The Stars, Like Dust

This is a 2009 edition of a novel that was originally published in 1951. This edition is a well-made paperback, published in America by Tom Doherty Associates. Very good to have it available on Amazon India.According to the internal, fictional, chronology, “The Stars, Like Dust” forms the first book of the three-book Empire series by the great American sci-fi writer, Isaac Asimov. In the empire series, mankind has spread over multiple planets around the Galaxy. There are various kingdoms across the Galaxy and a Galactic Empire is slowly taking shape. (An empire in which the events of Asimov’s seven-volume Foundation series subsequently take place.)Like any sci-fi written by Asimov, the novel is entertaining and enjoyable. But it is not Asimov’s best work. In fact, Asimov himself thought it to be his worst work. I think there is just one cringeworthy bit in there that makes it bad; the rest of it is fantastic as usual.Biron Farrill, a student studying in a university on Earth, is the son of the king of the planet Widemos (where a king are called “rancher”). One day Farrill hears that his father has been murdered, probably by the despotic rulers of a planet called Tyrann, …

Livro maravilhoso, traça os caminhos da ficção científica. Leitura recomendada. Asimov no seu melhor. Leitura obrigatória juntamente com a séria Foundation.

Asimov's Galactic Empire Series has long enjoyed some great reputation. The Stars, Like Dust was the first one that I personally read, and I was immediately hooked. Although it is a science fiction, the plot did not overly focus on the science part, which makes it all the more enjoyable for common readers. Asimov carefully crafted the story to blend in suspense, romance, action, ideas, and intellectual discussion. This is an easy read where most people can find some part that resonates with him/herself. The final twists that covered multiple layers of surprises will absolutely keep your brain working and your hands turning the page. Highly recommend it.

I'd only read this book once before; having found it impossible to find in bookshops I borrowed it through my library and they had to borrow it from another library in another part of the country on my behalf.I had been re-reading my almost complete set of Asimov and when I saw 'The Stars, Like Dust' was available through Amazon I decided I had to have it. The binding is different [larger] format than most of my other Asimov paperback books (I have a few in hardcover too), but it contains the story so that is all that matters. I'm pleased I now have almost all of his SF writings, either in book form or on my Kindle.

This is Asimov’s first take at a galactic trilogy, before the Foundation series. The Stars, Like Dust is the first volume of a classic space opera, the Empire series.If you liked Foundation, you probably will like the Empire series as well. Like Foundation, it is all political maneuvering and intrigue, with a little more hand-to-hand fighting. It actually reminds me a bit of the Flash Gordon serials. Those pre-date this book by about 15 years. But the main character here, Biron Farrill, is an archetypical hero, maybe toned down a bit from the Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers models, with more political sense and skill taking the place of some, but not all, of the action hero stuff.That said, this first novel lacks anything like the brilliant idea of the Foundation’s Seldon Plan or “psychohistory” in general as a backbone. This is all about rebellion against tyranny. The ruling tyrants are even called “the Tyranni.” Okay that’s a little too obvious, right? That’s okay, this is from a different and unsubtle time for science fiction.The plot involves a possibly mythical “rebellion world” that is growing and waiting for the right time to launch an overthrow of the Tyranni. Biron and others from colony worlds (the Earth is now a desolate wasteland after an atomic/nuclear holocaust), are searching for the rebellion world.There is tension within the would-be rebels and frictions between the Tyranni and their subjects. At the center, unfortunately as a bit more of a prize and the object of a tug-of-war is the one female character, Artemisia.Artemisia is a princess, the daughter of the ruler of Rhodia, who is under the thumb of the Tyranni. He has agreed to a marriage between Artemisia and a Tyranni official, a marriage of politics on one side and lust on the other. You can figure that out.But (of course), Artemisia falls in love with Biron, a prince of sorts in his own right. His father is the recently murdered Rancher of Widemos, another of the subject worlds. Widemos has not come to terms with its plight, and Biron carries that spirit into the fray.Artemisia’s character won’t make you happy if you are looking for a strong female lead. Asimov isn’t known for that, after all.Biron is in love with her, and they have that kind of quarreling relationship that won’t admit it is love until the pressure pops. But don’t get the idea that that feistiness on her part is Biron’s favorite thing about her. He says, “The trouble was that no one had ever controlled her properly, that was all.”You’re going to have to look past that if you want to enjoy the book. It’s of its time, which doesn’t make it okay, but you get that kind of thing when you reach back to the “golden age” of science fiction.I won’t say how it turns out. There is a conclusion to this book and to the search for the “rebellion world,” although it’s also the setup for the rest of the series.Published in 1951, there is an innocent appeal to democracy and rebellion against tyranny that you may find either trite or refreshing (given what has become of democracy in the United States and elsewhere in recent years). For my part, I found it refreshing, an appeal to what should be obvious democratic ideals and spirit.