- Unknown Binding
- Publisher: Panther; paperback / softback edition (1 Jan 1976)
- ISBN-10: 0586037721
- ISBN-13: 978-0586037720
- ASIN: B0025D9QSC
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,931,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Gods Themselves
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have been a fan of Asimov's fiction as well as his science essays since childhood. I've read his Foundation novels, Robot novels, and various unrelated fiction and factual material. While most of his works have usually appealed to me, I can say with little reservation that "The Gods Themselves" is my favorite Asimov novel - and certainly earns a prominent spot in my personal "Top 10".
One of the things I like about this novel is the way the Friedrich von Schiller quotation "Against stupidity, the [very] Gods themselves contend in vain" is worked into the story. The three phrases that make up this quote - "Against Stupidity...", "...The Gods Themselves...", and "...Contend In Vain?" are used as chapter titles - and, what's more, these titles are quite appropos to the theme of each chapter.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the novel is the second chapter, which portrays a most unusual, and wholly believable and consistent alien race. Science fiction authors often struggle with the difficulty of portraying an alien race that is different enough from humans to be believable as aliens, yet similar enough to make their motives and culture graspable by a human reader. Asimov succeeds brilliantly in this task, something I can say for only a few other SF titles.
At the risk of sounding PC, I was also pleased that Asimov introduced a strong female supporting character, something not usually found in most of his works. The "Selene" character introduced in the third chapter is reminescent of the strong female leads found in many Heinlien novels.
Any fan of Asimov's works - or, for that matter, any fan of good science fiction should add this book to their essential collection. There is a good reason why this novel was awarded both the Hugo and Nebula awards after it's initial publication. Unlike many modern winners of these awards, "The Gods Themselves" is both a good AND entertaining story. It's clever and stylish enough to appeal to the "artsy" types that issue such awards, while being entertaining enough to appeal to the meat-and-potatoes reader.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was my first reading experience with Isaac Asimov but of course it will not be the last one definitely. Although the book was easily read and very smoothed, I could not ignore some several hidden insinuations the author has progressively and ultimately delivered to the readers.
First and foremost, if any kind of future potential residency on the moon, the Americans will be the pioneers in this regard especially that within this story we can see that the most elaborated American scientists were the first to take residence in the moon.
Secondly, any kind of scientific nuclear advantage might occur in the future it is imperative that the Americans are the sole partners especially that the use of the electronic pump system has been discovered and abused by the American scientific complex vortex.
Last but not least , no one can denies the sheer ingenuity of Mr. Asimov's incentives in his books especially when it comes to the science fiction , bearing in mind that he is called the father of science fiction .
First and foremost, if any kind of future potential residency on the moon, the Americans will be the pioneers in this regard especially that within this story we can see that the most elaborated American scientists were the first to take residence in the moon.
Secondly, any kind of scientific nuclear advantage might occur in the future it is imperative that the Americans are the sole partners especially that the use of the electronic pump system has been discovered and abused by the American scientific complex vortex.
Last but not least , no one can denies the sheer ingenuity of Mr. Asimov's incentives in his books especially when it comes to the science fiction , bearing in mind that he is called the father of science fiction .
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The good doctor, over his lifetime, wrote more books than many people read in their lifetimes. Many were excellent explanations of various aspects of science written in language that a layman could understand. Some were good analyses of literature, such as Shakespeare and the Bible. But it is his science fiction works, from his vision of a Foundation to Robots imbued with Three Laws, that guarantee him a place in the hearts of fans of the genre, and a fame that spreads well beyond its boundaries.
This book was something of a departure for him, not being related to any of his other SF works, but still shows his sure hand at plotting and his deft melding of real science with a literally out-of-this-world idea. The story is told in three completely different segments, related only by the commonality of the scientific idea that drives this book, the Electron Pump, a device that can, apparently, deliver infinite free energy by trading material with a universe that operates on slightly different physical laws than our own.
The first segment is a beautiful glimpse into the sometimes not-so-nice world of the academic researcher, into who gets credit (not necessarily the deserving one) for an idea, how animosities begin and are nurtured, about the crassness of public policy being determined by those who do not and cannot understand the basics of the science that delivers the technological goodies.
The second segment is the part that makes this book deserving of its Hugo Award. Shifting from our universe to the para-universe that initiated the transfer that began the Electron Pump, Asimov invents a truly alien race that is at once believable and violently different from our own. Here we meet Odeen, Tritt, and Dua, who each form one part of tri-sexed whole. Each of these beings becomes a real person, from Tritt, the stolid, stubborn parent, Odeen as the absent minded thinker, and most especially Dua as the feeling, capricious, different one. Part of what makes this section so seductive is that Asimov has not just stated that this was tri-sexed species, but shows just how such an arrangement could work, and then throws in something I don't think I saw elsewhere till some of Ursala K. LeGuin's stories - just what constitutes the no-no's, the 'dirty' aspects of their sex lives. And these aspects, when viewed in terms of the whole life cycle of this species, make sense! A truly remarkable achievement, and I wish he had written more about this remarkable universe and its inhabitants.
