Buying Options

Print List Price:	$17.00
Kindle Price:	$11.99 Save $5.01 (29%)
Sold by:	Random House LLC Price set by seller.

Enter a promotion code or Gift Card

Share <Embed>

The Currents of Space (Galactic Empire Book 2) by [Isaac Asimov]

Audible Sample

Playing...

Paused

Follow the Author

Isaac Asimov

The Currents of Space (Galactic Empire Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Isaac Asimov (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

293 ratings

Book 2 of 3: Galactic Empires

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$11.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$768.57

$9.00

Paperback

"Please retry"

$16.69

$11.60

$11.75

Mass Market Paperback

"Please retry"

$10.14

$42.00

$6.19

Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$9.99

—

$9.99

The second book in the Galactic Empire series, the spectacular precursor to the classic Foundation series, by one of history's most influential writers of science fiction, Isaac Asimov

Trantor had extended its rule over half the Galaxy, but the other half defied its authority, defending their corrupt fiefdoms with violence and repression. On the planet Florina, the natives labored as slaves for their arrogant masters on nearby Sark. But now both worlds were hurtling toward a cataclysmic doom, and only one man knew the truth--a slave unaware of the secret knowledge locked inside his own brain.

Rik had once been a prominent scientist until a psychic probe erased all memories of his past. Now he was a humble laborer in the kyrt mills of Florina. Then the memories began to return, bringing with them the terrible truth about the future--a truth that his masters on Sark would kill to keep secret . . . even at the cost of their own survival.

Print length

242 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Del Rey
Publication date

September 1, 2020
File size

3272 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

Books In This Series (3 Books)

Complete Series

Galactic Empires

Kindle Edition

Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1

1
The Stars, Like Dust (Galactic Empire Book 1)
Isaac Asimov

(369)

Kindle Edition

$11.99
2
The Currents of Space (Galactic Empire Book 2)
Isaac Asimov

(293)

Kindle Edition

$11.99
3
Pebble in the Sky (Galactic Empire Book 3)
Isaac Asimov

(382)

Kindle Edition

$11.99

More items to explore

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Isaac Asimov
753
Kindle Edition
$8.99
Isaac Asimov
382
Kindle Edition
$11.99
Isaac Asimov
369
Kindle Edition
$11.99
Isaac Asimov
846
Kindle Edition
$7.99
Isaac Asimov
932
Kindle Edition
$7.99
Isaac Asimov
906
Kindle Edition
$8.99

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Isaac Asimov
369
Kindle Edition
$11.99
Isaac Asimov
382
Kindle Edition
$11.99
Isaac Asimov
668
Kindle Edition
$11.99
Isaac Asimov
753
Kindle Edition
$8.99
Isaac Asimov
221
Kindle Edition
$7.99
Isaac Asimov
846
Kindle Edition
$7.99

Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

The Foundling

Rik put down his feeder and jumped to his feet. He was trembling so hard he had to lean against the bare milk- white wall.

He shouted, "I remember!"

They looked at him and the gritty mumble of men at lunch died somewhat. Eyes met his out of faces indifferently clean and indifferently shaven, glistening and white in the imperfect wall illumination. The eyes reflected no great interest, merely the reflex attention enforced by any sudden and unexpected cry.

Rik cried again, "I remember my job. I had a job!"

Someone called, "Shoddop!"and someone else yelled, "Siddown!"

The faces turned away, the mumble rose again. Rik stared blankly along the table. He heard the remark, "Crazy Rik,"and a shrug of shoulders. He saw a finger spiral at a man’s temple. It all meant nothing to him. None of it reached his mind.

Slowly he sat down. Again he clutched his feeder, a spoon-like affair, with sharp edges and little tines projecting from the front curve of the bowl, which could therefore with equal clumsiness cut, scoop and impale. It was enough for a mill-worker. He turned it over and stared without seeing at his number on the back of the handle. He didn’t have to see it. He knew it by heart. All the others had registration numbers, just as he had, but the others had names also. He didn’t. They called him Rik because it meant something like "moron"in the slang of the kyrt mills. And often enough they called him "Crazy Rik."

But perhaps he would be remembering more and more now. This was the first time since he had come to the mill that he had remembered anything at all from before the beginning. If he thought hard! If he thought with all his mind!

All at once he wasn’t hungry; he wasn’t the least hungry. With a sudden gesture, he thrust his feeder into the jellied briquet of meat and vegetables before him, pushed the food away, and buried his eyes in the heels of his palms. His fingers thrust and clutched at his hair and painstakingly he tried to follow his mind into the pitch from which it had extracted a single item—one muddy, undecipherable item.

