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Nemesis
In the twenty-third century pioneers have escaped the crowded earth for life in self-sustaining orbital colonies. One of the colonies, Rotor, has broken away from the solar system to create its own renegade utopia around an unknown red star two light-years from Earth: a star named Nemesis. Now a fifteen-year-old Rotorian girl has learned of the dire threat that nemesis poses to Earth's people--but she is prevented from warning them. Soon she will realize that Nemesis endangers Rotor as well. And so it will be up to her alone to save both Earth and Rotor as--drawn inexorably by Nemesis, the death star--they hurtle toward certain disaster.
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First published October 1, 1989
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About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,337 books27.8k followersWorks of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles,
The Foundation Trilogy
(1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
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August 14, 2023
¡Uff, genial! ¡Me encantó de inicio a fin!
En realidad 4,6.
Antes de decir mi opinión, quiero comenzar esta reseña contando la particular anécdota que me llevó a leer esta obra. A finales del mes de Abril, en mi ciudad, se llevó a cabo —al igual que en todos los años— la Feria Internacional del Libro de Bogotá. Quizás para los asistentes recurrentes este evento solo fue uno más en las historias de sus palmareses; pero para mí no porque, a pesar de que he amado los libros por mucho tiempo, irónicamente esta es la primera vez a la que asisto a este evento. ¿Por qué no había asistido anteriormente? Porque no soy proactivo para programar salidas, vacaciones, o demás; quizás soy muy hogareño y disfruto más estando en mí casa que afuera de ella. Pero esta vez fui porque mi hermano tomó la iniciativa, compró las boletas y me invitó: No podía rechazarle su invitación. No contaré detalles de la bella experiencia que disfruté aquel sábado, pero si mencionaré que me emocioné mucho viendo la cantidad de libros que encontré de mí agrado: Creo que se nota demasiado cuando es nuestra primera vez... Pues bien, ese día no quería irme de allí sin llevarme algún libro, y como deseaba uno bien gordito, al ver el libro de La trilogía de la Fundación de Asimov, me encapriché y quise inmediatamente llevármelo. Hasta ese día jamás había leído al autor, pero sí conocía de la existencia de aquella obra. Entonces, como me pareció una gran oportunidad para explorar su prosa y conocer sus ideas, efectivamente lo compré. El problema, se presentó más tarde, cuando llegué a mi casa, y tras leer las primeras páginas sentí que algo estaba haciendo mal. Es difícil explicar esas corazonadas que a veces nos alertan de nuestras malas decisiones, pero claramente la sentí. Entonces detuve mi lectura, mi instinto me llevó a investigar sobre el autor, y al hacerlo comprendí que aquella corazonada tenía fundamentos porque en el fondo debía alejarme a toda costa de aquel libro. El motivo era simple: No debía leer a Asimov, no de esa forma.
Existe en video de Youtube en un canal que tiene el nombre de JaviPons, en el cual se explica en profundidad sobre la forma ideal en que deberíamos leer las obras de Asimov. No es un orden obligatorio, claro está, pero he decidido seguir ese orden porque el creador del video me convenció por su claro dominio en el tema. Como quiero comprender en profundidad las referencias e ideologías del autor, pienso que vale la oportunidad seguir las recomendaciones de un experto en el autor. Para los interesados el nombre del video es «¿Cómo leer Fundación de Isaac Asimov? ¡Te comparto mi orden de libros!». Aclaro que no estoy realizando ningún tipo de publicidad, ni me están pagando por ello: Solo quiero ofrecer una información que puede ser de utilidad.
Para ser honesto, de no ser por aquel video nunca hubiera leído este libro, porque de hecho ni siquiera lo conocía. Normalmente empiezo a leer a un autor inexplorado con algunas de sus obras más conocidas, y por eso me compré La trilogía de la Fundación, pero ¿comenzar por Némesis? No. ¡Jamás lo habría elegido como mi primera opción! Pues bien, decidí entonces hacer caso, dejar aparcada mi compra en una esquina, busqué Némesis, lo inicié, y tan solo con los primeros capítulos ya estaba completamente atrapado con el libro. Desde el comienzo me encantó. Tenía miedo de que la prosa del autor fuera complicada, o que los términos relacionados a la ciencia ficción fueran complejos de entender, pero fue una grata sorpresa descubrir que todo era súper fácil de leer. Lo que descubrí fue un autor con una prosa ligera y amena que no pierde el tiempo alargando sus historias. Fue directo, siempre usando un lenguaje común, y con capítulos de duración corta, como si su intención fuera que, el lector, sintiera que no había perdido el tiempo ni con una sola página.
El argumento nos cuenta que en el año 2236 la Tierra está completamente sobrepoblada, y que afuera del planeta, esparcidos por el Sistema Solar, se encuentran «Establecimientos» en los que también viven las personas. A pesar de sus vínculos, cada Establecimiento es independiente, por lo que en cada uno de estos lugares se procura avanzar científica y tecnológicamente. Sin embargo, todo cambia, cuando un día un Establecimiento llamado Rotor descubre una estrella oculta que está mucho más cerca que cualquier otra, y aventurándose en el misterioso espacio, decide lanzarse a la aventura abandonando el Sistema Solar para siempre, y todo para intentar la colonización en otro lugar del universo. Por tanto, lo que Asimov nos cuenta son dos historias paralelas: La de los rotorianos que viajan por el espacio, y la de aquellos que intentan descubrir su paradero.
Un argumento clásico, prácticamente un cliché, pero que nos atrapa por la forma como el autor presenta los tópicos sobre naves, viajes espaciales, y avances científicos. En lo particular, he notado similitudes con un libro que me gustó mucho en aquel entonces, que se llama La voz de los muertos, de Orson Scott Card, segundo volumen de la saga de Ender. Se parecen en la propuesta de dificultad de adaptarse a un mundo nuevo, el peligro de lo desconocido (incluyendo enfermedades), la sensación de que los protagonistas no tienen tiempo para solucionar sus problemas, etc. No obstante, no es una particularidad que me molestó porque considero que si tenemos en cuenta las fechas de publicación de ambas obras (La voz de los muertos, 1986 y Némesis, 1989), podríamos deducir que era un argumento muy recurrente en aquellos tiempos para cualquier autor del género. Incluso fue bonito recordar aquella obra, incluso sería genial releerla. Asimismo, la decisión de Asimov de dividir su argumento en historias paralelas (Rotor y Sistema Solar) me ha parecido un recurso válido e inteligente. Ambas historias son importantes, y si él las hubiera narrado de una forma distinta, posiblemente el libro sería cansino y tedioso. Tampoco un Flashback habría sido una buena opción porque se sentiría forzado el argumento, y además hubiera sido muy largo como los de los libros de Sherlock Holmes. Él eligió la opción correcta, y estoy agradecido por ello.
Pocos fueron los personajes, pero pocos eran necesarios. Los que se utilizaron estuvieron bien desarrollados y tanto su personalidad como sus nombres nos ayudan a diferenciarlos con claridad. Sin embargo, todos los personajes son secundarios, excepto la protagonista de nombre Marlene, quien es la que permite realmente que se desarrollen los eventos del libro. En Némesis encontramos personajes tímidos que no quieren arriesgarse, pero que tampoco progresan en sus trabajos científicos, pero Marlene, que es la chispa de la «rebeldía», al salirse de la zona de confort del lugar, pasa de ser una incomodidad a una gran ayuda. Y menciono lo de incomodidad porque ella posee un don que podría desagradar a cualquiera: Basándose en el lenguaje corporal y en las palabras, ella distingue cuando los demás dicen la verdad; y si no la dicen, descubre las razones por las que aquella persona está mintiendo. Pero justamente esta habilidad es la que la hace interesante: Marlene es la debilidad de todo aquel que guarde secretos.
Si tuviera que buscar defectos mencionaría dos. El primero, que no me molesta, es que es un libro que prácticamente no posee acción. Sé que es un defecto porque la acción ayuda a que un libro posea dinámica y cambios de ritmo, pero a mí, en lo personal no me molestó porque nunca sentí que se necesitara. El libro me atrapó, cada fragmento aumentó mi curiosidad, y aunque ocurrieron eventos predecibles, me la pasé muy bien leyendo este libro de inicio a fin. Es más, creo que la acción habría estropeado el trabajo de Asimov percibiéndose todo muy exagerado. El segundo defecto, que sí me molesta, es que la solución del problema principal del argumento me pareció sacado del culo. Fue tan innecesario e artificioso. Si es un libro independiente, ¿para qué hacer un final así? No entendí para qué. De hecho, esa es mi razón para que califique este libro con cuatro estrellas y no con cinco.
Leer Némesis ha sido una grata experiencia que me motiva a continuar con mi plan original. Según el orden que seguiré, para llegar a La trilogía de la Fundación necesitaré leer primero trece libros más, en una «súper saga» que comprende veinte libros. Si la prosa de Asimov no me hubiera enganchado con este libro, posiblemente empezaría a sentir dudas por el camino tan largo que me propongo recorrer. Pero como la experiencia ha sido altamente agradable, entonces me siento con anhelos de comenzar prontamente el siguiente, y el siguiente, y luego el siguiente libro. Ahora tengo la seguridad de que tendré una buena compañía por bastantes meses, así que termino agradecido por esa esa primera visita a la feria del libro en la que elegí erróneamente la obra que aún no podía leer. Creo que el próximo año volveré. Quien sabe, quizás vuelvo a tener la fortuna de elegir una lectura equivocada.
