I'm a bit behind, so I've combined my reviews of The Currents of Space and The Stars, Like Dust. These are two of the three original "Galactic Empire" novels, written early in Asimov's career. This was noticeable after reading two newer works. The characters in these novels were largely two-dimensional and somewhat stereotypical, similar to those in the first two Lije Baley novels. Even more telling as to Asimov's relative inexperience as he wrote these is his down-right primitive take on romance included Stars. Still, I don't fault him these limitations, and the plotting and story are certainly up to quality; these are not difficult books to read. Still, there are some amateurish touches, such as the proliferation of exclamation points and question marks in the chapter titles.
One interesting item that jumped at me from Stars was the object referred to as the 'visisonor.' Without giving away its nature or minor role in the plot, I will say that it reminded me of an object that plays a much more central role in a later Foundation novel. If my memory of that is accurate, there is more than a passing similarity between the two, and it would seem that Asimov borrowed from himself.
I also had a start of recognition when Trantor was mentioned for the first time in
Currents. It got me thinking that it was odd that Tyrann was the dominant world in Stars (which I read after Currents), rather than Trantor. If Trantor was ascendent in Currents, wouldn't it be so in Stars?. I expected that it came after Currents based on the recommended reading order I posted earlier. After some more digging, I found a source that places these in reverse order from Asimov's, or at least, Asimov's according to the Wikipedia page I referenced. I don't have much to go on besides the mention of Trantor, but I do think that this other source has it right.
I've already started on Pebble in the Sky, Asimov's first published novel. It seems to hinge on a time-worn plot device: time-travel. Should be interesting!
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