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Title: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0-553-28810-5 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 September, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (63 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Awards winning novel from the grand master of SF
Comment: I knew Asimov's work mostly through his Robot stories and the Foundation series, so I thought it was about time to read one of his independent standing novels. What better way than to start with his Hugo and Nebula awards winning novel from the early 70ies?
'The Gods Themselves' is about abundance of free energy and the dangers caused by it. Although on the surface it looks like a hard science novel, the science is only used to describe a too frequent human behavior: in face of free energy, would humanity become careless and threaten the existence of the very planet they live on?
Asimov described this in three parts; all parts could even stand as (nearly) independent from each other, although they share the same history, but (mostly) different characters.
The first part is about the invention of the Electron Pump which sucks energy from a parallel Universe, and about how an outlaw scientist discovers the dangers related to the Pump and therefore will be discredited by the scientific community. The third part is about how the problem will be solved on the moon by another discredited scientist and a lunar intuitionist.
The best part, according to most critics (including me), is the middle part, where the very strange inhabitants of the parallel Universe are described. Which starts as a very hard read (not only are the aliens so different, even the physical properties of their Universe are different), develops into one of the most accomplished created alien races of all times and shows that Asimov was a true visionary.
Now, nearly 30 years after the birth of this novel, some of the (human) characters seem a bit dated, but apart from that, Asimov makes us think a lot and proves beyond doubt that he was - together with Arthur C. Clarke - the undisputed king of science fiction.
Rating: 5
Summary: Wonderful!
Comment: It's been a while since I read any of Asimov's books - the Foundation series has always been one of my favorite science fiction series. Therefore, I decided to read another classic of Asimov (or at least, so I've been told). "The Gods Themselves" didn't surprise me, yet I was also surprised. Why? Well, the book was terrific, definitely one of Isaac Asimov's greatest novels. But also, I was surprised to see such an amazing description of a fascinating alien society - Asimov usually does not like to write about aliens (at least, that's the impression I've gotten from reading his books), but the "alien part" of the book was SO good, and so well conceived and written, it made me wish Asimov would've written more books in this style.
What is the book about? The book contains 3 parts, each is actually a separate story which revolve around the same theme.
The first part tells the story of Dr. Peter Lamont, a physicist, which recalls how the "Electric Pump", a device which enables receiving a near-infinite amount of energy as a result of matter transferral between our universe, and another universe which has different laws of nature. Lamont finds that this device might destroy our solar system, and this story depicts his attempt to stop the pump. I really liked this story. It's written in typical Asimov style: witty, humorous and totally brilliant.
The second part tells the story of Odeen, Dua and Tritt - an alien "Triplet" (3 beings which are a family). These aliens live in the other universe and the story describes what happens on this side of the pump (as a result of the events from part one). As I mentioned before, this part was truly amazing. I wish Asimov had written more books about this world, as he created such a fascinating universe. You have to read it to see what I mean.
The third and final part, tells the story of Denison, a scientist which also appeared in the first part, and as a result of events which occured there, moved to the moon. I found this part a bit boring. This part resolves the story lines from parts one and two.
I wholeheartly recommend this book, if only for the second part. Asimov being a professor, this book is filled with real science in a way which integrates with the plot and supports it (contrary to "technobabble" use of science) - this is one of the reasons the book is so good. The only thing which bothered me a bit, is that the first and second parts aren't really resolved on their own, meaning, the story ends only after the third part is over. This disappointed me, because these really were the best parts of the book and I felt somewhat cheated that I could not see how the protagonists reacted to what happened in the end. Nevertheless, this only detracts a little from the book which is still a masterpiece.
Rating: 4
Summary: three stories, tied together
Comment: As you can read from the jacket of The Gods Themselves, something bad is going to happen to Earth and only three "people" know about it--an Earth scientist, an alien, and someone from the Moon. What is really unique about this book is that it is basically three different stories that are tied together with only the common thread that the main character of each story knows of this imminent disaster that will befall Earth.
For the most part, I don't like to read short story sci-fi. I just don't like the idea that the story can't get very developed and you can't REALLY get to know the characters. So, when I first started to realize how Gods is organized, I didn't think that it would end up being that great. However, I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised; all three stories are really quite good. Also, they all have many similar ideas (other than the disaster thing) that almost make them seem like one story told from three different perspectives (in a sort of socio-political way).
The first story has great characters and is sort of a setup for the rest of the book. The second story has some really interesting aliens--not just your run-of-the-mill, humanoid, Star Trek-type aliens. Actually, I would say that the aliens in this book are in the top three as far as uniqueness. The final story wraps everything up. It also has a few more good characters and some interesting ideas about life on the moon.
I gave The Gods Themselves four stars because the book is good, but not really anything to write home about. If you're in the mood for a short book, that's easy to read, and has some interesting ideas, or if you just want to read about cool aliens, then I would recommend it.
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Title: Nemesis by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0553286285 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 September, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: I, Robot by ISAAC ASIMOV ISBN: 0553294385 Publisher: Spectra Pub. Date: 01 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0553293397 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 December, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0575071184 Pub. Date: 01 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov ISBN: 0553299492 Publisher: Spectra Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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