The Stars, Like Dust
Last updated
The story was first serialized in Galaxy magazine under the title Tyrann.[1] The novel was described by its author as his "least favorite novel."[2][3]
Making and release
The novel was serialized in three parts in the January, February, and March 1951 issues of Galaxy magazine.[1] A heavily cut paperback version was released in 1954 under the title The Rebellious Stars.[4] That version was bound together with An Earth Gone Mad by Roger Dee.[4] Asimov believed Gold incorrectly gave the Constitution too much influence as a document.[3]
Asimov grew to view the premise as extremely unlikely and resented Gold for convincing him to include that subplot.[3]
What the cited sources add
In Astounding Science Fiction, Villiers Gerson declared the novel successful despite its "unidimensional" characters. The New York Times found the novel "a rousing adventure story of the remote future."[5] Reviewer Jane Fowler noted that making the re-discovery of the Constitution the climax implies the space civilization will adopt it as a model.[6] Groff Conklin, reviewing for Galaxy, described the novel as "a first-rate piece of imaginative story-telling."[5] Fowler argued that as part of a series, the plot fails because galactic civilization does not develop in that way, Trantor will expand into a galaxy-wide empire, and that empire is not a democratic federation.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "The Stars, Like Dust" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Joseph D. Olander, Martin Harry Greenberg, (1977) Isaac Asimov, pp. 231–2. Taplinger Publishing Company. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Stars, Like Dust" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Asimov, Isaac. In Memory Yet Green. Avon, 1979, p. 600 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Stars, Like Dust" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Asimov, Isaac. In Memory Yet Green. Avon, 1979, p. 600; Asimov, Isaac. In Memory Yet Green. Avon, 1979, p. 600 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Stars, Like Dust" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Books Published Today", The New York Times, February 15, 1951, p. 27; Joseph D. Olander, Martin Harry Greenberg, (1977) Isaac Asimov, pp. 231–2. Taplinger Publishing Company.; Joseph D. Olander, Martin Harry Greenberg, (1977) Isaac Asimov, pp. 231–2. Taplinger Publishing Company. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Stars, Like Dust" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Galaxy's Five Star Shelf," Galaxy Science Fiction, May 1951, p. 84.; Gale, "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf", June 1962, p. 190–194; "Book Reviews," Astounding Science Fiction, July 1951, p.156; "In The Realm of the Spacemen," The New York Times Book Review, June 3, 1951 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Stars, Like Dust" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jane B. Fowler, "Predicting the Politics, Sociology and Religion of the Future," pp. 26, 31 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article The Stars, Like Dust (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: The Stars, Like Dust (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced