The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov

This is, on the surface, a science fiction novel. Spaceships and alien planets abound. There are even little nods towards the fact that this is the same continuity as the Foundation novels,  albeit millennia before those events- things like interstellar travel working the same way, or that psychic musical instrument from Foundation and Empire.

And yet the trappings of science fiction are just that- trappings. This is essentially a spy novel full of clever twists and turns but no mind-boggling science fiction idea. While the plot twists are clever and entertaining, and I enjoyed the novel, Asimov’s limitations here in terms of prose and characterisations loom larger here in the absence of big ideas. This is a fairly good novel but, I fear, not touched with greatness.