I don't think I had ever read this book until the recent Tor reissue. It is perhaps the best of all the Galactic Empire novels before the Foundation series, almost entirely because of the profoundly moving conclusion where Asimov thinks brilliantly and wisely about what the greatest good of the greatest number means in a galaxy with one quadrillion people.

The world of Sark is referenced extensively in the 'three Bs' follow-on to the FOUNDATION series.

This is sort of a pre-Foundation novel, even a pre-Robot novel. Mostly, this seems to be Asimov's exploration of a theory he had, and one of his usual commentaries on forms of government. Not bad, but his later books are better. ( )

This book is completely separate from The Stars Like Dust, in that while it might use the same universe the characters are entirely different and there quite a distance between the books in the time line of the series. Really, they're separate novels entirely.

I found it quite hard to get into this book, and I don't think it is as well written as The Stars Like Dust. The problem might have been that I found it pretty hard to care about Rik, and the Florina / Sark division was a bit shallowly constructed. Its hard to imagine a segregation system which is as completely effective as the one described. How did it ever occur? Why didn't people fight back? Did people never randomly fall in love with the "wrong" set of have affairs?

I persevered however, and the second half of the book is much better that the first, including some twists I didn't expect. Overall an ok book, but not fantastic.

http://www.stillhq.com/book/Isaac_Asi... ( )

The Currents of Space is part of Asimov's Galactic Empire trilogy (although they weren't really written as a trilogy as most people use the term today, and they can be read separately without any trouble). I found this to be the best of the three.

The novel is set on Floriana, a planet that is essentially a fiefdom of the planet Sark. Floriana is valuable for a rare and irreproducible agricultural product, and the rulers of Sark have no intention of ever losing control of this valuable resource. Floriana is a heavily controlled society, in which education is denied to all but a handful, and the inhabitants are taught to perceive the "Squires" of Sark as almost godlike beings. Into this situation a man with no memory and no past is found and taken in by the denizens of a small Florinian village. First the stranger's mere presence, and then his slowly recovering memories upset the society imposed upon the Florinians.

Running in parallel to this story is the tale of agents of the Galactic Empire at Trantor seeking to break the power of the Squires of Sark without resorting to war. Eventually, the two sides of the story weave together, until several surprising secrets are revealed concerning the wealth produced by Floriana, the threat it is under, and the identity of the mysterious amnesiac stranger, and how all three are interrelated.

This is one of Asimov's better novels - not as good as the Foundation or Robot books, but in the groups that falls right behind them. The characters are well-written, and (unlike those in some other Asimov books) have rational reactions to the events they find themselves confronted with. The story is quite good, both as a story of political intrigue, and a story of the impact of the surrounding environment that affects that intrigue (although the science behind the science fiction in the book is well out of date). I found it to be an intriguing and engaging book well worth reading. ( )

Read for the first time ever, and in one sitting. As a novel written in 1951, the non-pervasiveness of computers and electronic information storage and retrieval was obvious. Still enjoyable. The middle book of the three novels later grouped together as Asimov's Galactic Empire novels, it takes place when only half of the galaxy under Trantor's control. ( )