The Gods Themselves

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I've been working through the good Dr. Isaac Asimov's science fiction novels. (For pedants: I'm skipping over short stories blown up into novels, juveniles, and the Fantastic Voyage books.)

This one was published in 1972, a long 15 years after The Naked Sun; during this period, Asimov concentrated on (presumably more lucrative) non-fiction. But he hadn't lost his touch: The Gods Themselves won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel.

And yes, it's pretty good. The premise is that, via scientific mumbo-jumbo, communication has been established between our universe and one with vastly different physical behavior. A "pump" between the two universes is established, generating copious amounts of clean, cheap energy on both sides. Free lunch!

Hallam, the "discoverer" of the other universe and the inventor of the pump is understandably famous, revered, and powerful. But he rubs a young dissident, Lamont, the wrong way; Lamont eventually becomes convinced that the physical-law leakage between the universes will soon cause the sun to go kablooie, and that Hallam is a small-talent hack who's being manipulated by the other universe. Can he convince Earth that Hallam's a fool, and that it's necessary to get off the gravy train? It's an uphill battle.

So far, a pretty standard yarn. But the scene shifts to the other universe; Asimov masterfully sets up the plot there with beings that are (understandably) even more alien than usual. (Example: three "sexes" are necessary for reproduction, and said reproduction involves phase changes between the participants.) On that side, Dua is an "emotional" who shows an unusual amount of curiousity and ability to grasp complex systems. She also becomes aware of her side of the pump, discovers its fatal effects on the other (our) universe, and vows to stop it.

As usual, Asimov's human characters aren't that inherently interesting or sympathetic. And most of the time, they talk, talk, talk. It's surprising this works at all, but Asimov's imagination and ingenuity allows him to get away with it.


Last Modified 2024-01-28 2:37 PM EDT