The Gods Themselves (Paperback)

If you've not been confused by that sentance then you are perfectly capable of understanding this book.

The three stories centre on a different group of people whose discoveries/ actions are all connected to one major event. This is the sort of thing that has been done many times before in movies/ books/ TV shows et al. and as usual there are some problems. Occasionally we find ourselves torn away from the characters before we can emote with them. This drive-thru syndrome effects the third book especially as we don't really feel part of what's happening.

The third book, while working in the context of the novel, isn't the stongest branch on the tree. I wished he could have gone back to the characters of the first book and developed them more thoroughly - but then that might be because I thought his early ccharacters were very well realised and allowed you to connect with the story to the point where you wanted to know more. Asimov has taken a different route and it does work, it just 'lacks' something.

If I have made the third book sound unappealing, let me assure you the first two are works of a gifted autor - the second showing a mind brimming with imagination and talent that provides a glorious environment and characters. I have always prided myself on being able to guess twists. I didn't guess Asimov's here. And it is not one of those twists where you think the author has just thrown in a twist at random to cheat you, this one works and makes you reconsider much of what comes before.

This is an excellent book, only slightly let down by a poorer third instalment. A must for any serious reader of fiction this surpasses much of Asimov's more famous work.

A wrongly neglected classic that deserves a wider audience.

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.