Siguiente destino, El robot completo.
En realidad 4,6.
Antes de decir mi opinión, quiero comenzar esta reseña contando la particular anécdota que me llevó a leer esta obra. A finales del mes de Abril, en mi ciudad, se llevó a cabo —al igual que en todos los años— la Feria Internacional del Libro de Bogotá. Quizás para los asistentes recurrentes este evento solo fue uno más en las historias de sus palmareses; pero para mí no porque, a pesar de que he amado los libros por mucho tiempo, irónicamente esta es la primera vez a la que asisto a este evento. ¿Por qué no había asistido anteriormente? Porque no soy proactivo para programar salidas, vacaciones, o demás; quizás soy muy hogareño y disfruto más estando en mí casa que afuera de ella. Pero esta vez fui porque mi hermano tomó la iniciativa, compró las boletas y me invitó: No podía rechazarle su invitación. No contaré detalles de la bella experiencia que disfruté aquel sábado, pero si mencionaré que me emocioné mucho viendo la cantidad de libros que encontré de mí agrado: Creo que se nota demasiado cuando es nuestra primera vez... Pues bien, ese día no quería irme de allí sin llevarme algún libro, y como deseaba uno bien gordito, al ver el libro de La trilogía de la Fundación de Asimov, me encapriché y quise inmediatamente llevármelo. Hasta ese día jamás había leído al autor, pero sí conocía de la existencia de aquella obra. Entonces, como me pareció una gran oportunidad para explorar su prosa y conocer sus ideas, efectivamente lo compré. El problema, se presentó más tarde, cuando llegué a mi casa, y tras leer las primeras páginas sentí que algo estaba haciendo mal. Es difícil explicar esas corazonadas que a veces nos alertan de nuestras malas decisiones, pero claramente la sentí. Entonces detuve mi lectura, mi instinto me llevó a investigar sobre el autor, y al hacerlo comprendí que aquella corazonada tenía fundamentos porque en el fondo debía alejarme a toda costa de aquel libro. El motivo era simple: No debía leer a Asimov, no de esa forma.
Existe en video de Youtube en un canal que tiene el nombre de JaviPons, en el cual se explica en profundidad sobre la forma ideal en que deberíamos leer las obras de Asimov. No es un orden obligatorio, claro está, pero he decidido seguir ese orden porque el creador del video me convenció por su claro dominio en el tema. Como quiero comprender en profundidad las referencias e ideologías del autor, pienso que vale la oportunidad seguir las recomendaciones de un experto en el autor. Para los interesados el nombre del video es «¿Cómo leer Fundación de Isaac Asimov? ¡Te comparto mi orden de libros!». Aclaro que no estoy realizando ningún tipo de publicidad, ni me están pagando por ello: Solo quiero ofrecer una información que puede ser de utilidad.
Para ser honesto, de no ser por aquel video nunca hubiera leído este libro, porque de hecho ni siquiera lo conocía. Normalmente empiezo a leer a un autor inexplorado con algunas de sus obras más conocidas, y por eso me compré La trilogía de la Fundación, pero ¿comenzar por Némesis? No. ¡Jamás lo habría elegido como mi primera opción! Pues bien, decidí entonces hacer caso, dejar aparcada mi compra en una esquina, busqué Némesis, lo inicié, y tan solo con los primeros capítulos ya estaba completamente atrapado con el libro. Desde el comienzo me encantó. Tenía miedo de que la prosa del autor fuera complicada, o que los términos relacionados a la ciencia ficción fueran complejos de entender, pero fue una grata sorpresa descubrir que todo era súper fácil de leer. Lo que descubrí fue un autor con una prosa ligera y amena que no pierde el tiempo alargando sus historias. Fue directo, siempre usando un lenguaje común, y con capítulos de duración corta, como si su intención fuera que, el lector, sintiera que no había perdido el tiempo ni con una sola página.
El argumento nos cuenta que en el año 2236 la Tierra está completamente sobrepoblada, y que afuera del planeta, esparcidos por el Sistema Solar, se encuentran «Establecimientos» en los que también viven las personas. A pesar de sus vínculos, cada Establecimiento es independiente, por lo que en cada uno de estos lugares se procura avanzar científica y tecnológicamente. Sin embargo, todo cambia, cuando un día un Establecimiento llamado Rotor descubre una estrella oculta que está mucho más cerca que cualquier otra, y aventurándose en el misterioso espacio, decide lanzarse a la aventura abandonando el Sistema Solar para siempre, y todo para intentar la colonización en otro lugar del universo. Por tanto, lo que Asimov nos cuenta son dos historias paralelas: La de los rotorianos que viajan por el espacio, y la de aquellos que intentan descubrir su paradero.
Un argumento clásico, prácticamente un cliché, pero que nos atrapa por la forma como el autor presenta los tópicos sobre naves, viajes espaciales, y avances científicos. En lo particular, he notado similitudes con un libro que me gustó mucho en aquel entonces, que se llama La voz de los muertos, de Orson Scott Card, segundo volumen de la saga de Ender. Se parecen en la propuesta de dificultad de adaptarse a un mundo nuevo, el peligro de lo desconocido (incluyendo enfermedades), la sensación de que los protagonistas no tienen tiempo para solucionar sus problemas, etc. No obstante, no es una particularidad que me molestó porque considero que si tenemos en cuenta las fechas de publicación de ambas obras (La voz de los muertos, 1986 y Némesis, 1989), podríamos deducir que era un argumento muy recurrente en aquellos tiempos para cualquier autor del género. Incluso fue bonito recordar aquella obra, incluso sería genial releerla. Asimismo, la decisión de Asimov de dividir su argumento en historias paralelas (Rotor y Sistema Solar) me ha parecido un recurso válido e inteligente. Ambas historias son importantes, y si él las hubiera narrado de una forma distinta, posiblemente el libro sería cansino y tedioso. Tampoco un Flashback habría sido una buena opción porque se sentiría forzado el argumento, y además hubiera sido muy largo como los de los libros de Sherlock Holmes. Él eligió la opción correcta, y estoy agradecido por ello.
Pocos fueron los personajes, pero pocos eran necesarios. Los que se utilizaron estuvieron bien desarrollados y tanto su personalidad como sus nombres nos ayudan a diferenciarlos con claridad. Sin embargo, todos los personajes son secundarios, excepto la protagonista de nombre Marlene, quien es la que permite realmente que se desarrollen los eventos del libro. En Némesis encontramos personajes tímidos que no quieren arriesgarse, pero que tampoco progresan en sus trabajos científicos, pero Marlene, que es la chispa de la «rebeldía», al salirse de la zona de confort del lugar, pasa de ser una incomodidad a una gran ayuda. Y menciono lo de incomodidad porque ella posee un don que podría desagradar a cualquiera: Basándose en el lenguaje corporal y en las palabras, ella distingue cuando los demás dicen la verdad; y si no la dicen, descubre las razones por las que aquella persona está mintiendo. Pero justamente esta habilidad es la que la hace interesante: Marlene es la debilidad de todo aquel que guarde secretos.
Si tuviera que buscar defectos mencionaría dos. El primero, que no me molesta, es que es un libro que prácticamente no posee acción. Sé que es un defecto porque la acción ayuda a que un libro posea dinámica y cambios de ritmo, pero a mí, en lo personal no me molestó porque nunca sentí que se necesitara. El libro me atrapó, cada fragmento aumentó mi curiosidad, y aunque ocurrieron eventos predecibles, me la pasé muy bien leyendo este libro de inicio a fin. Es más, creo que la acción habría estropeado el trabajo de Asimov percibiéndose todo muy exagerado. El segundo defecto, que sí me molesta, es que la solución del problema principal del argumento me pareció sacado del culo. Fue tan innecesario e artificioso. Si es un libro independiente, ¿para qué hacer un final así? No entendí para qué. De hecho, esa es mi razón para que califique este libro con cuatro estrellas y no con cinco.
Leer Némesis ha sido una grata experiencia que me motiva a continuar con mi plan original. Según el orden que seguiré, para llegar a La trilogía de la Fundación necesitaré leer primero trece libros más, en una «súper saga» que comprende veinte libros. Si la prosa de Asimov no me hubiera enganchado con este libro, posiblemente empezaría a sentir dudas por el camino tan largo que me propongo recorrer. Pero como la experiencia ha sido altamente agradable, entonces me siento con anhelos de comenzar prontamente el siguiente, y el siguiente, y luego el siguiente libro. Ahora tengo la seguridad de que tendré una buena compañía por bastantes meses, así que termino agradecido por esa esa primera visita a la feria del libro en la que elegí erróneamente la obra que aún no podía leer. Creo que el próximo año volveré. Quien sabe, quizás vuelvo a tener la fortuna de elegir una lectura equivocada.
Siguiente destino, El robot completo.