The third section returns to our universe, and deals with how free investigation into reality guided by leaps of intuition can overcome even two separate hide-bound organizations, and naturally leads to the resolution of the problems introduced in the earlier sections. This section is not quite as strong as the other two, but does definitely develop one of Asimov's points: the characteristics of the universe we live in are determined by several seemingly random constants, from the strength of quark-quark interactions to the speed of light, and changing any of them would result in very radically different universes.
A strong novel, with some excellent characterization within each section, and based on a solid bedrock of real science. This is possibly the best stand-alone fiction work that he wrote, and should be placed on your shelves right next the Foundation and Robot series.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
This book was something of a departure for him, not being related to any of his other SF works, but still shows his sure hand at plotting and his deft melding of real science with a literally out-of-this-world idea. The story is told in three completely different segments, related only by the commonality of the scientific idea that drives this book, the Electron Pump, a device that can, apparently, deliver infinite free energy by trading material with a universe that operates on slightly different physical laws than our own.
The first segment is a beautiful glimpse into the sometimes not-so-nice world of the academic researcher, into who gets credit (not necessarily the deserving one) for an idea, how animosities begin and are nurtured, about the crassness of public policy being determined by those who do not and cannot understand the basics of the science that delivers the technological goodies.
The second segment is the part that makes this book deserving of its Hugo Award. Shifting from our universe to the para-universe that initiated the transfer that began the Electron Pump, Asimov invents a truly alien race that is at once believable and violently different from our own. Here we meet Odeen, Tritt, and Dua, who each form one part of tri-sexed whole. Each of these beings becomes a real person, from Tritt, the stolid, stubborn parent, Odeen as the absent minded thinker, and most especially Dua as the feeling, capricious, different one. Part of what makes this section so seductive is that Asimov has not just stated that this was tri-sexed species, but shows just how such an arrangement could work, and then throws in something I don't think I saw elsewhere till some of Ursala K. LeGuin's stories - just what constitutes the no-no's, the 'dirty' aspects of their sex lives. And these aspects, when viewed in terms of the whole life cycle of this species, make sense! A truly remarkable achievement, and I wish he had written more about this remarkable universe and its inhabitants.
The third section returns to our universe, and deals with how free investigation into reality guided by leaps of intuition can overcome even two separate hide-bound organizations, and naturally leads to the resolution of the problems introduced in the earlier sections. This section is not quite as strong as the other two, but does definitely develop one of Asimov's points: the characteristics of the universe we live in are determined by several seemingly random constants, from the strength of quark-quark interactions to the speed of light, and changing any of them would result in very radically different universes.
A strong novel, with some excellent characterization within each section, and based on a solid bedrock of real science. This is possibly the best stand-alone fiction work that he wrote, and should be placed on your shelves right next the Foundation and Robot series.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pleasantly surprised
I was a little fearful, going in to this, that it was going to be dull. I haven't read much Asimov before, but my impression was that his stuff would be quite dry and boring. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Simon Bradley
Masterpiece
This is just another Asimov masterpiece... It deals with the questions surrounding the existence of parallel universes where the laws of physics are very different from our own. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Rui
Masterful
Better known for his robot stories, the Foundation series, or even his huge number of non-fiction publications, this novel is something of a footnote in Asimov's Wikipedia... Read more
Published on 17 July 2009 by Behan
Stunningly brilliant
Asimov supposedly said that the middle section of The Gods Themselves was the best thing he ever wrote, and I couldn't agree more. Read more
Published on 21 May 2006 by V. Holen
Intellegent and Solid Science Fiction
This was the first book by Asimov that I have read and I found it fairly impressive. It’s immediately clear from the beginning of the book, that this is a man who understands... Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2004 by Andreas K.
In parts strange, in parts wonderful, in parts unfulfilling.
This is not one book, or rather it is one book but one that is made up of three separate books connected by a single strand. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2002 by Johnny Cockayne
A brilliant example of invalueable mental experience.
The reviewer should take it for granted,that the book is read thoroughly. In fact,it makes no sense to draw conclusions in the point under discussion from some hundred words. Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2000 by Vladimir Coosk
Correction To Previous Review And My Comments
First of the main caractor in the thirds section is not, as stated in one of the previous reviews, the same as the main charactor in the first section. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 1999
Asimov IS GOD!!!
I'm serious when I say, the man is either in league with the devil or with god, because too many of his books are so good they seem like they were written by the hand of god. Read more
Published on 27 July 1999
not HIS best, but better than most
After reading this novel, I didn't have the same sort of awed sense of completion I did after finishing the Foundation trilogy or the first three robot novels. Read more
Published on 20 July 1999
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