Pebble in the Sky: Galactic Empire, Book 3

Isaac Asimov's Pebble in the Sky is an early work and the first in the loosely connected Trantorian Empire series. In this universe, set far into the future, Earth has populated the galaxy, but has since fallen on hard times due to a population crash as a result of widespread radioactive contamination. Over the course of thousands of years, the rest of the galaxy cannot even believe that Earth is their original birthplace and regard Earth as a backwater. Into this mix come two individuals, the first is an unorthodox archaeologist who holds the heretical theory that Earth is the original site of humanity (as opposed to the prevailing belief of a multi-locale, parallel development) and a victim of some accident that sends a human from the past (our time) forward to the time of the tale. The latter becomes the subject of an experiments to increase intelligence.Against this backdrop, the Earth political rulers are plotting a secret biological warfare attack on the rest of the empire. Needless to say, there is much confusion about what exactly is going on as a result of ingrained prejudices and underestimation of capabilities by just about everyone. Although the overall plot is a bit far-fetched, the political posturings are well crafted with a suitably Machiavellian string puller calling the shots. This is definitely slanted towards a juvenile audience.

Of the three books that make up the "trilogy" of Galactic Empire stories ("The Stars Like Dust", "The Currents of Space" and "Pebble in the Sky") this is the best of the three, although they're all entertaining and bear Asimov's unmistakeable style. Readers familiar with the Foundation Trilogy will encounter elements that form common touch-points between this book and that series. This series was not conceived of as a "trilogy", but clearly are placed along a fictional historic thread that predates the Foundation Trilogy, but don't suffer from the artifice apparent in other, later works that make a deliberate attempt to link to that series (e.g. "Prelude to Foundation" and the many novels that tie together some of Asimov's other series and the original Foundation Trilogy). I believe that Pebble in the Sky was the last of the three to be written, and shows Asimov's greater maturity as a writer - the characters are a bit more three-dimensional, and while the first two books are notable for their lack of villains (the antagonists are eventually seen as reacting to historical, political and economic circumstances, an archetype that recurs in Asimov's writing), "Pebble In The Sky" introduces a more conventional villain character that represents another Asimovian (is that a word?) archetype that will be familiar to those who have read some of his other works.

Joseph Schwartz next step is not in middle 20th century but rather tens of thousands years later, where he founds Earth can only sustain a population of 20 million, since most areas are radioactive. The galactic society, an Empire that spans countless worlds, ostracizes the planet who labels itself as the creator of humanity, something angrily disputed by most scholars. One scholar, Bel Arvardan indeed believes that mankind was born in that rebellious planet and plans to demonstrate it. But everything goes astray when they, along with scientist Affret Shekt, discover a plan to wipe out all the galactic population in order to reestablish Earth as the rightful ruler of the universe.Being his first, it's not definitely not one of his best novels, but it works better when read as part of the entire saga of all the Galactic Empire and Foundation themes.

I noticed this book on my shelf the other day and decided to reread it (only I had to buy the kindle edition because I can no longer read physical books). I think I must have originally read this when I was in high school, back in the dark ages. It has held up remarkably well. The book is still entertaining. The characters are interesting, the plot believable (even if a little outdated scientifically). It reminds me of why I started reading science fiction in the first place.Although it is billed as the third book in the Galactic Empire series, it stands very well on its own, something I really appreciate in a series book.If you haven't read Asimov, if you think classical science fiction might be boring, think again. Pebble in the Sky is as good a place as any to quaint yourself with some of the best writing this genre has to offer.

I had read most of Asimov's later stuff, like the Robot series, which I really liked, when in my 20's. Pebble is so much different but I sped through it. It read like a stage play and I could see all of the characters as though I was watching it.For me it was a predictable story line, a sort of "the butler did it tale from a much wider galactic perspective. But in the end I still liked it.

In the context of the extended series spanning Robot, Empire and Foundation books, this original Empire series is fascinating, especially because of the different cause of radioactive Earth and the happy resolution to replace it's soil. Both change in Robots and Empire and the final books of the Foundation series, but that doesn't take away from the super storytelling of this series and how well it still ties in with the broad plot of how the Empire was built and some of the threats it saw off along the way

Generic review for Asimov's books because I bought all of them for my collection and am writing ALL of the reviews at once.I love everyone of his books, and each brings a great story to the table, if you are looking for a good Saga to start reading, check out his Foundation / Robot series. I've read them all the way through several times and each time, loved each book. Each book builds off the one prior and adds a whole new dynamic to the overall universe while still being able to be enjoyed individually. If you are reading this review, Just check out the book, I guarantee it will be worth it.

A great introduction to science fiction, by the master. Although it now slots in to the overall "universe" created by Asimov, this was originally a stand alone novel - so it stands on its own! Good story, some action, and even a little romance. A great read. Could easily be made into a movie, wonder why it never has?

Bought to add to my bookcase, read many years ago before I moved and gave away most of my books.

Excellent

I can't really fault this - or indeed any of Asimov's work. I love it all and this is no exception. A worthy addition to the science fiction section of your library.

JUST AS EXPECTED