Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Isaac Asimov's  Foundation. The Short of It Plot: Psychohistory: The use of mathematics and psychology to predict the course of human events.  Page Count:  - Foundation: 244 - Foundation and Empire: 256 - Second Foundation: 279 Award: Hugo for Best All-Time Series. Book 4 (next post!) won a Hugo and Nebula. Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  High but plot relevant. Review:  A set of nine interconnected stories that demonstrate the power and pitfalls of Psychohistory. Generally good writing and clever twists keep things engaging. A whole lot of exposition dumps. Characters are all flat. Concept is excellent, and each story highlights a different aspect. Feels like each segment successfully treads new ground, as opposed to rehashing. Some diminishing returns by the end, but absolutely worth a read as a whole. And the stories have aged astoundingl...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Isaac Asimov's  The Gods Themselves. The Short of It Plot:  The Electron Pump connects our reality with another where physics works differently, allowing for unlimited exchange of energy at both ends. Page Count:  288 Award:  1972 Nebula and 1973 Hugo Worth a read : No. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  85% of book... but often plot relevant. Review:  A curious mix of hard science and alien relationship drama - originally serialized and comes off disjointed. As a story, the most engaging part is a POV section for the aliens. They're interesting, engaging, and totally unlike anything I've seen in another book. On the other hand, no human characters are appealing, plot is minimal and mostly about vindictive academics. I can't say that I enjoyed the book as a novel, but I was impressed by it. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! I love the second section of this book. As...