The Gods Themselves (Isaac Asimov)

Isaac Asimov is one of my favorite authors of all time. There has not been a book, yet, that I have read by him that I have been left disappointed. I expected a great story and was I blown away!


Title: The Gods Themselves

Author: Isaac Asimov

Released: 1972

Rating: 5/5

Basic Plot: The Electron Pump has been discovered and gives energy with no cost. But does this grand invention have an awful price to be paid for it and, if so, why?

Divided Into Three Sections
This book is divided into three parts that only have the Electron Pump to link themselves together. Why is that? The stories were originally published in a magazine and not a book. The first part (Against Stupidity...) is about Lamont discovering that the Electron Pump has a price to be paid. The egotistical Hallam refuses to listen and so Lamont isn't able to get the word out. The second part (...The Gods Themselves...) is about the para-universe (what the parallel universe is called) and how the para-men (inhabitants of the parallel universe) don't care that they'll kill off the humans and that exploding part of the Milky Way Galaxy is why they started the Electron Pump in the first place. Finally, the third part (...Contend in Vain?) is about Dension discovering a solution for the Electron Pump.

Alien Sex
Part two is really weird. And that's putting it lightly. If you don't like anything odd then you won't like part two of this book. In it, among other things, is alien sex. If you're one perverted SOB, settle down, it's not erotic at all. The aliens are beings of pure energy so...no titties is what I'm saying. I liked the alien sex scenes because they were weird. But if you're looking for something erotic then The Gods Themselves isn't for you.

The Part That Nearly Made Me Cry
I hardly get teary eyed or cry. I read and see a lot and there is hardly anything that makes me cry. At the end of part two, Dua fights so hard to stop the Electron pump so that the Earth will be saved (Dua doesn't think killing off billions is a really moral idea) and she fails. You see the aliens are put into two groups: Soft Ones and Hard Ones. Soft Ones are babies and it is in this stage they are able to reproduce by having three (of different types) form together. Each type of Soft One plays a part and eventually they all form together to make a single Hard One until they die. No Soft One knows about this until it is time to 'pass on'. Dua is nearly dying and decides to 'pass on' because the leader of their Triad says that they'll form a very important Hard One that can help them deal with Eswald (creator of the Electron Pump). When the process is nearly done Dua realizes that Eswald is the Hard One they'll be forming. This made me feel very sad for Dua because she seemed to be the most reasonable Soft One. RIP Dua.

Why
This is a question that is asked a lot throughout the book. When Lamont or Dension brings up the fact that the Electron Pump has a high possibility of causing major shit to go down, the opponents ask why. The problem is that the humans (some of them) don't realize that the aliens might have different plans than them. Of course I'm not sure them not being open minded is the real problem. A lot of the humans that are in support of the Electron Pump are because of personal reason and that the human population has become too dependent on it.

Scientific Lingo
Being a Hard Science Fiction book (meaning staying as true to life as possible instead of something like Star Wars) it uses a lot of scientific language. However, Asimov usually explains those parts really well but they can still be taxing on one not used to reading this genre.

Final Thoughts
This book was deeply moving and a little thought provoking. This book isn't action packed but that's really not the way Asimov usually writes, so I was expecting that. The only real problem was that some big event happens on Earth and it is never explained what it was. I would highly suggest this book to someone who is a science fiction fanatic. Because, let's face it, if you haven't even heard of Isaac Asimov you can't call yourself a science fiction fanatic.