Then he burst into tears, just as the clanging bell announced the end of his lunch shift.

Valona March fell in beside him when he left the mill that evening. He was scarcely conscious of her at first, at least as an individual. It was only that he heard his footsteps matched. He stopped and looked at her. Her hair was something between blonde and brown. She wore it in two thick plaits that she clamped together with little magnetized green- stoned pins. They were very cheap pins and had a faded look about them. She wore the simple cotton dress which was all that was needed in that mild climate, just as Rik himself needed only an open, sleeveless shirt and cotton slacks.

She said, "I heard something went wrong lunchtime."

She spoke in the sharp, peasant accents one would expect. Rik’s own language was full of flat vowels and had a nasal touch. They laughed at him because of it and imitated his way of speaking, but Valona would tell him that that was only their own ignorance.

Rik mumbled, "Nothing’s wrong, Lona."

She persisted. "I heard you said you remembered something. Is that right, Rik?"

She called him Rik too. There wasn’t anything else to call him. He couldn’t remember his real name. He had tried desperately enough. Valona had tried with him. One day she had obtained a torn city directory somehow and had read all the first names to him. None had seemed more familiar than any other.

He looked her full in the face and said, "I’ll have to quit the mill."

Valona frowned. Her round, broad face with its flat, high cheekbones was troubled. "I don’t think you can. It wouldn’t be right."

"I’ve got to find out more about myself."

Valona licked her lips. "I don’t think you should."

Rik turned away. He knew her concern to be sincere. She had obtained the mill job for him in the first place. He had had no experience with mill machinery. Or perhaps he had, but just didn’t remember. In any case, Lona had insisted that he was too small for manual labor and they had agreed to give him technical training without charge. Before that, in the nightmarish days when he could scarcely make sounds and when he didn’t know what food was for, she had watched him and fed him. She had kept him alive.

He said, "I’ve got to."

"Is it the headaches again, Rik?"

"No. I really remember something. I remember what my job was before——Before!"

He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell her. He looked away. The warm, pleasant sun was at least two hours above the horizon. The monotonous rows of workers’ cubicles that stretched out and round the mills were tiresome to look at, but Rik knew that as soon as they topped the rise the field would lie before them in all the beauty of crimson and gold.

He liked to look at the fields. From the very first the sight had soothed and pleased him. Even before he knew that the colors were crimson and gold, before he knew that there were such things as colors, before he could express his plea sure in anything more than a soft gurgle, the headaches would flicker away faster in the fields. In those days Valona would borrow a diamagnetic scooter and take him out of the village every idle-day. They would skim along, a foot above the road, gliding on the cushioned smoothness of the counter- gravity field, until they were miles and miles away from any human habitation and there would be left only the wind against his face, fragrant with the kyrt blossoms.

They would sit beside the road then, surrounded by color and scent, and between them share a food briquet, while the sun glowed down upon them until it was time to return again.

Rik was stirred by the memory. He said, "Let’s go to the fields, Lona."

"It’s late."

"Please. Just outside town."

She fumbled at the thin money pouch she kept between herself and the soft blue leather belt she wore, the only luxury of dress she allowed herself.

Rik caught her arm. "Let’s walk."

They left the highway for the winding, dustless, packed- sand roads half an hour later. There was a heavy silence between them and Valona felt a familiar fear clutching at her. She had no words to express her feelings for him, so she had never tried.

What if he should leave her? He was a little fellow, no taller than herself and weighing somewhat less, in fact. He was still like a helpless child in many ways. But before they had turned his mind off he must have been an educated man. A very important educated man.

Valona had never had any education besides reading and writing and enough trade- school technology to be able to handle mill machinery, but she knew enough to know that all people were not so limited. There was the Townman, of course, whose great knowledge was so helpful to all of them. Occasionally Squires came on inspection tours. She had never seen them close up but once, on a holiday, she had visited the City and seen a group of incredibly gorgeous creatures at a distance. Occasionally the mill-workers were allowed to listen to what educated people sounded like. They spoke differently, more fluently, with longer words and softer tones. Rik talked like that more and more as his memory improved.

She had been frightened at his first words. They came so suddenly after long whimpering over a headache. They were pronounced queerly. When she tried to correct him he wouldn’t change.

Even then she had been afraid that he might remember too much and then leave her. She was only Valona March. They called her Big Lona. She had never married. She never would. A large, big- footed girl with work- reddened hands like herself could never marry. She had never been able to do more than look at the boys with dumb resentment when they ignored her at the idle- day dinner festivals. She was too big to giggle and smirk at them.

She would never have a baby to cuddle and hold. The other girls did, one after the other, and she could only crowd about for a quick glimpse of something red and hairless with screwed-up eyes, fists impotently clenched, gummy mouth——

"It’s your turn next, Lona."

