One moment Joseph Schwartz is a happily retired tailor in Chicago, 1949. The next he's a helpless stranger on Earth during the heyday of the first ...
read full description
reviews
May 19, 2011
Manny
rated it: 
He steps through a wormhole in space and ends up in a future world where he has exotic Super Powers -
Like what, I hear you ask? Right, listen to this. He can obtain a deadly attack as White from the variation of the Spanish which starts 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Nc3. Impressive, huh?
I know. Alekhine showed it was possible a couple of times. And then there was the game Spassky won against Beliavsky in 1988. If you can play through that and not conclude th More...
Like what, I hear you ask? Right, listen to this. He can obtain a deadly attack as White from the variation of the Spanish which starts 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Nc3. Impressive, huh?
I know. Alekhine showed it was possible a couple of times. And then there was the game Spassky won against Beliavsky in 1988. If you can play through that and not conclude th More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Nov 28, 2011
Ric
rated it: 
The first Asimov's novel that I actually read from cover to cover. (this was 2 months ago). Brilliant, well done and fascinating. At every page my heart was jumping out of my mouth, for not knowing what was reserved for poor Schwartz! It was like I was with him at all times, but that's what a book is supposed to do I guess! So top 5 stars for this little book.
I also liked the linguistic suggestions that English was a very ancient language and that Schwartz was the only man to be abl More...
I also liked the linguistic suggestions that English was a very ancient language and that Schwartz was the only man to be abl More...
Dec 17, 2009
Melanie
rated it:
This would make such a boring movie. No explosions. No evil alien attacks. Not even a whole lot of fighting. The climactic duel is fought first with mind control and then with words. So yeah. Boring movie, but fun book. This was Asimov's first published novel. His author voice must be very strong, because as I was listening to this book, I remembered two other books by him that I had read and completely forgotten. He was a very smart man. And I was so happy that he measures the galaxy in volumes
More...
Nov 27, 2010
Giacomo
rated it:
«Unico?» [...] «Non mi pare proprio! È un mondo comunissimo, un porcile, un cesso… Qualunque termine dispregiativo le venga in mente. Ma nonostante lo schifo che ti sale fino agli occhi, non può nemmeno vantarsi di essere il mondo peggiore della galassia. La verità è che rimane un pianeta qualunque, di bruti e contadini.»
Così è descritta la Terra decine di migliaia di anni dopo l'inizio della colonizzazione dello Spazio: un mondo di cui nessuno ricorda più il ruolo fondamentale nello More...
Così è descritta la Terra decine di migliaia di anni dopo l'inizio della colonizzazione dello Spazio: un mondo di cui nessuno ricorda più il ruolo fondamentale nello More...
Feb 28, 2009
Fen
rated it: 
I was a bit surprised by this one... I was expecting to really like it, considering my experience with other Asimov books and with SF&F from that era (I'm actually pretty good about viewing it through the lens of time, knowing that many of the things we now consider to be tired conventions were fresh and new), but the plot was filled with entirely too many convenient coincidences that were absolutely necessary for the story to happen. It just stretched my suspension of disbelief a little too fa
More...
Nov 23, 2011
Tfitoby
rated it: 
Bringing the Empire sequence to a close is probably the most enjoyable of the three books.
I'm not sure if it actually was written on a chapter by chapter adventure serial basis but Asimov takes the concept and runs with it for full enjoyable effect. Each chapter filled with intrigue and entertainment ending at what could almost certainly be described as a cliffhanger. I imagined waiting the fortnight or month until the next issue would have been quite frustrating but incredibly rewardi More...
I'm not sure if it actually was written on a chapter by chapter adventure serial basis but Asimov takes the concept and runs with it for full enjoyable effect. Each chapter filled with intrigue and entertainment ending at what could almost certainly be described as a cliffhanger. I imagined waiting the fortnight or month until the next issue would have been quite frustrating but incredibly rewardi More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 04, 2009
Beth
rated it: 
My husband I read this one together because we've been exploring some of the classic science fiction authors. This one didn't make me want to ever read another Asimov again. I was really looking forward to finishing it by the time we were half-way through. I get that Asimov was all about exploring ideas, and didn't care about character development, or ridiculously shallow romance, or idiotic dialog...but still. I really thought it was a terrible book. And the book's political agenda was SO trans
More...
Mar 03, 2011
Perry
rated it:
I recently re-read Asimov's Galactic Empire and Foundation trilogies, having not read any of them since I was a teenager. They were all written in the 1950's and boy does it show! Although they're set many thousands of years in the future, characters read newspapers, smoke, and treat women like... well, like it was still the 1950's.
That said, the bigger tale, that of a crumbling empire, and the work to reduce the length of the inevitable "Dark Ages" that follow its demise, st More...
That said, the bigger tale, that of a crumbling empire, and the work to reduce the length of the inevitable "Dark Ages" that follow its demise, st More...
Aug 27, 2010
Faith
rated it:
I know I'm going to get yelled at by all the sci-fi lovers out there, but Pebble in the Sky was not my favorite book of all time. This might be due to the fact that I find it hard to handle tech-y sci-fi like this, and enjoy dystopian sci-fi immensely more. I can read dystopias all day, but the tech-y stuff is difficult for me.