July 17, 2025
Изключително много ми хареса „Немезида“! Освен поредната отлична научна фантастика, тя представлява също така и много силна житейска драма... Според мен, Азимов се е фокусирал в нея най-вече върху сложните човешки взаимоотношения, както и е вложил непреходни послания. Дори човечеството или част от него да открие технологичен метод, чрез който да се премести и колонизира друго място във Вселената, ако хората не осъзнават своите недостатъци и грешки, то и в различна звездна система ще водят стария начин на живот, от който са избягали. Азимов определено хвърля светлина върху рисковете и проблемите, които възникват, при положение че малка общност реши да запази само за себе си научно откритие, даже и привидно да има мотиви за пазенето на тайна. Прекалената гордост би могла да провали дори обещаваща и качествена визия за по-различно бъдеще от тежкото такова на пренаселената Земя. Перипетиите на хората от колонията Ротор ми дадоха много такива теми за размисъл... „Немезида“ не е свързана с големите поредици на автора, затова ако си търсите за четене самостоятелна научнофантастична творба, то тя е перфектен избор!
„— Но какво те накара да кажеш такова нещо?
— Защото знам. Виждам. От това, което хората казват, но не изказват и което правят, но не знаят, че правят. И от неща, които компютърът ми казва, когато му задам правилния въпрос.“
„В последвалата дълга пауза тишината стана по-осезаема и Инсиня установи, че искрено се надява никой да не влезе, за да не се наруши чудната магия на покоя, в който беше потънала.“
„Дженар внимателно поглеждаше настрани към Марлейна, като наблюдаваше реакциите й. Тя, разбира се, беше чела за земните океани и сигурно беше виждала как изглеждат по холовизията, но нищо не може да подготви човек за такова преживяване.“
„Христофор Колумб отплавал на запад от Испанския бряг и след време открил Америка, въпреки че самият той така и не разбрал, че е направил това. По пътя той открил, че отклонението на магнитната стрелка на компаса от посока север, т.нар. „магнитно отклонение“ се променя с промяната на географската дължина. Това е било важно откритие и всъщност е било първото истинско откритие, направено по време на морско плаване. Сега кой знае, че Колумб е открил променянето на магнитното отклонение? Никой. А, че Колумб е открил Америка? Всички.“
„Това беше една симфония от взаимодействие. Не толкова разговор помежду им, колкото мисловен балет, който тя не можеше да опише, нещо безкрайно успокояващо, безкрайно многообразие — отчасти променящ се вид — отчасти променяш се глас — отчасти променяща се мисъл.
Това беше разговор в толкова много измерения, че мисълта да се върне към общуване, състоящо се единствено от думи, я караше да се чувства куха, безжизнена. Нейната дарба да чете езика на жестовете разцъфна в нещо, което никога преди това не си беше представяла. Мислите можеха да бъдат обменени много по-бързо и дълбоко, отколкото посредством грубата недодялана реч.“
„— Но какво те накара да кажеш такова нещо?
— Защото знам. Виждам. От това, което хората казват, но не изказват и което правят, но не знаят, че правят. И от неща, които компютърът ми казва, когато му задам правилния въпрос.“
„В последвалата дълга пауза тишината стана по-осезаема и Инсиня установи, че искрено се надява никой да не влезе, за да не се наруши чудната магия на покоя, в който беше потънала.“
„Дженар внимателно поглеждаше настрани към Марлейна, като наблюдаваше реакциите й. Тя, разбира се, беше чела за земните океани и сигурно беше виждала как изглеждат по холовизията, но нищо не може да подготви човек за такова преживяване.“
„Христофор Колумб отплавал на запад от Испанския бряг и след време открил Америка, въпреки че самият той така и не разбрал, че е направил това. По пътя той открил, че отклонението на магнитната стрелка на компаса от посока север, т.нар. „магнитно отклонение“ се променя с промяната на географската дължина. Това е било важно откритие и всъщност е било първото истинско откритие, направено по време на морско плаване. Сега кой знае, че Колумб е открил променянето на магнитното отклонение? Никой. А, че Колумб е открил Америка? Всички.“
„Това беше една симфония от взаимодействие. Не толкова разговор помежду им, колкото мисловен балет, който тя не можеше да опише, нещо безкрайно успокояващо, безкрайно многообразие — отчасти променящ се вид — отчасти променяш се глас — отчасти променяща се мисъл.
Това беше разговор в толкова много измерения, че мисълта да се върне към общуване, състоящо се единствено от думи, я караше да се чувства куха, безжизнена. Нейната дарба да чете езика на жестовете разцъфна в нещо, което никога преди това не си беше представяла. Мислите можеха да бъдат обменени много по-бързо и дълбоко, отколкото посредством грубата недодялана реч.“
March 23, 2019
My first read of Isaac Asimov's work. It was a mind opening experience, for someone who hadn't read a science fiction work of a grand master level.
It is a stand alone novel, and it has no special distinctive idea (unlike Foundation series or Robot series), but the writing style is definitely Asimov's (Of course I can only say this after I've read his other works).
Nowadays I reluctant to rate Asimov's fictions full 5 star because his execution in storytelling is not so good, tend to be boring in long novels. I prefer his shorter stories for optimum pleasure reading experience.
It is a stand alone novel, and it has no special distinctive idea (unlike Foundation series or Robot series), but the writing style is definitely Asimov's (Of course I can only say this after I've read his other works).
Nowadays I reluctant to rate Asimov's fictions full 5 star because his execution in storytelling is not so good, tend to be boring in long novels. I prefer his shorter stories for optimum pleasure reading experience.
August 18, 2019
Hmm, now that was a bloody good read. But is it 4 or 5 stars ⭐️? I shall ponder 🤔 for a while, until I write my review
I am a very big fan of Asimov's works, the Foundation novels in particular, so never having read this (one of his last books) I was really interested in reading this as part of a group read (The Solarpunk Group).
I suppose my most contentious comment would be that I found it quite un-Asimov-like; it was very character driven which is quite unusual for Asimov, that said it was still a very strong story (which is very Asimov like).
Ultimately, I think the reason I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 was simply because the last few chapters, although bringing the story to a grand conclusion, seemed to me to be just a little rushed. The build up all through the book, and even up to the final denouement focusses on the two main sides of the story, which over a period of years gradually converge geographically on the satellite of a gas giant circling a red dwarf star. Whilst the finale ties up all the loose ends and brings the excellent novel to its conclusion it just seemed hurried. What else could have happened, I don't know but it was just all over too quickly in the end.
For fans of Asimov the epilogue although less than a page and a half long, is a real plus point and nearly pulled the whole book back to 5 stars, but despite this "nod" to all that was to come historically I felt it didn't quite merit 5 stars ⭐️. Nice try Isaac but not quite.
I am a very big fan of Asimov's works, the Foundation novels in particular, so never having read this (one of his last books) I was really interested in reading this as part of a group read (The Solarpunk Group).
I suppose my most contentious comment would be that I found it quite un-Asimov-like; it was very character driven which is quite unusual for Asimov, that said it was still a very strong story (which is very Asimov like).
Ultimately, I think the reason I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 was simply because the last few chapters, although bringing the story to a grand conclusion, seemed to me to be just a little rushed. The build up all through the book, and even up to the final denouement focusses on the two main sides of the story, which over a period of years gradually converge geographically on the satellite of a gas giant circling a red dwarf star. Whilst the finale ties up all the loose ends and brings the excellent novel to its conclusion it just seemed hurried. What else could have happened, I don't know but it was just all over too quickly in the end.
For fans of Asimov the epilogue although less than a page and a half long, is a real plus point and nearly pulled the whole book back to 5 stars, but despite this "nod" to all that was to come historically I felt it didn't quite merit 5 stars ⭐️. Nice try Isaac but not quite.
March 21, 2017
3.5
When they ask me why I love Asimov, I tend to answer something like, “Because he wrote the most alive robots I've ever seen.” And that's true, that's surely part of the reason. But see, there is also something that goes a bit beyond that.
The thing for me is, Asimov had the vision of a man of the galaxy even while being (shocker) only a man of the World. His characters (if we don't count, in my case at least, Baley and Olivaw) are not memorable because his portrait of the human kind is memorable. Asimov projects into the future an idea of humanity, with its wretchedness and its many wonders, which manages to encompass thousands and thousands of years of human evolution even when factually spanning no more than a few months, all because Asimov had this simple yet great intuition, that is that human nature doesn't change, and even though said nature develops with never-ending variations, it ultimately points in one direction alone. We are chaotic, we are impetuous, we are ambitious, and, most beautiful and wondrous thing of all, we are absolutely unapologetic about being all those things. But we also make mistakes, we are way to prone to giving in to the worst of ourselves, we hate and we fight and when we don't get what we want, we claw our way to it, and again, we don't usually make excuses for our actions. Because we are human. And Asimov had an uncanny knack for capsulizing this simple but astronomically deep truth in the form of stories, which is just about the most magical thing in the world.
Even though it happens sometimes that I don't like some specific detail in one of Asimov's books, be it a part of the plot, or a character or some other trifle (and in Nemesis there were some, but to me they don't even matter) this thing about this writer always stays true, and I always can see the greater scheme behind his stories. Therefore, don't expect me to be objective about Isaac Asimov, because I'm just not able to do that. He is too huge for me to be able to do that. And if you still are not convinced, or don't understand what I'm trying to say at all, just try to read him, and then we'll see.
“The same anarchy, the same degeneration, the same thoughtless short-term thinking, all the same cultural and social disparities would continue to prevail—Galaxy-wide.
What would there be now? Galactic empires? All the sins and follies graduated from one world to millions? Every woe and every difficulty horribly magnified?
Who would be able to make sense out of a Galaxy, when no one had ever made sense out of a single world? Who would learn to read the trends and foresee the future in a whole Galaxy teeming with humanity?
