Read it for completeness sake, but don’t expect too much. It’s an adequate but not gripping SF sorta-thriller that doesn’t stand out, and isn’t the best testament to an SF Grandmaster. By 1989, there wasn’t much new in any of these ideas, and Nemesis lacks the human element needed to keep it engagingĪsimov was one of the true greats of science fiction (and, based on his autobigraphy and author’s notes, a genuinely nice person), but this is not one of his best books. One of the colonies, Rotor, has broken away from the solar system to create its own renegade utopia around an unknown red star two light-years from Earth: a star named Nemesis. He died, at the age of seventy-two, in April 1992. In the 23rd century, pioneers have escaped the crowded earth for life in self-sustaining orbital colonies. Unfortunately, the science here also isn’t particularly interesting. Named a Grand Master of Science Fiction by the Science Fiction Writers of America, Asimov entertained and educated readers of all ages for close to five decades.

This time, however, clarity isn’t enough to carry the story.Īs always with Asimov, the science is credible, though he stretches the point with Nemesis’ local lifeform. Asimov, in a brief foreword, makes a point that he tries to write clearly rather than poetically, and he’s always succeeded at that. He’s got a lot of the right elements in place – Eugenia, the troubled but brilliant teen Eugenia, her talented but outmatched mother Crile, the focused but malleable father Janus, the colony’s megalomanic director – but much of the dialogue and introspection seems more rote than inspired. It has his usual light-hearted, friendly style, but it lacks the spark of ingenuity that brought his Foundation and Robot stories to life.

This is one of the last of Isaac Asimov’s solo novels, and I’m sorry to say it’s not his best.

Nemesis by isaac asimov