★★★★☆ 4 / 5
This book wins by its premise. By drawing very obvious (sometimes overly so) parallels with the fall of major Earth civilizations of our past, such as the Roman Empire, Asimov manages to make a universe set thousands of years into the future feel familiar to his readers, and makes a strong statement about the cyclical nature of history at the same time.
Nevertheless, at times, the book felt a little too heavy-handed with that underlying statement. That is why I did not give it a perfect score.
Fact Sheet
- Author: Isaac Asimov
- Publisher: Bantam
- ISBN: 9780553803716