Rating: 
Summary: Undemanding fun
Review: Many of Isaac Asimov's novels and short stories were actually mystery tales dressed up in the veneer of science fiction. But THE STARS LIKE DUST reminded me of a genre that I had not yet come across in his fiction: the thriller. The influences aren't enormous, but they're present. There's a hunt for a secret document, a political power struggle, and a puppet master directing the action from behind the scenes. And as successful as Asimov had been at incorporating the fundamentals of the detective novel into his own, he is similarly triumphant here. While there are definitely some rough spots, they come more from the pulp origins of this kind of story than from any other genre it incorporated.
First of all, this is a typically engaging and engrossing story. It's not Asimov at the absolute top of his game, but it's easy enough for the reader to keep turning these pages. Even when he's running on autopilot (as one suspects during part of the plot's introduction and some of the later, quieter moments), it's nothing short of fun and enjoyable.
Asimov's plotting is again quite good. Indeed, there are some elements of it that reminded me of portions of his other books (for example, there's a character who makes bold and logical predictions about the movement of individual important people -- a very small scale version of the psychohistory that would appear later in his FOUNDATION series). But as with most of Asimov's work, while I did find it to contain a lot of familiar touchstones, it still felt very fresh.
There were a few points that prevented me from placing this among the very top of Asimov's novels. Characterization is something that Asimov himself said he didn't always get right (though I will sometimes give him more credit than he gave himself) and, unfortunately, it's difficult to believe in the romance between the male and female leads. He usually stayed away from this kind of coupling, and it seemed clear that he seemed a lot less confident writing about male/female relationships than he did about molecules, planetary movements and other science facts.
Speaking of science, it's also easy to see why Asimov's non-fiction writing was so effortless to read. He's quite good at making potentially intimidating science speeches seem clear and simple. Of course, what he isn't always quite so good at is incorporating them seamlessly into his plots. This book more so than most of his that I've read seemed to have a bit too many places where the characters suddenly deliver science lectures to other characters for no real overriding reason (yes, they related to the plot, but could easily have been removed with no loss of reader understand occurring). It's not that they're confusing -- far from it. It just made me think that they were included mostly because Asimov liked talking about science more than for any other reason.
On the other hand, I did like the fact that the science was important to the story. Oftentimes in science fiction novels, the actual mechanics of life in the future is hand-waved away. While that is sometimes desirable (if the author is more interested in plot and character than scientific speculation), I do occasionally enjoy the type of conjectures on display here. During the story's chase/traveling sequences we get some fun thinking from Asimov about how future space travel will work. It's fascinating, if only to see what the cutting edge of thought was in the early 1950s. Asimov puts a lot of thought into how faster-than-light travel will take place. But, amusingly from a modern standpoint, he missed out on computers completely, having the mathematical calculations of interstellar travel taking place by hand using libraries of reference books!
At the time of writing this review, THE STARS LIKE DUST would appear to be out-of-print. Which is a shame because it's a nice, enjoyable story that doesn't deserve relegation to hard-to-find status. This isn't top-tier Asimov, so I can't truthfully recommend spending a lot of money. But if you find a good, cheap, used copy, it's well worth purchasing. I read the bulk of it while airplane traveling and it made for a very happy, undemanding companion.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick and fun sci-fi
Review: Stars Like Dust is the first of Asimov's Empire trilogy. The other two books are The Currents of Space and Pebble in the Sky. In Stars Asimov describes events immediately following the execution of a prominent political figure convicted of treason. His angry son Biron is the main protagonist of this novel. The "enemy" is a race known as the Tyranni who quickly subdued many formerly independent kingdoms and is taxing the heck out of them.Stars is short at less than 200 pages and easy to read, yet still gives lots to think about. For example, Asimov's portrayal of the vast distances between stars and the utter darkness within a dark nebula are convincing and fire the imagination. There are a couple good twists in the novel and all questions I had were resolved by the end. The ending hints at a rebellion soon to come that will create the Empire. I believe The Currents of Space is set in the new Empire. Stars also has a side plot about a secret document from Earth said to be the ultimate weapon against the Tyranns. We find out what this document is at the very end and I must say it's possibly the cheesiest ending to a sci-fi novel that I've ever read. Apparently Asimov himself hated it but was forced to incorporate this subplot by the editor. It kind of makes sense given that the book was published in the 1950s (read it to see what I mean). I haven't yet read the other two Empire novels or the Foundation series, but I did read the four-book Robot series. The final Robot novel, Robots and Empire, provides a satisfying link between the two series. Also, the first Foundation book (Prelude to Foundation) is chronologically after Pebble in the Sky, so the three series together compose a grand 14-book epic! Unfortunately the entire Empire series is out of print. This is a shame since Stars is definitely worth picking up and so are the other two from what I've heard....
Rating:
Summary: Good space adventure
Review: The opening chapter is terrific; and the rest of the novel has enough twists and revelations that it kept me interested. Reading this, it's not hard to believe that Asimov is known for (among other things) practically inventing the science fiction detective novel. Though THIS book is not a whodunit, it has some of the same sort of cerebral appeal as a good mystery novel. It's not Asimov's best work, and it doesn't have the "strange new worlds" and exotic aliens that some people turn to science fiction for, but if you're in the mood for a good old-fashioned "space opera," this is good entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: THE RULE OF THE TYRANNI
Review: The Tyranni have ruled over the defeated Nebular Kingdoms for 50 years, but the first rumblings of rebellion are beginning to be felt. Vigilant for traitors, the Tyranni arrest the Rancher of Widemos, the leader of the planet Nephelos. On a nuclear war ravaged Earth, his son, Biron Farril, becomes the target of an assination attempt which is only thwarted by a friend named Jonti. Jonti advises him to leave Earth and travel to the planet Rhodia, whose ruler is friendly with the Tyranns and thus might have more influence and success in protecting Biron. Isaac Asimov is not a writer known for his passion or breathtaking action. His novels, to me at least, are mental exercises and this one is no exception. Most of the book is people driving spaceships, waiting in rooms, bickering amongst themselves. Biron and his love interest seem like a poor man's Han and Leia. The ending of the book can be seen a light year away and is one of the stupidest I have ever encountered. I wish I had more to say about this book. It is the first in a trilogy of Galactic Empire Novels set in the time before the Foundation. I guess it was ok. I'll probably read the other 2 just to get it done with.
Rating:
Summary: A very good story, but not Foundation
Review: This series is not as good as the Robot series or the Foundation series (probably why it is not in print and the other two are), but it certainly is a good story and a must fof the person who wishes to read the entire Asimov saga from begining to end. Find this book wherever you can and give it a read.
Rating:
Summary: Asimov's Least Favorite Book Is Still A Good Read
Review: this was asimov's least favorite book, however I think it is a good novel. I don't like the extra plot adout the secret document and it dosn't fit the story but this one detail should not overshadow the rest of the novel. many of the characters are very steriotypical and fit into certain cliche's but then again they are also intersting I recomend this book. to anyone who has not read this they should not listen to the critism and pave their own veiw of this book bby just picking it up and reading it
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