That being said, I did not get into this book until about halfway through it - I found I did not care about what was happening, and actually forced myself to More...
That being said, I did not get into this book until about halfway through it - I found I did not care about what was happening, and actually forced myself to More...
Apr 02, 2009
Lauren
rated it:
Wow. I am pleased to have stumbled upon Isaac Asimov.
This is the second book I have read by him. Incredibly interesting.
Schwartz is simply walking down the street in Chicago when suddenly he finds himself in a completely different place. Unbeknownst to him, he has time-traveled many thousands of years into the future. The Earth is not the only inhabited planet now, although it is the most despised one. Schwartz is given a treatment that does something odd to his brain.
Add a R More...
This is the second book I have read by him. Incredibly interesting.
Schwartz is simply walking down the street in Chicago when suddenly he finds himself in a completely different place. Unbeknownst to him, he has time-traveled many thousands of years into the future. The Earth is not the only inhabited planet now, although it is the most despised one. Schwartz is given a treatment that does something odd to his brain.
Add a R More...
Oct 01, 2010
Marita
rated it:
Classic Science fiction where some science was actually discussed. I miss that in many current books set into the future. Naturally there were funny things like newspapers and microfiches, retro conversations and helpless women, yet there were mind enhancing technologies, galactic travel as well as time travel. Very interesting to see him predicting Extremist governments, nuclear fallout destroying the environment, hatred and fear of others as well as of viral diseases. One might almost see tho
More...
Feb 05, 2012
Mel
rated it:
I quite enjoyed this book, unfortunately the ending was a bit of a let down. It was a lovely story of unexplained time travel where a person was put billions of years into the future where Earth was radioactive and isolated from a large galactic empire of regular humans. They were controlled by this weired religion that had them as the original birthplace of mankind. They were mutated and killed everyone when they reached 60 as the Earth could only support so much life. The plot was heading towa
More...
Oct 22, 2009
Eva
rated it:
This novel is set on a radioactive Earth, where city names have been slightly, but not entirely, changed. Earth is the armpit of the galaxy. The ancients of Earth claim that all human life comes from there, while others believe that humans started independently on a multitude of planets.
Into this tension, there is a man from the late 1940s, a scientist and his daughter, and an archeologist from an outside world. While it is an interesting plot, there are too many main characters, and More...
Into this tension, there is a man from the late 1940s, a scientist and his daughter, and an archeologist from an outside world. While it is an interesting plot, there are too many main characters, and More...
Mar 26, 2011
Andreas
rated it:
Although written in the same style as the forgettable The Currents of Space, this novel has a better story. A 62 year old retired tailor from 20th century Chicago is transported to a future earth so poor that citizens are euthanized at 60. His arrival and subsequent actions change the world. If you want to read Asimov (and you should), read the Robot books or Foundation instead.
Incidentally, one of the covers uses one of my favorite pieces of art of all time, by the late Peter Elson.
More...
Incidentally, one of the covers uses one of my favorite pieces of art of all time, by the late Peter Elson.
More...
Dec 09, 2011
Sean
rated it:
Set in the very distant future, ”Pebble in the Sky” showcases Earth, which has become the radioactive backwoods of the universe. There is this unproven theory that all of mankind originated from this backwater and radiated out into the universe 1,000 years ago; the majority of people are skeptical that anyone originated from this plant of toe-sucking barbarians. A product of the time in which it was written, there is plenty of sexism here (the sole female character cries conspicuously and is wea
More...
Oct 04, 2008
Jamie
rated it:
Asimov's first book has just been reissued by Tor. I really enjoyed this novel, and am amazed at Asimov's scope of vision and how well this book written in 1950 holds up in the 21st century. Previous to this, I read Asimov's last book in the Robot series, which was written in the mid 1980s. In it, he describes how the earth became radioactive. This book, written over 30 years before, is set thousands of years after the timeline of the robot books, and takes place on a radioactive earth, where no
More...
Mar 30, 2010
Owen
rated it:
It was surprisingly good for a book I picked up randomly in a free box in Philadelphia. It seemed like the main point was to expose and critique racism, which was great. Especially for it's time. I wish it had also tackled misogyny a little bit. The one main character who was a woman was portrayed as very weak and dependent on men to save her.
Takes place in the far far in an intergalactic future and Earthlings are the despised and oppressed race.
I will probably read more
Takes place in the far far in an intergalactic future and Earthlings are the despised and oppressed race.
I will probably read more
Dec 20, 2008
Rachel
rated it:
Read this also out of the collected fiction Vol. 1. I'm assuming it was his first novel...? It has a gimmicky start, where a guy is transported through time due to a uranium leak or something conveniently inexplicable. But the we get a nice story about the Synapsifier, which makes people freakishly intelligent and able to communicate with their minds, and a future in which the people of the Universe despise Earthlings and scoff at the notion that humanity was born on Earth.