Nemesis had indeed come.”
When they ask me why I love Asimov, I tend to answer something like, “Because he wrote the most alive robots I've ever seen.” And that's true, that's surely part of the reason. But see, there is also something that goes a bit beyond that.
The thing for me is, Asimov had the vision of a man of the galaxy even while being (shocker) only a man of the World. His characters (if we don't count, in my case at least, Baley and Olivaw) are not memorable because his portrait of the human kind is memorable. Asimov projects into the future an idea of humanity, with its wretchedness and its many wonders, which manages to encompass thousands and thousands of years of human evolution even when factually spanning no more than a few months, all because Asimov had this simple yet great intuition, that is that human nature doesn't change, and even though said nature develops with never-ending variations, it ultimately points in one direction alone. We are chaotic, we are impetuous, we are ambitious, and, most beautiful and wondrous thing of all, we are absolutely unapologetic about being all those things. But we also make mistakes, we are way to prone to giving in to the worst of ourselves, we hate and we fight and when we don't get what we want, we claw our way to it, and again, we don't usually make excuses for our actions. Because we are human. And Asimov had an uncanny knack for capsulizing this simple but astronomically deep truth in the form of stories, which is just about the most magical thing in the world.
Even though it happens sometimes that I don't like some specific detail in one of Asimov's books, be it a part of the plot, or a character or some other trifle (and in Nemesis there were some, but to me they don't even matter) this thing about this writer always stays true, and I always can see the greater scheme behind his stories. Therefore, don't expect me to be objective about Isaac Asimov, because I'm just not able to do that. He is too huge for me to be able to do that. And if you still are not convinced, or don't understand what I'm trying to say at all, just try to read him, and then we'll see.
May 23, 2024
Uno de los pocos libros que me quedaban de Asimov sobre ciencia ficción y uno de sus últimos libros antes de morir. Némesis no pertenece al Universo Fundación pero trata algunos temas comunes a la obra del autor como es la expansión de la Humanidad por la galaxia, el colapso de la Tierra y algo que desarrolló con maestría en la novela Los propios dioses: el primer contacto con otra civilización.
La historia se sitúa en el siglo XXIII cuando la Humanidad empieza a poblar el Sistema Solar. El descubrimiento de la estrella Némesis, y de que su existencia representa una amenaza la supervivencia de la Tierra, obligará a uno de esos asentamientos a un viaje para su exploración.
Es una novela típica de Asimov, explicando mucho cada cosa para que nadie se pierda y siendo su punto fuerte la ciencia que está detrás de la historia. Los personajes bastante sencillos y con un sesgo machista que entiendo que era lo normal para un señor mayor del siglo pasado, pero que leyéndolo ahora chirría.
Una novela entretenida y autoconclusiva (que eso ya es mucho hoy en día).
La historia se sitúa en el siglo XXIII cuando la Humanidad empieza a poblar el Sistema Solar. El descubrimiento de la estrella Némesis, y de que su existencia representa una amenaza la supervivencia de la Tierra, obligará a uno de esos asentamientos a un viaje para su exploración.
Es una novela típica de Asimov, explicando mucho cada cosa para que nadie se pierda y siendo su punto fuerte la ciencia que está detrás de la historia. Los personajes bastante sencillos y con un sesgo machista que entiendo que era lo normal para un señor mayor del siglo pasado, pero que leyéndolo ahora chirría.
Una novela entretenida y autoconclusiva (que eso ya es mucho hoy en día).
April 7, 2023
Nemesis was one of Asimov's last solo science fiction novels. Despite the curious fact that Doubleday published it under their Foundation imprint, it is not a part of his Robot/Foundation future history chronology, though he includes a brief introduction in which he waffles a bit by saying that he could probably make it fit if he really wanted to do so. It's a far-future, hard-science space story with interesting scientific speculation and a politically driven societal adventure. One of the main characters is a young girl, but it still reads like his earliest space operas, with puzzle and plot always the focus and characterization mostly an afterthought. It's a fun read, but not among his most memorable work.
January 12, 2016
Interestingly this is the first book of Asimov's I've read and I wasn't disappointed - he turns out to be every bit the great writer I always hear he is. The book is beautiful, I love how the writing style is practical enough to keep you in it's grip, but also poetic enough to give you the chance to drift around in your own thoughts whilst reading. I fell in love with the characters (except for Janus, okay), the setting, the time-lines and the relationships between people and space, planets and survival.
November 11, 2008
I am sad to think that there are people who have never read Asimov who pick up this book, and then swear off all of his works because this book was SO. TERRIBLE.
*The characters are all the same, except for one or two points about them that will be drilled over and over.
*Horrible, boring dialog. If you enjoy the subject matter, great, but I really hate plots that are driven by pages and pages of conversation between two people who come to a huge revelation, some glaring fact, or solution JUST by sitting there babbling at each other.
*The scientists of earth and rotor and the men who love them. Could Asimov just work ANY harder to create more repetitive boring characters?
Repetition - Yes, marlena is ugly but really smart and can read body language and is weird. That scientist chick who moved from a settlement to earth is worried about getting fat and old. Crile himself is a stupid annoying man-slut character. The rotarian commissioner is crazy and evil. Marlenas mom, is hysterical and paranoid. Erythro plague!
*The characters are all the same, except for one or two points about them that will be drilled over and over.
*Horrible, boring dialog. If you enjoy the subject matter, great, but I really hate plots that are driven by pages and pages of conversation between two people who come to a huge revelation, some glaring fact, or solution JUST by sitting there babbling at each other.
*The scientists of earth and rotor and the men who love them. Could Asimov just work ANY harder to create more repetitive boring characters?
Repetition - Yes, marlena is ugly but really smart and can read body language and is weird. That scientist chick who moved from a settlement to earth is worried about getting fat and old. Crile himself is a stupid annoying man-slut character. The rotarian commissioner is crazy and evil. Marlenas mom, is hysterical and paranoid. Erythro plague!
January 21, 2013
A brand new standalone story from the grand master of science fiction must have set fandom ablaze back in 1989 but comparatively prodigious length aside this offered nothing new in the Asimov canon aside from perhaps the authors approach towards things as he faced his impending death.
It's the story of Earth's early space travel, as settlers look beyond an Earth teeming with billions of unhappy people to new stars via space habitats built for a limited number (in this case 60k) of inhabitants. A new star is discovered, a group of settlers secretly leaves and in doing so discovers that this new star could destroy Earth.
The entire novel leads towards an obvious climax but despite the obvious nature it still remains a page turning story thanks to the skills Asimov developed over the course of his 5 decade long career. Incredibly Asimov states that he had no intention of linking this novel to his complete Foundation universe but with so many similarities and minor touches included in Nemesis I find this hard to believe, especially as he then makes mention of Marlene and Nemesis in one of his latter Foundation books.
I find myself not overly impressed with this work, Asimov certainly didn't seem to adapt with the changing face of science fiction and in Nemesis he wrote what is essentially a piece of golden age science fiction in a cyberpunk writers landscape. For a new author that might be a real accolade but for me it shows the weakness in Asimov's style.
These complaints are quite pointless of course, any science fiction work from Asimov is appreciated and I'm grateful that it was written.
It's the story of Earth's early space travel, as settlers look beyond an Earth teeming with billions of unhappy people to new stars via space habitats built for a limited number (in this case 60k) of inhabitants. A new star is discovered, a group of settlers secretly leaves and in doing so discovers that this new star could destroy Earth.
The entire novel leads towards an obvious climax but despite the obvious nature it still remains a page turning story thanks to the skills Asimov developed over the course of his 5 decade long career. Incredibly Asimov states that he had no intention of linking this novel to his complete Foundation universe but with so many similarities and minor touches included in Nemesis I find this hard to believe, especially as he then makes mention of Marlene and Nemesis in one of his latter Foundation books.
I find myself not overly impressed with this work, Asimov certainly didn't seem to adapt with the changing face of science fiction and in Nemesis he wrote what is essentially a piece of golden age science fiction in a cyberpunk writers landscape. For a new author that might be a real accolade but for me it shows the weakness in Asimov's style.
These complaints are quite pointless of course, any science fiction work from Asimov is appreciated and I'm grateful that it was written.
June 7, 2025
I compare thee to a poorly cooked oven chip. Anaemic in colour, slightly unpleasant to look at and sludgy of texture, and yet, still edible.
April 16, 2011
I AM NOT QUALIFIED TO WRITE THIS REVIEW...
BUT IN THE SPIRIT OF WEB 2.0, I'LL ATTEMPT TO SPEAK AUTHORITATIVELY ON THE TOPIC.
Disclaimer:
I didn't realize this audio version was abridged, but when I saw that there were only 4 segments (and that each part was only 45 minutes long), I figured there must be some content removed.
So I'm the least qualified person to argue with the other reviewers who said this book was boring, with over-lengthy sections of dialogue that were repetitive and pedantic.
But let me disagree! With righteous indignation!
This abridged audio version was actually quite streamlined and moved along quickly. The narration was decent, too.
I hereby posit that this book is a microcosm of science fiction, and it represents exactly what you'll find in any other SF book.
1) Good Science... and Bad!
- this book contains details on collisions between solar systems
- and also innovative speculation about gravitational repulsion
2) Good Characters... and Bad!
