Nemesis [Paperback]

Isaac Asimov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1990

In the twenty-third century pioneers have escaped the crowded earth for life in self-sustaining orbital colonies.  One of the colonies, Rotor, has broken away from the solar system to create its own renegade utopia around an unknown red star two light-years from Earth:  a star named Nemesis.  Now a fifteen-year-old Rotorian girl has learned of the dire threat that nemesis poses to Earth's people--but she is prevented from warning them.  Soon she will realize that Nemesis endangers Rotor as well.  And so it will be up to her alone to save both Earth and Rotor as--drawn inexorably by Nemesis, the death star--they hurtle toward certain disaster.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Eugenia Insigna of the Settlement Rotor, an independent space station, discovers an unknown red dwarf star two light years from Earth, she names it Nemesis. Led by Dr. Janus Pitt, Rotor and its population travel to the star to build a new, morally pure society. Insigna's daughter Marlene, who can read body language like a telepath, learns that Nemesis is moving dangerously close to Earth's solar system. After trying to communicate her knowledge, Marlene discovers that a conspiracy is suppressing it. Told alternately from two points of view, Marlene's and (in a different time frame) her father's, the book is repetitive, talky and unengaging. Asimov is at his best when his characters discuss science and their schemes for saving Earth's people from destruction by Nemesis.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A man's search for a daughter he has never known, a young girl's affinity for the mysterious planet around which her space station home revolves, and a space colony commissioner's desire to isolate his renegade community form the delicate framework upon which rests Earth's future. Although the prolific Asimov's forte lies in his dedication to hard science as the basis for his stories, his latest novel features an intriguing mix of believable heroes and villains, a pair of convergent plots, and a nicely foreshadowed conclusion. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (September 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553286285
• ISBN-13: 978-0553286281
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nemesis is Brilliant, December 22, 1999

By 

Dan (Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nemesis (Paperback)

Nemesis is often looked down upon in the world of science-fiction, and fans, as you can tell by the other reviews posted here, find it to be rather weak. And so it was only with reluctance that I picked up a copy of Nemesis, and again it was only with reluctance that I began to read. I had come expecting trash and the worst of Asimov but what I got was a surprise, a rather pleasant one actually. Despite what you may hear, Nemesis is great. It features many artistically crafted characters and a fine blend of science and adventure. If you've heard that Nemesis was no good, just take my advice, don't believe it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Story, Poor Ending, November 2, 2000

By 

Scott Merritt (Golden, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nemesis (Paperback)

Having Read much of the Foundation Series as well as what I feel is Asimov's most inspired work "I, Robot", I recently picked up a copy of Nemesis. At once, I found Nemesis to be very suspenseful, and I found the character development to be quite creative, though a little predictable at times. The book built more and more intensely towards a climax which sadly never came. It seemed to me that the Asimov must have been under a very tight deadline to finish this book because at the most interesting point, the entire story line simply dissolved in a matter of 4 or 5 pages with nearly nothing resolved. Needless to say, I found this work to be a little disappointing

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Asimov? or Card?, June 15, 2005

By 

Christopher Jones "aminuteman" (Lehi, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nemesis (Paperback)

I have read practically everything fictional Asimov has ever written, from the very earliest short stories through all the Foundation books and beyond. I love Asimov, as you would surmise. This story is not nearly as much like Asimov as it is like another of my favorite SF writers - Orson Scott Card.

This is late Asimov - very late - and it shows. Character is not Asimov's great strength, though he does have some compelling ones, but this is a character-driven story. The plot is thin, and serves mostly as a backdrop for the characters to play off against each other. They do. I love this kind of story.

Asimov is the king of hard SF, that is, his stories all have a great reliance on astrophysics as a major plot device. This story does have this element, but it plays a smaller role than I'm used to seeing. Rather, the main character's abnormal perceptiveness is the major plot driver, and that is very, very Card, not Asimov. Card's novels ordinarily have almost no science in them at all, but the characters leap off the page. Call this a blend of the two.

I liked the book. You need to be aware of the biases here, though, of those that also like it.