"When will you have a baby, Lona?"

She could only turn away.

But when Rik had come, he was like a baby. He had to be fed and taken care of, brought out into the sun, soothed to sleep when the headaches racked him.

The children would run after her, laughing. They would yell, "Lona’s got a boy friend. Big Lona’s got a crazy boy...

--This text refers to the audio_download edition.

Review

“Obviously, Isaac Asimov had a lot of fun concocting this merry tangle of interplanetary power politics. . . . If it isn't often science-fiction, it is always beautifully contrived melodrama. The reader will have just as much fun as Mr. Asimov.”
--The New York Times on The Currents of Space

"Science fiction on the larger scale is Isaac Asimov's specialty. . . . Clear writing and excellent suspense make this book a welcome addition to the science fiction lists."
--The New York Times on The Stars, Like Dust

“How do you explain Isaac Asimov to Earth men? How do you even begin to describe that glorious union of all-American optimism, bleeding-heart Yiddishkeit, and cutting-edge science speculation? You can’t. He’s one of a kind. . . . Psycho-history buffs will love this book for its through-the-looking-glass view of the Foundation series. Everyone else will love it because it’s fun, fun, fun.”
--Fantasy & Science Fiction on Pebble in the Sky

--This text refers to the audio_download edition.

ASIN : B08GK12F2P
Publisher : Del Rey (September 1, 2020)
Publication date : September 1, 2020
Language : English
File size : 3272 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 242 pages
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #80,824 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #357 in Time Travel Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #392 in Hard Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #577 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
293 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		64%
4 star		22%
3 star		12%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Michael G Kurilla

Intrigue among the oppressed

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

Isaac Asimov's The Current's of Space is part of his Galactic Empire series. In this standalone novel, a technician with bad news for a planet has his memory wiped to forestall revelation as part of an unrevealed plan. He is left on an oppressed world where the natives are maintained as virtual slaves while another planet lords over them and milks the wealth arising from monopolistic control of a unique resource. As memory slowly returns, different cultural and political as well as economic and scientific interests converge to avert a global disaster.

Asimov presents a futuristic version of the antebellum South with a material akin to cotton serving as the unique resource from which another planet derives their wealth. He also deftly displays competing interests vying for position within the overall galactic empire. The backseat both science and basic human dignity take relative political and economic interests as well as raw personal ambition, while not desirable, is nevertheless quite realistic. While still short in the areas of character development, the plot is well structured and unfolds nicely.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

J-Lee

Interisting but wordy

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

I am and have always been a great fan of Isaac Asimov. I recently re-read the Currents of Space and again found it has an interesting story line but lacks briefity. The characters are lifelike and interesting, but too complicated. Dr. Asimov has always had some element of "detective" work in his books, but sometimes the dialog with "suspects" goes on way too long. You begin to lose yourself in a complicted web that seems to go nowhere. I found myself skipping entire paragraphs trying to get to the point and go on with the overall story. Another aspect is the existence of independent civilized planets which are not part of the Galactic Empire. This seems unlikely in a universe where the imperial planet Trantor governs over a million worlds. Think of that! A milllion worlds. More realistic would be hundreds. t's worth the read, but be prepared for a long one.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Roadrunner

Read this before the foundation series and after the Robots.

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2015

Verified Purchase

Read this before the "Pebble in the sky and the foundation series. I suggest the empire set to be read after the Robots series because it gives you a good understanding of the setting. If I sound like everything I say is for the benefit of the Foundation series, it is because that series to me is the main story, although all the books are equally enjoyable in their own right. My suggested order just makes them all build on each other and make them feel connected.

The only thing I have changed in my order of reading is to put the two prequels to the Foundation series before the series and not after, although they were written by Asimov afterwards. However, my reason for suggesting to read them afterwards is still valid. I just made a personal choice to read them first, since I had already gone through the Foundation series some 20 years ago. So for me they will be both before and after, since I'll be reading theFoundation series again this year.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

An Excellent Early Asimov Empire Novel

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2007

Verified Purchase

This early Isaac Asimov novel is set in the same "Universe" as Asimov's Foundation series, and is one of a group of early Asimov novels often referred to as the "Empire" series. It is set somewhat prior to the establishment of the Galactic Empire--Trantor's Republic consists of over one million star systems, and the Empire is now in sight, but there are still independent star systems and stellar groups that Trantor has not yet assimilated.

This story is set on the planet Florina, which is harshly ruled by the nearby planet Sark. Florina, alone in the Galaxy, produces Kyrt, which is a fabric with fabulous qualities and which makes Florina the key to great wealth for its Sarkian overlords. No one knows why only Florina can produce Kyrt, and the reason for this contains the doom of Florina. More would be telling; no spoilers here.