- this book has a nice mixture of male and female characters from various racial backgrounds
- and you can read how they woodenly interact with each other unconvincingly
3) Good Balance between Ideas and Action... And Bad!
- the author knew he would have to carefully balance the mind-blowing ideas that the book would need to contain with gripping action and thrilling drama
- and the author neglected to tend to this, but luckily the audiobook producers took the time to create an abridged text for narration
4) Good Overcomes Evil... Is this Bad?
- while building tension in the overall plot, the book maintains the optimistic outlook that typifies science fiction - the reader knows that good will overcome and that when the conflict is resolved the resultant situations will be better for all parties involved
- and thus another SF book fails to achieve "literary" status, in which characters have to suffer and end up degraded so that readers can truly appreciate the human condition.
Sarcasm aside, I did enjoy the audiobook, and will definitely seek out the full-length paperback.
4 stars for now
BUT IN THE SPIRIT OF WEB 2.0, I'LL ATTEMPT TO SPEAK AUTHORITATIVELY ON THE TOPIC.
Disclaimer:
I didn't realize this audio version was abridged, but when I saw that there were only 4 segments (and that each part was only 45 minutes long), I figured there must be some content removed.
So I'm the least qualified person to argue with the other reviewers who said this book was boring, with over-lengthy sections of dialogue that were repetitive and pedantic.
But let me disagree! With righteous indignation!
This abridged audio version was actually quite streamlined and moved along quickly. The narration was decent, too.
I hereby posit that this book is a microcosm of science fiction, and it represents exactly what you'll find in any other SF book.
1) Good Science... and Bad!
- this book contains details on collisions between solar systems
- and also innovative speculation about gravitational repulsion
2) Good Characters... and Bad!
- this book has a nice mixture of male and female characters from various racial backgrounds
- and you can read how they woodenly interact with each other unconvincingly
3) Good Balance between Ideas and Action... And Bad!
- the author knew he would have to carefully balance the mind-blowing ideas that the book would need to contain with gripping action and thrilling drama
- and the author neglected to tend to this, but luckily the audiobook producers took the time to create an abridged text for narration
4) Good Overcomes Evil... Is this Bad?
- while building tension in the overall plot, the book maintains the optimistic outlook that typifies science fiction - the reader knows that good will overcome and that when the conflict is resolved the resultant situations will be better for all parties involved
- and thus another SF book fails to achieve "literary" status, in which characters have to suffer and end up degraded so that readers can truly appreciate the human condition.
Sarcasm aside, I did enjoy the audiobook, and will definitely seek out the full-length paperback.
4 stars for now
August 12, 2025
A traditional hard sci-fi. Not Asimov’s best, but still enjoyable. To me, the most interesting part is the alien microscopic, collective intelligence.
November 4, 2021
Nov 3, 645pm ~~ Review asap.
1030pm ~~ One of my book groups selected Isaac Asimov as part of a quarterly project for 2021. I chose four stand-alone titles for my list; Nemesis is the third and most intense so far, although I admit that I needed a few chapters to adapt to not only the narration (jumping from one timeline to the other, changing characters as we go) but also to one of the main characters, a fifteen year old girl named Marlene.
That is not pronounced mar-LEEN, it is pronounced mar-LAY-nuh. We are instructed about this early on, but I always had to remind myself not to read it incorrectly. Even after 445 pages I had to think about how to pronounce her name.
But even if her name gave me fits, Marlene herself was interesting, almost scary. She could tell what people were thinking by subtle body language signals. She was not a pretty girl, this was drummed into the reader repeatedly, but she had incredible eyes. And she could be intimidating. She was not happy, but she believed she knew a place where she could be. But would she be allowed to go to the mysterious planet Erythro? And why exactly did she want to go there so badly? After all, she had grown up on Rotor, a Settlement colony completely outside of the Solar System, and she had never lived on a planet of any kind. Why would she be drawn to a solid world, of all things?
The time lines and character lines can be confusing at first, but my advice is not to think about them too much, just read the story, learn the science (lots of theory about how to travel at or beyond the speed of light) and enjoy the skilled way Asimov slowly brings everyone closer and closer to the ending he imagines for them.
But will that ending be the one the reader imagines?
I have read only a few Asimov titles (still not sure why I have managed to go so many years merely knowing the man's name but not truly familiar with his work) and this was an excellent way to get to know him without getting tangled up n a long series. I appreciated his comments in the prologue, although I suspect it was meant more for readers who may have been hoping for a new title to add to some familiar series or other:
"This book is not part of the Foundation Series, the Robot Series, or the Empire Series. It stands independently. I just thought I'd warn you of that to avoid misapprehension. Of course, I might someday write another novel tying this one to the others, but, then again, I might not. After all, for how long can I keep flogging my mind to make it work out these complexities of future history?
I liked this book a great deal. I just hope that the next time I read it I will be able to pronounce Marlene's name correctly without even thinking about it.
1030pm ~~ One of my book groups selected Isaac Asimov as part of a quarterly project for 2021. I chose four stand-alone titles for my list; Nemesis is the third and most intense so far, although I admit that I needed a few chapters to adapt to not only the narration (jumping from one timeline to the other, changing characters as we go) but also to one of the main characters, a fifteen year old girl named Marlene.
That is not pronounced mar-LEEN, it is pronounced mar-LAY-nuh. We are instructed about this early on, but I always had to remind myself not to read it incorrectly. Even after 445 pages I had to think about how to pronounce her name.
But even if her name gave me fits, Marlene herself was interesting, almost scary. She could tell what people were thinking by subtle body language signals. She was not a pretty girl, this was drummed into the reader repeatedly, but she had incredible eyes. And she could be intimidating. She was not happy, but she believed she knew a place where she could be. But would she be allowed to go to the mysterious planet Erythro? And why exactly did she want to go there so badly? After all, she had grown up on Rotor, a Settlement colony completely outside of the Solar System, and she had never lived on a planet of any kind. Why would she be drawn to a solid world, of all things?
The time lines and character lines can be confusing at first, but my advice is not to think about them too much, just read the story, learn the science (lots of theory about how to travel at or beyond the speed of light) and enjoy the skilled way Asimov slowly brings everyone closer and closer to the ending he imagines for them.
But will that ending be the one the reader imagines?
I have read only a few Asimov titles (still not sure why I have managed to go so many years merely knowing the man's name but not truly familiar with his work) and this was an excellent way to get to know him without getting tangled up n a long series. I appreciated his comments in the prologue, although I suspect it was meant more for readers who may have been hoping for a new title to add to some familiar series or other:
"This book is not part of the Foundation Series, the Robot Series, or the Empire Series. It stands independently. I just thought I'd warn you of that to avoid misapprehension. Of course, I might someday write another novel tying this one to the others, but, then again, I might not. After all, for how long can I keep flogging my mind to make it work out these complexities of future history?
I liked this book a great deal. I just hope that the next time I read it I will be able to pronounce Marlene's name correctly without even thinking about it.
September 30, 2015
This book is the ultimate distillation of every (6 or so) of the fictional Asimov books I've read:
-- great minds get together and have lengthy discussions based on what they should do based on limited knowledge, and somehow everyone unanimously agrees on the logical course of action
-- some weird mystical thing occurs that flies in the face of science or contradicts something he's already stated as a premise in the book
-- great minds get together and have lengthy discussions based on what they should do based on limited knowledge, and somehow everyone unanimously agrees on the logical course of action
-- some weird mystical thing occurs that flies in the face of science or contradicts something he's already stated as a premise in the book
May 1, 2023
Este es uno de los pocos (posteriores) libros de Asimov que no tiene nada que ver con sus principales universos de Robots y Fundación, sino que se sostiene por sí solo. El libro tiene lugar en el siglo XXIV. La humanidad tiene asentamientos en el espacio. Estas son grandes naves espaciales donde los humanos viven permanentemente como Colonos. Sin embargo, todavía están bastante cerca de la tierra. Uno de los Asentamientos, Rotor, ha descubierto una forma de viajar a una velocidad cercana a la de la luz. Utilizando ese descubrimiento, han encontrado a Némesis, una estrella compañera (una enana roja) de nuestro sol, y viajan allí, en secreto.
El libro sigue dos hilos de la historia, un hilo sigue a Rotor, el otro a la Tierra. En su corazón están los misterios de por qué Rotor se fue, cómo y adónde fueron. Para Rotor es el descubrimiento de vida cerca de Némesis y qué tipo de relación tienen con la Tierra. Me gustó mucho este libro, porque lo tenía todo. Tenía relaciones humanas difíciles, líderes que intentan hacer lo mejor pero tal vez no están bien, planetas extraños, nuevos descubrimientos. Un gran Asimov, cuatro de cinco estrellas.
El libro sigue dos hilos de la historia, un hilo sigue a Rotor, el otro a la Tierra. En su corazón están los misterios de por qué Rotor se fue, cómo y adónde fueron. Para Rotor es el descubrimiento de vida cerca de Némesis y qué tipo de relación tienen con la Tierra. Me gustó mucho este libro, porque lo tenía todo. Tenía relaciones humanas difíciles, líderes que intentan hacer lo mejor pero tal vez no están bien, planetas extraños, nuevos descubrimientos. Un gran Asimov, cuatro de cinco estrellas.
September 9, 2019
An intriguing story with a five minute wrap movie ending, so sad.
Peaceful colonists discover an engineering advancement and nearby star system at the same time. They leave the Milky Way to start a utopian colony.
