brat. The rest of the characters are almost entirely enslaved by their narcissistic drives for power, control, and place in the history books. There are excruciatingly long and repetitious harangues between Marlene and her mother, Eugenia. The female adult leads, Eugenia and Tessa, have relationship issues that drag the story to the level of a soap opera. The men are either pathologically power hungry and sociopathic (e.g.,Janus) or confused (e.g., Crile) or naive (Siever). mild spoiler alert: The alien intelligence, which you suspect early, does not emerge until near the end of the book, and then it is sadly under-developed. And after such a tedious build-up, the book ends rather too quickly. If you're an Asimov fan like I am, I suppose you will have to read it; just make sure you have one of his other novels cued up right behind so you can rid yourself of the sour taste (I've got Currents of Space going, it's great!)
Rating: 4
Summary: Beautiful. A great read for multiple reasons.
Comment: Having just finished Nemesis, I was really surprised by the disparity of reader reviews and it's for that reason that I felt compelled to add my own -- Just in case I might have a chance at swaying the balance. Admittedly I have not read all of the other Asimov stories as many of the other reviewers have, but I do read a huge variety of genres and always appreciate a good story, intelligent dialog, suspenseful plotlines, and admirable character development. This book certainly had all of those elements and more.
I found the plotline to be fascinating -- without being over-the-top or too fantastical. There was a believable problem and situation to overcome, and a very fascinating race to resolve it. At the same time, there are opposing forces at play, both man-made and otherwise, which create the feeling of underlying suspense and a barely discernable sense of urgency -- though not enough to be distracting. I realized for the final third of the book that I had become extremely impatient (in a tapping-my-foot kind of way). Not at all because I found the book tiresome or too long as others have suggested, but simply because I could not wait to find out how everything would eventually come together.
I was not disappointed in the least.
I found the characters to be fascinating. I've noticed that other reviewers found them to be flat, but I was grateful that they were subtle and very real. Again, everything was truly plausible and believable -- without being in-your-face or insultingly spelled out for you. I was sympathetic to all of the very human traits exhibited by the main characters. Of course Marlene was the best, as most of the other reviewers agreed. I suspect we all wish that we had her gift, and those of us who read and enjoy science fiction especially wish we could decipher people as easily as she does. This made her such a treasured character, someone we wish to emulate -- Which seems especially possible (and therefore easy to sympathize with) when she finds herself confounded or confused.
As contradictory as it may sound, what I liked most about the book was how complex and yet subtle it was all at the same time. The subject matter, scientific and technical elements, and the characters were all extremely complex with conflicting emotions and issues -- all very natural -- but everything was in a quiet, subtle, understated, and not in-your-face Hollywood type of way.
I found the book to be extremely well-written, peaceful, moving, and extremely gratifying -- from the dialog, to the descriptions of landscapes and space, and to the emotional depth of the characters. I look forward to reading the rest of Asimov's works -- and promise to update my review afterwards if I've changed my view. In the meantime, I certainly don't expect to, and from a very avid reader's point of view -- I would rate this book as "extremely highly recommended".
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Title: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0553288105 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 04 September, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0553293397 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0553299492 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 March, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0586071105 Publisher: Harper Collins - UK Pub. Date: 1987 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Nightfall by Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg ISBN: 0553290991 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 August, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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