This is quite a serviceable story, which has aged well despite certain anachronisms. I first read it as a teenager, and after picking it up after a delay of nearly 35 years I still enjoyed the book. This is not always true when revisiting books one enjoyed as a youth.

Asimov was a giant of science fiction, and with his passing it is good to see that his stories are being republished and that they will be available for future generations of readers. This one is very recommended, and I rate it 3 stars only because so many of Asimov's other works are even better than this one.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jeffrey T. Munson

Classic Asimov

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2009

Verified Purchase

Legendary author Isaac Asimov has written a tale full of murder and political intrigue along with some great science fiction.

The Trantorian empire is closing in on it's conquest of the galaxy. But, the planet Sark stands in the path of this conquest. Sark is an independent planet but, more important, is its sale of kyrt. Kyrt, a cotton-like substance, is the foundation of most of the materials in the galaxy and is only available from Sark.

Sark doesn't produce kyrt by itself. Instead, kyrt is grown on the planet Florina. Sark uses the population of Florina as cheap slave labor to produce kyrt. Many have tried, but none have succeeded in growing kyrt anywhere but on Florina. These imitations are more like plain cotton and nowhere near the quality of kyrt. Due to this relationship, Sark has become extremely powerful and wealthy, while Florina has suffered under the rule of Sark.

But, a man has entered the picture with information which could prove devastating to Sark, Florina, and Trantor. This man claims to have knowledge that Florina and it's valuable supply of kyrt is in danger of being destroyed. This leads to an exciting story of murder, political manuvering, and intrigue.

I'm a big fan of science fiction, but this is only the 2nd Asimov novel that I've read, the other being the classic "Nightfall", which I also recommend. I thought this book was good, but I had some difficulty following the story. I thought Asimov introduced too many characters in such a short book, too. However, I did enjoy the story and I plan on reading "Pebble in the Sky" and "The Stars, Like Dust".

Asimov is one of the masters of science fiction authors, and this book is a good choice for fans of science fiction.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Miss S. O'Brien

Bought to add to my bookcase, read many years ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 14, 2018

Verified Purchase

Bought to add to my bookcase, read many years ago before I moved and gave away most of my books.

Amazon Customer

Perfect condition, and arrived quickly

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

No problems, all smooth, reasonable price for a hard to find book.

Lomaharshana

Engrossing Volume 2 of Asimov’s Empire Series

Reviewed in India on May 27, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is Volume 2 in the three-volume Empire series of novels by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in 1952; this paperback edition is a 2009 reprint by Tom Doherty’s well-known sci-fi publishing company in New York. I am very glad that this book is sold by Amazon India.

What else is there to say? If you like English-language science fiction, the Empire series has to be on your must-read list! In these three novels, Asimov sets up the grand stage of a Galactic Empire upon which the events of his epic seven-volume Foundation series takes place.

In “The Currents of Space”, the story is set on a planet called Florina, which is controlled by people living on another planet called Sark. The Florinian people do not have much freedoms; all they do is to harvest a crop called kyrt for the Sarkites, who are extremely wealthy because kyrt is extremely valuable as a fabric material and it doesn't grow anywhere else in the Galaxy. Well, one day, a strange, naked, mentally-retarded man is found lying by a road on Florina …

Frequent customer

An excellent novel by the Master, Isaac Asimov

Reviewed in Canada on March 16, 2020

Verified Purchase

I have read and reread many novels by this esteemed author, but somehow missed The Currents of Space. It proved to be as enjoyable as any other he has written. I have a new hardcover copy of the Foundation Trilogy which I read again recently, so it awakened the urge for an unread item in the close series. Fans will not be disappointed with this novel, just as I was pleased to dive into it. Somehow, when reading these books, I seem to soar right through them before the end is nearly reached. Any author who can write a book which will be read many times over, and enjoyed each time by the same person, deserves the highest accolades. Sadly, there are few novels by Asimov which are new to me, but I still have a shelf with numerous books form the Foundation and Robot series to enjoy again.

MidoriSumiRoma

Ottimo

Reviewed in Italy on January 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

Avevo già questi libri (la trilogia dell'impero galattico) in italiano; ma la versione in lingua originale è meglio. (E può essere letta facilmente anche da chi non è espertissimo in inglese). Trovata per il mio kindle e presa al volo.

Translate review to English

See all reviews

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Buying Options

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

The Currents of Space (Galactic Empire Book 2) Kindle Edition

More items to explore

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Review

About the Author

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Customers who bought this item also bought