Earth hunts them down.
Yeah, it’s kind of a let down. And so was Marlene.
July 16, 2019
You had me at "superluminal flight"...
Nemesis is a story woven with exciting things such as: Earth's (and possibly humanity's) impending doom, space exploration/colonization, alien life forms, and humans with extraordinary abilities.
I have yet to find an Asimov book I haven't enjoyed. You can tell he was a scientist (biochemist), but it's the way he writes and develops his characters that makes him a great author. I mean, he did have a doctorate in Philosophy after all.
Nemesis is a story woven with exciting things such as: Earth's (and possibly humanity's) impending doom, space exploration/colonization, alien life forms, and humans with extraordinary abilities.
I have yet to find an Asimov book I haven't enjoyed. You can tell he was a scientist (biochemist), but it's the way he writes and develops his characters that makes him a great author. I mean, he did have a doctorate in Philosophy after all.
September 9, 2025
One of Asimov’s last SF novels. Humanity is in the process of developing near-light speed travel and they start to leave the solar system. A colony aboard a space station called Rotor find a nearby star, called Nemesis, that was previously hidden. As they travel to Nemesis it sets up a rift between them and earth. Aboard Rotor is a young semi-telepathic girl named Marlene. Orbiting Nemesis is a planet they call Erythro, there is life on the planet but they are not sure how it affects them, the young telepath and the fate of Earth. This is a solid novel from Asimov and while it isn’t tied into his future history there are a few connections between this and his last novel Forward the Foundation.
August 17, 2012
Truthfully, now all grown up, I don't appreciate Asimov the way I used to. It used to be a really neat back-in-time-to-the-future kind of read, where I got to see how people of the 1950's thought things would turn out. Huge computers governing our lives; new social norms springing up (see The Moon is A Harsh Mistress by Heinlein, or Friday by the same); a view of space-travel that was just like what they promised us; rotating space-stations that had variable gravity based on different spots on the station, etc.
But now that I'm older, I can see the holes; the characters are quite flat, they respond to "logic" (or the Asimov version of logic) far too easily; they respond "emotionally" but it feels meaningless; in the end, there are "plot twists" that either are obvious because I know Asimov, or are just plain obvious; and finally, things always seem to resolve themselves in a satisfactory way where no-one has to truly sacrifice anything.
I liked reading it, honestly. It reminded me of seeing a girlfriend from when you were a teenager; we talk about how things were, make the same old, tired jokes, we see in each other a glimpse into the past that briefly polishes all those memories. But by the end of it, you realize two things: a) "Oh THAT'S why I stopped dating her!" and/or b) "We've gone two different ways; we just wouldn't get along now."
Maybe I'll finally try to finish the parts of the Foundation Series that I never got to, but if I don't, I think I'll be fine with just having read Nemesis one last time.
But now that I'm older, I can see the holes; the characters are quite flat, they respond to "logic" (or the Asimov version of logic) far too easily; they respond "emotionally" but it feels meaningless; in the end, there are "plot twists" that either are obvious because I know Asimov, or are just plain obvious; and finally, things always seem to resolve themselves in a satisfactory way where no-one has to truly sacrifice anything.
I liked reading it, honestly. It reminded me of seeing a girlfriend from when you were a teenager; we talk about how things were, make the same old, tired jokes, we see in each other a glimpse into the past that briefly polishes all those memories. But by the end of it, you realize two things: a) "Oh THAT'S why I stopped dating her!" and/or b) "We've gone two different ways; we just wouldn't get along now."
Maybe I'll finally try to finish the parts of the Foundation Series that I never got to, but if I don't, I think I'll be fine with just having read Nemesis one last time.
March 22, 2018
Hace ya bastante tiempo que he querido leer este libro. No es la mejor novela de Asimov que he leído pero, en general, me ha gustado. Muy poca acción para mi gusto.
En el pŕologo, Asimov advierte que esta novela no está relacionada con sus otras series pero que no descartaba la idea de unirlas en cierto punto. Sin embargo, algo del libro me ha hecho recordar el planeta Gaia en "Fundación y Tierra" y siendo este libro el comienzo de la colonización espacial no encuentro motivos para descartar la idea (aunque sea sólo para mí) de que estén conectadas con las otras series de Asimov.
En el siglo XXIII la Tierra se encuentra superpoblada, existen colonias espaciales llamadas "Establecimientos" en las órbitas de la Tierra, la Luna, Marte y el cinturón asteroidal suficientemente grandes para albergar varios miles de personas. Una de las colonias, Rotor, emprende un viaje hacia una estrella enana roja llamada Némesis a dos añoz luz de distancia.
El nombre de la estrella ya debería sugerir algo. Mucho material científico y viajes espaciales. ¿Algo más?
En el pŕologo, Asimov advierte que esta novela no está relacionada con sus otras series pero que no descartaba la idea de unirlas en cierto punto. Sin embargo, algo del libro me ha hecho recordar el planeta Gaia en "Fundación y Tierra" y siendo este libro el comienzo de la colonización espacial no encuentro motivos para descartar la idea (aunque sea sólo para mí) de que estén conectadas con las otras series de Asimov.
En el siglo XXIII la Tierra se encuentra superpoblada, existen colonias espaciales llamadas "Establecimientos" en las órbitas de la Tierra, la Luna, Marte y el cinturón asteroidal suficientemente grandes para albergar varios miles de personas. Una de las colonias, Rotor, emprende un viaje hacia una estrella enana roja llamada Némesis a dos añoz luz de distancia.
El nombre de la estrella ya debería sugerir algo. Mucho material científico y viajes espaciales. ¿Algo más?
December 1, 2018
Isaac Asimov was one of the most famous and prolific science fiction writers of the twentieth century. If you’ve never heard of him, just stop looking at my review, and come back when you know who he is. I’ve read 30 or 40 of his books, and there’s even a respectable monthly magazine named after him. Nemesis is one of his later novels, published in 1989, just three years before his death in 1992. In the introduction, he states that it was not written to be linked to the universe of his famous Foundation, Empire, or Robot series. However, it was subsequently mentioned in his Forward the Foundation, published the year after his death.
In the 23rd century, humanity is divided between the Earth and station habitats throughout the Solar System. The Settlement Rotor has secretly developed the ability to move itself at nearly light-speed, and exits the Solar System. It moves to the red dwarf star Nemesis about two light-years from Earth, but unknown there because it exists behind a dust cloud. 15-year-old Marlene Fisher was only a baby on Rotor when she and her astronomer mother left the Solar System and her father behind. Marlene, who has the uncanny ability to accurately read every detail of body language of others, is inexplicably attracted to the mysterious planet Erythro below Rotor, while at the same time Earth scientists are learning the secrets of light-speed travel with the intention of reclaiming Rotor.
As always, Asimov provides a realistic astrophysics tour of new planets, stars, gravity fields, and orbits. Even though later in his career he attempted to create more diverse and human characters, I still notice that his characters tend to simply accrete characteristics as necessary to the plot. Take Eugenia for example – she is astronomer, wife, minor administrator, overprotective single mother, finder of old flame – but never seems to coalesce into a whole character. Asimov always explains directly, as in “She is insecure as far as her daughter is concerned,” and then immediately directs her to blatantly insecure actions. The truth is, the astronomy and concepts have always been the most important to Asimov and Asimov-readers, while the characters exist to populate them. I found the book engaging, in a nostalgic and awe-invoking sort of way, but the human drama felt contrived.
In the 23rd century, humanity is divided between the Earth and station habitats throughout the Solar System. The Settlement Rotor has secretly developed the ability to move itself at nearly light-speed, and exits the Solar System. It moves to the red dwarf star Nemesis about two light-years from Earth, but unknown there because it exists behind a dust cloud. 15-year-old Marlene Fisher was only a baby on Rotor when she and her astronomer mother left the Solar System and her father behind. Marlene, who has the uncanny ability to accurately read every detail of body language of others, is inexplicably attracted to the mysterious planet Erythro below Rotor, while at the same time Earth scientists are learning the secrets of light-speed travel with the intention of reclaiming Rotor.
As always, Asimov provides a realistic astrophysics tour of new planets, stars, gravity fields, and orbits. Even though later in his career he attempted to create more diverse and human characters, I still notice that his characters tend to simply accrete characteristics as necessary to the plot. Take Eugenia for example – she is astronomer, wife, minor administrator, overprotective single mother, finder of old flame – but never seems to coalesce into a whole character. Asimov always explains directly, as in “She is insecure as far as her daughter is concerned,” and then immediately directs her to blatantly insecure actions. The truth is, the astronomy and concepts have always been the most important to Asimov and Asimov-readers, while the characters exist to populate them. I found the book engaging, in a nostalgic and awe-invoking sort of way, but the human drama felt contrived.
September 25, 2020
This late Asimov novel from 1989 can be viewed as either as a stand-alone tale or as an ambiguous possible contribution to his Robot-Empire-Foundation series.
As the former, it is a slightly above average space opera with some good hard science ideas. As part of the 'grand narrative', it is a little more interesting but perhaps only to aficionados of the writer.
The structure is a throw-back to an earlier era of science fiction with its concentration on scientist elites, technocrats and family dynamics but the underlying narrative seems surprisingly plausible - essentially a possible socio-political dynamic behind the first near-as-fast-as-light travel.