Sep 01, 2011
Jack
rated it:
I'll definitely be reaching for some more Asimov in the near future! If anything, this book needed to be just a bit longer though (it's a real quick read). There's a sizable handful of characters all wrestling with a dozen different forces in the beginning, and each of them read like real, flesh-and-blood human beings, except for the final antagonist in the novel. He doesn't get a lot of exposure before the time he finally emerges as someone with which to be reckoned. Regardless, it's a lot
More...
Oct 08, 2011
Warnie B.
rated it:
I finally got around to reading my first Asimov and I must say I quite enjoyed it! There were a few things that I found implausible, but I was mostly able to shush myself and just go with it, because I could usually find at least some weak way to rationalize things. And, you know, I was interested in what would happen at the end. The story didn't end up going in the direction I hoped it would, but I was still entertained, and will definitely be reading more of his stuff.
Sep 09, 2010
Tom
rated it:
I think the problem I'm running into here is that I read the Foundation series in publication order more than the storyline chronology. The original Trilogy was fantastic, but then they sort of drop off a bit. This book is still good, and still clearly Asimov, but it's not as exciting as Foundation tended to be. It was kind of neat to see the beginnings of things that already exist in the Foundation universe, though. I will hand the story that much.
Aug 06, 2009
Jaime
rated it:
This book was ok. It was about a man from the 1950's who for no reason, travels forward in time thousands of years. In this future time, humans are on countless planets and have forgoten the Earth was were humans originated.
This book had too many characters. Then, many of the characters would be called more than one name in the book. Sometimes a many may be refered to as "General" then in the next scene, the author would call him by his name instead. This made the book More...
This book had too many characters. Then, many of the characters would be called more than one name in the book. Sometimes a many may be refered to as "General" then in the next scene, the author would call him by his name instead. This made the book More...
Sep 17, 2010
Mick
rated it:
Overall a decent read, this is very much written in Asimov's "classic style" before he got way too long-winded. Characters (especially the main villain) are a little one-dimensional, but sections about the "mind-touch" are pretty cool. Asimov relates this book to many worldly issues during his time including prejudice and nuclear war. If you enjoyed his first 3 Foundation books and early Robot books, you will probably like this one.
Jul 14, 2011
Andréa
rated it:
In order to enjoy one book of this amazing writer, you need to keep in mind that it is and old book, and some of the scientific basis in which it was constructed are obsolete. This book has a simple language, it is easy to read and is a really enjoyable science fiction for anytime. It has some action going on, some moral issues (Asimov seems to like polemic stuff) and some nice, sweet, science. Worth reading.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 09, 2011
Richard N.
rated it:
I really liked it!
Apparently, I've never really read Asimov before. Wow! I really enjoyed the suspense, descriptions, immersion, and style. I'm definitely going to add more of his work to my lists. I am a bit glad the ending was enjoyable (as I've been going through some less-than-fun endings here lately) - but in the same regard I'm glad he closed it off quickly at that, too. Thanks Isaac!
Apparently, I've never really read Asimov before. Wow! I really enjoyed the suspense, descriptions, immersion, and style. I'm definitely going to add more of his work to my lists. I am a bit glad the ending was enjoyable (as I've been going through some less-than-fun endings here lately) - but in the same regard I'm glad he closed it off quickly at that, too. Thanks Isaac!
Oct 14, 2011
Sandra
rated it:
If this was his first book, it is a good book and a great sci-fi book anyway. More tech-y science fiction as opposed to dystopian! (which has been really overdone) I thought his idea was pretty amazing for a genre that was non-existant/underdeveloped.
Read this knowing that it is his first book, that it was one of the "early sci-fi" books, and that sci-fi books are sometimes/usually (well for this book at least) not read for the characterisation or whatever element or even p More...
Read this knowing that it is his first book, that it was one of the "early sci-fi" books, and that sci-fi books are sometimes/usually (well for this book at least) not read for the characterisation or whatever element or even p More...
Jun 02, 2011
Michael
rated it:
An interesting premise of time travel or perhaps time suspension would be more accurate. This, like many Asimov books, relies on a singular character to take the responsibility of changing the galaxy with its billions of inhabitants. When you step back far enough, you realize how silly that is, but up close the story is fair examination of the human ego when the Earth is no longer important.
Jan 13, 2011
Titus
rated it:
This was my least favorite of all of Asimov's Robots/Empire/Foundation series. I wanted some kind of explanation for why someone was transported into the future, instead it is used as a generic plot device. The plot seemed to be comprised of one hugely coincidental happenstance after another. The story line just seemed especially contrived, the characters kind of flat and the ending too simple.
Aug 16, 2011
Drew
rated it:
A fine read. As a result of an error in the laboratory, a man taking a walk is flung into a distant time where millions of stars in the universe are inhabited by humans. Earth is a radioactive planet thinly inhabited and earthlings are definitely second class citizens. Social commentary is handled deftly and the science fiction is well done. Assimov is a master story teller.
Jun 27, 2009
Patricrk
rated it:
This is the first novel written by asimov and was published in 1950. It is set 5000 years into the future. When, roads have phones every 10 miles, the daily newspaper is still home delivered or you can have it printed on microfilm directly at your house. And a splinter group on earth is getting ready to engage in biological warfare with the rest of the galaxy.
