snpmurray's Full Review: Isaac Asimov - The Gods Themselves
Asimovs "The Gods Themselves" tells the tale of the discovery of an infinite source of energy in our near future. The most remarkable feature of the discovery is that it involves the pumping of matter between our own and another universe. Exploiting the differences in laws of physics between the two yields enormous amounts of usable energy. Some thinkers quickly determine that this seeming "free lunch" is not without a cost....the slow leak of our universal forces could shortly lead to the explosion of our sun!
Asimov tells his tale in three parts, each having a dramatically different perspective. He takes us from the labs where the discovery is made, to the strange alien universe which is inhabited by the inventors of the pump, and then finally to our moon, where inhabitants of the base there are desperate to find an alternative to the feared pump.
The three parts, each revolving around the central theme, are otherwise very different. Part one, concerning the discovery itself, illustrates how scientists, as human as anyone else, can let their egos get in the way of their judgement. The voice of reason is drowned out by greed and self-interest. This sub-plot is a well-written commentary on the selfishness of man.
The second part, a view of life on an alien world, is a marvelous achievement. Asimov conjours a world which is sweepingly alien, very few homocentric concepts are employed. We witness the lives of some of the beings of this world who are intricately connected with the pump. This is top quality science fiction, it takes us to a completely other world. So alien are many of the concepts that I have found the image left in my imagination is very ghostly and exotic. I only wish more books would give me this new perspective!!! If you are a fan of twists in the plot, the end of this section is a beauty...I had no idea what was coming. I like that too.
The third and final part of the book takes us to the moon, not long after the pump has been established. Here Asimov gives us a fairly comprehensive tour of his view of an early moon colony. Here he employs his imagination massively once more. This section has many many ideas to provide one pause to ponder. I enjoyed this section for its classic feel...Asimov uses the vehicle of the plot to hypothesise on a grand scale about the mechanics of a moonbase and its people. Again, I had some treats in this section of reading... twice in as many pages, Asimov presented me with ideas so mind boggling that I had to put my book down and think about them for a long time. I love it when that happens. It is lamentably rare, so I have lots to recommend for this book.
To find a negative, well, I have to work at it, but, given the complexity and alien-ness of the middle section, I believe Asimov could have more smoothly introduced some of the ideas. The first few pages here offer no compromise to the fact that the reader has no idea what is being discussed. In at the deep end. Slow reading.
Having said that, I happily recommend this book. It was a winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards. Asimov obviously thought a lot, and stretched himself, and the boundaries of the literature to share his vision. Enjoy your reading of it!
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