The planetary mind is a nice materialist explanation of a possible God-form, there is something intrinsically kind about Asimov's approach to humanity and we see the inclusion of the 'Nemesis' hypothesis redrafted as a potentially destructive red dwarf passing through our solar system.
I cannot claim it as great literature but it is well argued and even atmospheric at times so that I can recommend it both to Asimov-completists and to those who like a good old-fashioned and nicely paced space opera that does not over much rely on aliens or hardware.
October 21, 2016
Solid science fiction novel from Isaac Asimov, though I would expect nothing less. It could easily be inserted into his Foundation universe and act as the origin story since the plot is about humanity leaving Earth for the very first time. While I wouldn't recommend this book as an introduction to the author's work, it is a standalone and could be picked up whenever. Some of the characters were a little flat and the technical dialogue could drag on at times, but overall I really enjoyed the concept and the story that went along with it.
September 26, 2015
Özellikle Vakıf dizisini okuyanlar için vakıfvari bir nostalji olacaktır. Vakıfta gördüğünüz tüm teknolojilerin öncüllerine bu kitapta rastlayabilirsiniz.
September 29, 2018
Definitely not Asimov's best.
June 30, 2023
**** 3.8 STARS ****
Not the best Asimov book I've read, but a very good hard science fiction book
Nemesis was a much slower and 'peaceful' story than I initially thought it was gonna be. By the sound of the blurb I thought it was gonna be like the disaster movies from the 90s. Despite the pedestrian and safe nature of the book I really enjoyed my time with Nemesis.
Not the best Asimov book I've read, but a very good hard science fiction book
Nemesis was a much slower and 'peaceful' story than I initially thought it was gonna be. By the sound of the blurb I thought it was gonna be like the disaster movies from the 90s. Despite the pedestrian and safe nature of the book I really enjoyed my time with Nemesis.
July 16, 2025
In the mid 90’s, as a teenager, I discovered Asimov. He instantly became my favorite author during those years. Nemesis, published in 1989, is his last novel, but the first proper SF novel that I had read. It’s where I first found that sense of wonder derived from an optimistic depiction of humanity in the far future, that Asimov was known for.
Now, nearly 30 years later, having aquired a copy of the first hc edition, I came back to the novel out of nostalgia, but also as an experiment, to see how it would hold up. Short answer: it doesn’t. At all. It’s so bad it shattered my nostalgia glasses. It’s guilty of every sin that literature in general - and SF especially - can be guilty of.
But first the plot outline: In the 2200’s, Earth is an overcrowded, polluted mess. Meanwhile, a part of humanity migrated into space, living in space cities called Settlements, orbiting either Earth or the Sun directly. One of these settlements, Rotor, sends a probe into deep space that detects a red dwarf star at only 2 light years from the Sun, previously undetected due to the fact that it was hidden behind a dust cloud (fair enough), and makes a run for it, to get a head start and become the first extra-solar colony, before other Settlements discover it and flock to it as well. They do so by using a newly discovered way of traveling at light speed, so the entire journey takes no more than 2 years.
The actual plot begins a decade after Rotor arrives at the new star, Nemesis, and sets into orbit around a mysterious satellite, Erythro, that is orbiting the system’s gas giant. Marlene, the main character, is a 15 year old teenager with the ability to read body language and micro expressions so well that she is basically a walking lie detector, so adults are creeped out in her presence. She becomes unexplainably drawn towards Erythro and ends up making the BIG DISCOVERY, also known as THE PLOT TWIST.
Meanwhile on Earth, Nemesis is discovered much sooner than the people of Rotor would have hoped, along with the fact that it’s heading towards the solar system, and will get there in a few thousand years, possibly ending all life on Earth. All efforts are pooled into developing FTL travel and getting there. Which they obviously do, arriving on Erythro just in time for the GRAND FINALE.
Stylistically, the novel is a mess, it’s Asimov at his worst. Most dialogues feel terribly artificial because they’re there strictly to move the plot forward, regardless or how real people actually talk and think. First of all, the novel is full of “As you know, Captain…” - that is, expository dialogue where characters tell each other info about stuff that people in their position should already know about. Like astronomers reminding each other what a parallax is. The second staple of badly written prose, one that Asimov was particularly fond of throughout his entire career is that one where characters solve plot points by having lengthy conversations, at the end of which they come to astonishing conclusions… that every sane person of reasonable intelligence would have seen within 10 seconds at most. You know, the Hollywood way of doing SF.
Then, there is character motivation and behaviour. For instance, it is established from the beginning that Marlene is not beautiful as a girl, she is described as intelligent, but plain. Something which in the adult world shouldn’t be very important, she’s just a teenager after all and not hideously deformed in any way. But the adults in this book just won’t shut up about it. Everyone, from her mother to everyone she interacts with, keeps bringing up and worrying about how ugly she is. Then there’s Janus Pitt, the leader of Rotor and the closest thing the book has to a villain. He obsesses over his being the first extra solar colony and worries about other Settlements coming to Nemesis. So he’s plotting to destroy them. Why? I get it that he’s a bit of a psycho but I also got the feeling that we’re supposed to understand his reasons. And those reasons seem to be just… avoiding overcrowding.
One last funny example of character logic divorced from the real world. Marlene’s father. An Earthman who initially goes to Rotor as a tech spy and marries Marlene’s mother, an astronomer, after 4 years there. He is initially introduced as a mysterious character, due to the fact that nobody on Rotor, not even his wife, knew exactly what his background training was, or his profession and he deflected every question on that topic, including inquiries from his own wife. So that the reader can be surprised when it’s revealed that he was actually a spy. In what world does a spy go under long term, deep cover without a background story? How is it less suspicious that a supposed immigrant refuses to reveal anything about his past rather than making up a cover story? How can acting all mysterious and withholding essential information about his past is not a red flag for the woman he wishes to marry?
Speaking of overcrowding, world building logic is another big offender here. The main worry at the beginning of the novel is that the solar system will soon be overcrowded with Settlements. Which is why the plot happens. They need more space. I find it laughably implausible that the solar system, being as huge as it is, will ever run out of space for city-sized space settlements, especially in the next 200 years. Asimov was a scientist so it’s really weird witnessing such short-sighted stuff from him.
The novel is extremely short-sighted also when it comes to future tech. It was written at the advent of the computer era. At the time, the internet was only a few short years into the future and specialised networks were already a thing. Given all that, Asimov is weirdly unimaginative when it comes to the future of computing and IT. He obsessively uses the word “computer” as if to stress that, yes, computers are the future and they’ll be ubiquitous. But that ubiquitness is exactly the reason why his repeated use of the word, be it silly neologisms like “compu-files” or when characters feel the need to mention casually “I found that out on my computer” feels artificial and amateurish. In the same way nobody today says “I read the news on my smartphone” every time. Also, his future computers seem to be stuck at the stage they were when the book was written. Meaning also that there’s no form of interconnectivity. Which leads to another suspension-of-disbelief breaking issue. Namely, the fact that in Asimov’s imagined future, information is spread at 19th century level speeds. Characters living in settlements orbiting Earth keep lecturing each other on the socio-political status of the planet over the past decades as if they’re living in another galaxy. Meanwhile, on Erythro, a serious plague that makes vegetables out of the people it affects is completely hushed on orbiting Rotor, even though we are told that people travel to and from the Dome on the planet surface almost daily and that Dome is humanity’s first outpost on a mysterious extra-solar planet. So you would assume it would be in everyone’s attention. But that wouldn’t serve the plot, I guess.
Even some of the science involved seems more than speculative and into the outright wrong territory. It’s not my field of expertise, but at some point it is inferred by the characters that traveling through hyperspace with faster than light speeds would switch gravity from an attractive to a repulsive force in regard to the traveling object. But as far as I know, such an assumption ignores the basic principle of Einstein’s general relativity, that sees gravity not as a force in the classical newtonian sense, but as a geometrical feature of spacetime. So I see Asimov’s speculation as wrong in the same way it would be wrong to assume that you can turn a valley into a hill if you run over it fast enough.
Finally, even originality-wise, the novel is in a pretty weird place. At the time I was first reading it I wasn’t aware, as I am now, that the main idea/revelation had already been used, even overused previously, beginning with Lem’s Solaris, some few decades before. I guess the novel could be seen as a sort of YA version of Solaris.
So the conclusion would be that Asimov is full of surprises. A few years back I re-read The Gods Themselves, which I found to be quite fresh and mature, and generally a much better novel than I had remembered. With this one it was the opposite. It’s unfortunate that Asimov ended hos career on such a low note.
The other conclusion is that it’s much more fun and easy to review a bad book than a good one. :)
Now, nearly 30 years later, having aquired a copy of the first hc edition, I came back to the novel out of nostalgia, but also as an experiment, to see how it would hold up. Short answer: it doesn’t. At all. It’s so bad it shattered my nostalgia glasses. It’s guilty of every sin that literature in general - and SF especially - can be guilty of.
But first the plot outline: In the 2200’s, Earth is an overcrowded, polluted mess. Meanwhile, a part of humanity migrated into space, living in space cities called Settlements, orbiting either Earth or the Sun directly. One of these settlements, Rotor, sends a probe into deep space that detects a red dwarf star at only 2 light years from the Sun, previously undetected due to the fact that it was hidden behind a dust cloud (fair enough), and makes a run for it, to get a head start and become the first extra-solar colony, before other Settlements discover it and flock to it as well. They do so by using a newly discovered way of traveling at light speed, so the entire journey takes no more than 2 years.
