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Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML: Biron Farrell was young and naĂŻve, but he was growing up fast. A radiation bomb planted in his dorm room changed him from an innocent student at the University of Earth to a marked man, fleeing desperately from an unknown assassin. He soon discovers that, many light-years away, his father, the highly respected Rancher of Widemos, has been murdered. Stunned, grief-stricken, and outraged, Biron is determined to uncover the reasons behind his father's death and becomes entangled in an intricate saga of rebellion, political intrigue, and espionage. The mystery takes him deep into space, where he finds himself in a relentless struggle with the power-mad despots of Tyrann. Now it is not just a case of life or death for Bironâ??it is a question of freedom for the galaxy.… (more)
User reviews
The book is more or less a standard adventure story with a helping of political intrigue, a serving of betrayals and backstabbing, and a somewhat groan-inducing ending (although, to be fair, the attachment of the "ultimate secret weapon" at the end of the novel was apparently not Asimov's idea, but was insisted upon by his editor). The story is, like a lot of Golden Age science fiction, somewhat dated as Asimov didn't anticipate developments in computers, but it is still readable. The Tyranni are a fairly stock enemy, but are drawn malevolently enough to make the fight against them worth reading. Some of the characters are fairly wooden, but the protagonist is reasonably engaging, even if he is overly naive and foolish at times.
The Stars, Like Dust ends up as a serviceable Asimov science fiction novel. There isn't anything particularly good or bad about it. A fan of Golden Age science fiction will find it worth reading, especially to see how the novel bridges the gap between the pulpy adventure stories of earlier science fiction and the more involved stories that came after it - one can see the seeds of stories like Foundation and The Caves of Steel in this book, and for that, it is probably worth a read for the science fiction fan.
The rest of the book was more or less okay, but the cynical mystery reader in me found the rebels' inability to think of something so basic that undid them was also difficult to bear. The action and intrigue were fun.
As for the mysterious document, I admit that I didn't select the right candidate until shortly before the big revelation. I'm not as impressed with it as the leader of the rebellion is, but I know more about its flaws.
I liked Stephen Thorne's narration very much. I think it enhanced my enjoyment of the book. It's not a great example of Dr. Asimov's work, but it's still entertaining.
There is also a small reveal at the very end of the book that I found to be hilarious. One of the things I like so much about sci-fi are those moments where assumptions are soundly shattered by one small detail.
The Stars, Like Dust is smart, sweet, and typically Asimov. It isn't his best but it was good enough to hold my interest from cover to cover.
Suffice all that to say, I was less than impressed with The Stars, Like Dust. Granted, it WAS apparently his second novel, published in 1951, so you have to cut him some slack for that, and I do, and it did have its moments, but on the whole, it’s pulp sci fi and fairly lame at that. It often reads as though it’s a cross between a Buck Rogers and Star Trek episode. It’s that cheesy.
This story is about one Biron Farrill, who at the book’s beginning, is studying at a university on Earth, when thanks to a colleague named Jonti, he is made aware of a radiation bomb that has been planted in his room. This same person then tells him of his father’s execution by the Tyranni, allegedly for taking part in a rebellion. His father held the highest position on Widemos, as the Rancher. Jonti then convinces Biron to travel to this planet, Rhodia, where his father was killed. Sounds like a good idea at the moment. Apparently, Biron is easily convinced. So, this is where he hears rumors about a rebellion against the Tyranni and it becomes his goal to find the rebel planet. With the aid of the daughter of Rhodia’s ruler and his brother. Her name is Artemisia and, naturally, she’s a hottie, because few women in Asimov’s works would be otherwise. And of course, the two rich kids just might go on to save the day, after naturally falling in love, right? Perfect cheesy sci fi love story. With the CHEESIEST ending to any type of novel I have ever read in my entire life! I have read that Asimov was forced by the publisher to put it in there, and if so, then it wasn’t his fault, but whoever was at fault, it’s bad, bad, bad, and it’s a terrible play at stupid 1950s American patriotism and it makes the book even worse. This book has so much melodrama in it, it’s not funny, and to end it like that, my God!
This book is possibly one of Asimov’s worst. None of the characters are likable, except perhaps the tyrant, if that’s feasible. The character development is nonexistent. The dialogue is putrid. The plot twists and turns too much with a few too many betrayals. The science, per usual with Asimov, is suspect. It’s not his worst effort at prose, nor is it anywhere close to his best. At best this is a three star effort, which I’m knocking down to two stars because of the horrible ending. Not seriously recommended.
Although I am a fan of Asimov's work, this one is not up to par with his other novels and stories. It is considered the first novel in the Empire series, but fails to provide the big picture or even any significant insight into the empire; it just skims over some aspects of the expansion
The main story doesn't leave a lasting impression and the writing is quite dull; it pales in comparison to Asimov's best works.
Asimov himself, said that this is his least favourite novel and he regretted incorporating his editor's idea of ... the 'big' revelation at the end of the book.
I only suggest reading this book just for the sake of completion of his Foundation universe. It's a short one anyway :)
Isaac Asimov found a - template, if you will - for writing popular books, and he stuck to it in this one. There is the essential mystery, there is an intrepid but underestimated hero (sometimes it was a heroine; Asimov was not as misogynistic as some of the other early sci-fi writers), and said hero/heroine comes to a few conclusions before actually solving the mystery. As a kid, I didn't always figure it out; as an adult it's a lot easier.
It's a quick read, it's comforting and entertaining, and sometimes that's all you need from a book.
The Stars, Like Dust (love that title), is a novel of the days when warring star kingdoms wrought havoc, before Trantor gained ascendancy in the galaxy. It has all the good stuff: suspense, betrayal, spaceships, blasters, and a good number of plot twists. It's one of those novels that likes to sink it's claws into your brain and coerce you into reading it all in one sitting.
The book falls into the genre of a galactic space adventure and one that Asimov mastered with his Foundation series. I have not read any for a long time, but I am hoping that they stand up better than this effort. 2 stars.
What I did like the most about the book though was that as far as science fiction it is a bit dated. Issac Asimov was a great sci fi dreamer and here we can see a far future world dreamed of in the 1950's where computers only do math computations and large books with star locations are needed to determine hyper jumps. Fun...
This is very early Asimov--only his second novel and book. Published in 1951, this was written before Sputnik, let alone a manned space program. Piloting a spacecraft is quaintly called "spacinautics" in this book. There are blasters and "neuronic whips" and "Nebula Kingdoms." In other words, this is the world of pulp and reads more like a Buck Rogers episode than classic Asimov. His hero, Biron Farrill, is more notable (and noted) for his muscles, not his brains, and his love interest, Artemsia, is described as "smoldering" and "spirited." And their romance is, well, proof that not just women can write treacly love stories and they don't all inhabit the Romance aisle. And did I mention this is very early in Asimov's writing career? Oh, the melodrama! The over-fondness for the exclamation point! He'd get much, much better over the years.
What saves this from one star, besides that I don't think I can bear rating something by Asimov so low? Well, there are glimmers at times of the Asimov to come, in how he injects the science into science fiction, and how the interplanetary intrigue foreshadows his Foundation series. The ending did make me smile. But if this novel had been by an unknown, I think I would have given up on the book a few chapters in. If this is your first Asimov, please, please don't hold this against him. He really is one of the greats of science fiction--you just wouldn't know it from this book.
On to the next!