Whenever he gets time from his coursework, this aspiring physicist loves to spend his time with novels. Here, Nikhil shares what he thought about Asimov’s Child of Time and briefly of Nemesis.[break]
What aspects of this book made you choose it?
I had heard a lot about Isaac Asimov being the voice of science fiction; I wanted to try something written by him. Even though his books like the Robot and the Foundation series are more popular and talked about, I wanted to explore more of his writings. As I am also interested in time travels and novels related to prehistoric times, Child of Time seemed like a good reading to me. The book talks of a very obvious conflict between times, how anything living in certain dimensions cannot live in another dimension. The book does full credit to justify the title. Keeping the child in the lead role, the way it shows the aspect of different time-period is very impressive.
A character who moved you?
This book has two lonely characters, a nurse and a prehistoric child as their lead characters. The bond between two lonely souls and the sacrificing nature of the nurse can be related to any affectionate mother.
One thing about the book that you didn’t like or you wish was different?
It might sound larger than life, but the flow that the book moves in is so flawless that I didn’t find anything I didn’t like. I enjoyed the book thoroughly. The political aspect of the organization, the religious aspect of prehistoric times, everything fits perfectly, making the book a very balanced juxtaposition.
Any other books by Asimov that you’ve read or are planning to: How different is this one from rest of his works?
I’ve read many books of Isaac Asimov, including the Foundation series, the Robot series. But the one that I recently finished reading is a book titled Nemesis. This book is a typical story set in the future where interstellar travel is in the process of being discovered. This book shows the technology of the future and allows readers to expand their horizon of imagination. Space colonization is something that I find very intimidating, and the book delves in it with a very good synchronization. The book also shows telepathic nature between a person and a star which is a very abstract and exciting subject to fantasize about.
Do you think this was Asimov’s best work?
Asimov is a legend. He has written so many books, so many sci-fic series that I cannot call this book as his best work. He’s better at writing long series and linking a series with another. In my opinion, he writes better when he involves more astrology, the future technology, interstellar travel, the kind of larger than life material that sci-fic lovers usually look for. However, this book stands out because it shows that science cannot eradicate the feelings of love and affection.
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