The actual plot begins a decade after Rotor arrives at the new star, Nemesis, and sets into orbit around a mysterious satellite, Erythro, that is orbiting the system’s gas giant. Marlene, the main character, is a 15 year old teenager with the ability to read body language and micro expressions so well that she is basically a walking lie detector, so adults are creeped out in her presence. She becomes unexplainably drawn towards Erythro and ends up making the BIG DISCOVERY, also known as THE PLOT TWIST.
Meanwhile on Earth, Nemesis is discovered much sooner than the people of Rotor would have hoped, along with the fact that it’s heading towards the solar system, and will get there in a few thousand years, possibly ending all life on Earth. All efforts are pooled into developing FTL travel and getting there. Which they obviously do, arriving on Erythro just in time for the GRAND FINALE.
Stylistically, the novel is a mess, it’s Asimov at his worst. Most dialogues feel terribly artificial because they’re there strictly to move the plot forward, regardless or how real people actually talk and think. First of all, the novel is full of “As you know, Captain…” - that is, expository dialogue where characters tell each other info about stuff that people in their position should already know about. Like astronomers reminding each other what a parallax is. The second staple of badly written prose, one that Asimov was particularly fond of throughout his entire career is that one where characters solve plot points by having lengthy conversations, at the end of which they come to astonishing conclusions… that every sane person of reasonable intelligence would have seen within 10 seconds at most. You know, the Hollywood way of doing SF.
Then, there is character motivation and behaviour. For instance, it is established from the beginning that Marlene is not beautiful as a girl, she is described as intelligent, but plain. Something which in the adult world shouldn’t be very important, she’s just a teenager after all and not hideously deformed in any way. But the adults in this book just won’t shut up about it. Everyone, from her mother to everyone she interacts with, keeps bringing up and worrying about how ugly she is. Then there’s Janus Pitt, the leader of Rotor and the closest thing the book has to a villain. He obsesses over his being the first extra solar colony and worries about other Settlements coming to Nemesis. So he’s plotting to destroy them. Why? I get it that he’s a bit of a psycho but I also got the feeling that we’re supposed to understand his reasons. And those reasons seem to be just… avoiding overcrowding.
One last funny example of character logic divorced from the real world. Marlene’s father. An Earthman who initially goes to Rotor as a tech spy and marries Marlene’s mother, an astronomer, after 4 years there. He is initially introduced as a mysterious character, due to the fact that nobody on Rotor, not even his wife, knew exactly what his background training was, or his profession and he deflected every question on that topic, including inquiries from his own wife. So that the reader can be surprised when it’s revealed that he was actually a spy. In what world does a spy go under long term, deep cover without a background story? How is it less suspicious that a supposed immigrant refuses to reveal anything about his past rather than making up a cover story? How can acting all mysterious and withholding essential information about his past is not a red flag for the woman he wishes to marry?
Speaking of overcrowding, world building logic is another big offender here. The main worry at the beginning of the novel is that the solar system will soon be overcrowded with Settlements. Which is why the plot happens. They need more space. I find it laughably implausible that the solar system, being as huge as it is, will ever run out of space for city-sized space settlements, especially in the next 200 years. Asimov was a scientist so it’s really weird witnessing such short-sighted stuff from him.
The novel is extremely short-sighted also when it comes to future tech. It was written at the advent of the computer era. At the time, the internet was only a few short years into the future and specialised networks were already a thing. Given all that, Asimov is weirdly unimaginative when it comes to the future of computing and IT. He obsessively uses the word “computer” as if to stress that, yes, computers are the future and they’ll be ubiquitous. But that ubiquitness is exactly the reason why his repeated use of the word, be it silly neologisms like “compu-files” or when characters feel the need to mention casually “I found that out on my computer” feels artificial and amateurish. In the same way nobody today says “I read the news on my smartphone” every time. Also, his future computers seem to be stuck at the stage they were when the book was written. Meaning also that there’s no form of interconnectivity. Which leads to another suspension-of-disbelief breaking issue. Namely, the fact that in Asimov’s imagined future, information is spread at 19th century level speeds. Characters living in settlements orbiting Earth keep lecturing each other on the socio-political status of the planet over the past decades as if they’re living in another galaxy. Meanwhile, on Erythro, a serious plague that makes vegetables out of the people it affects is completely hushed on orbiting Rotor, even though we are told that people travel to and from the Dome on the planet surface almost daily and that Dome is humanity’s first outpost on a mysterious extra-solar planet. So you would assume it would be in everyone’s attention. But that wouldn’t serve the plot, I guess.
Even some of the science involved seems more than speculative and into the outright wrong territory. It’s not my field of expertise, but at some point it is inferred by the characters that traveling through hyperspace with faster than light speeds would switch gravity from an attractive to a repulsive force in regard to the traveling object. But as far as I know, such an assumption ignores the basic principle of Einstein’s general relativity, that sees gravity not as a force in the classical newtonian sense, but as a geometrical feature of spacetime. So I see Asimov’s speculation as wrong in the same way it would be wrong to assume that you can turn a valley into a hill if you run over it fast enough.
Finally, even originality-wise, the novel is in a pretty weird place. At the time I was first reading it I wasn’t aware, as I am now, that the main idea/revelation had already been used, even overused previously, beginning with Lem’s Solaris, some few decades before. I guess the novel could be seen as a sort of YA version of Solaris.
So the conclusion would be that Asimov is full of surprises. A few years back I re-read The Gods Themselves, which I found to be quite fresh and mature, and generally a much better novel than I had remembered. With this one it was the opposite. It’s unfortunate that Asimov ended hos career on such a low note.
The other conclusion is that it’s much more fun and easy to review a bad book than a good one. :)
September 13, 2015
3 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
Orbital colonies face tension with an overcrowded Earth. One, with the help of a new drive system, breaks away to orbit an unusual star. A teenage girl on the colony begins to develop a rapport with a local lifeform, while on Earth, her father seeks ways to find the colony and make a family again.
This is one of the last of Isaac Asimov's solo novels, and I'm sorry to say it's not his best. It has his usual light-hearted, friendly style, but it lacks the spark of ingenuity that brought his Foundation and Robot stories to life. He's got a lot of the right elements in place - Eugenia, the troubled but brilliant teen; Eugenia, her talented but outmatched mother; Crile, the focused but malleable father; Janus, the colony's megalomanic director - but much of the dialogue and introspection seems more rote than inspired. Asimov, in a brief foreword, makes a point that he tries to write clearly rather than poetically, and he's always succeeded at that. This time, however, clarity isn't enough to carry the story.
As always with Asimov, the science is credible, though he stretches the point with Nemesis' local lifeform. Unfortunately, the science here also isn't particularly interesting. By 1989, there wasn't much new in any of these ideas, and Nemesis lacks the human element needed to keep it engaging
Asimov was one of the true greats of science fiction (and, based on his autobigraphy and author's notes, a genuinely nice person), but this is not one of his best books. It's an adequate but not gripping SF sorta-thriller that doesn't stand out, and isn't the best testament to an SF Grandmaster. Read it for completeness sake, but don't expect too much.
Orbital colonies face tension with an overcrowded Earth. One, with the help of a new drive system, breaks away to orbit an unusual star. A teenage girl on the colony begins to develop a rapport with a local lifeform, while on Earth, her father seeks ways to find the colony and make a family again.
This is one of the last of Isaac Asimov's solo novels, and I'm sorry to say it's not his best. It has his usual light-hearted, friendly style, but it lacks the spark of ingenuity that brought his Foundation and Robot stories to life. He's got a lot of the right elements in place - Eugenia, the troubled but brilliant teen; Eugenia, her talented but outmatched mother; Crile, the focused but malleable father; Janus, the colony's megalomanic director - but much of the dialogue and introspection seems more rote than inspired. Asimov, in a brief foreword, makes a point that he tries to write clearly rather than poetically, and he's always succeeded at that. This time, however, clarity isn't enough to carry the story.
As always with Asimov, the science is credible, though he stretches the point with Nemesis' local lifeform. Unfortunately, the science here also isn't particularly interesting. By 1989, there wasn't much new in any of these ideas, and Nemesis lacks the human element needed to keep it engaging
Asimov was one of the true greats of science fiction (and, based on his autobigraphy and author's notes, a genuinely nice person), but this is not one of his best books. It's an adequate but not gripping SF sorta-thriller that doesn't stand out, and isn't the best testament to an SF Grandmaster. Read it for completeness sake, but don't expect too much.
December 14, 2015
Nemesis, a red-star threat...to earthlings.The usage of a
revolutionary concept:a superluminal spacecraft...to solve the problem.
Another concept in the book: hyperspace.
Future Vision, back in 1989.
Just when, two days ago, a team of CERN,has announced that neutrinos (sub-atomic particles) can travel above the speed of light...well,somewhere Einstein must be reviewing some chapters of his Relativity Theory.[Review of Dec 20, 2011].
revolutionary concept:a superluminal spacecraft...to solve the problem.
Another concept in the book: hyperspace.
Future Vision, back in 1989.
Just when, two days ago, a team of CERN,has announced that neutrinos (sub-atomic particles) can travel above the speed of light...well,somewhere Einstein must be reviewing some chapters of his Relativity Theory.[Review of Dec 20, 2011].
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