The Currents of Space is a fast paced "lesser novel" by Isaac Asimov I found engaging and hard to put down.Part 2 of 3 of his Galactic Empire Series, it does not have to be read with the others, as I understood each and every facet of the book and did not feel at anytime that I was missing something from the storyline, characters, or worlds involved. Our main character, a man we know only as Rik, a Spatio Analyst - one who measures the matter of space, suns/stars and planets, and the outcome all chemical compounds have on eachother - is zapped by a psycho-probe that takes away nearly all of his memory right after he imparts knowledge of planetary, and thus galaxial, disastrous portent, to who he believes is the highest authority of the world in question, Florina. Soon after, Rik, robbed of his memory to the point of lunacy, is cared for by Valona, a local, Florinian native, who is BIG of ❤, small on brains. She becomes obsessively attached to Rik and will go beyond any fears she has about the world beyond her own, to protect him from anyone and everyone. I really liked that! This leads Rik and Valona, along with Terens, a Townman - the highest position any Florinian is allowed to elevate to - from the lesser Lower City to the richer Upper City - inhabited by Sarkites not born of the world of Florina - offworld to Sark, to confront the Sarkites - the race that owns the planet - encountering Trantorians - beings whose Galactic race hold the largest monopoly on the planets of the universe - who wish to covet and control Florina for an endemic substance grown and mined ONLY on Florina, Kyrt. Kyrt is basically cotton, only with miraculous properties, used all across the universe in a vast number of ways, and probably the most expensive material in the galaxy. The Currents of Space is a Science Fiction Mystery. Asimov's style is always more at the forefront than I initially expect in everything I've read by him, as it is sometimes hard for me to fathom that the Grandfather of SF, while widely known as being one of the most intellectual of the scientific Sci-fi writers, is also the same author who has so much style, and is so fun to read. I love the cover of my edition bUT, I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THAT GUY ON THE COVER IS! There is nobody with green skin. Nobody with glowing eyes. Nobody with Saturn in the background. And does not guest star either Frankenstein or J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter from DC's Justice League (*my shout out to GR friend, Michael ;)**Recommended to Golden Age SF fans and Highly recommended to fans of Isaac Asimov.
Asimov has never been one of my favorite SF authors, but I fondly remember reading many of his short stories when I was a child. He seemed to do best in that form, as he was full of ideas and could pack his encyclopedic knowledge of everything under the sun into a few pages, and never mind the cardboard personalities of his characters.The Currents of Space is set on the planet Florinia, whose inhabitants harvest "kyrt," which can be made into the most desirable cloth in the galaxy: it is super-durable, incredibly sheet, and infinitely useful. For some reason, kyrt only grows in the way it does on Florinia, among all the planets in the galaxy. (The reason for this is revealed in the climax.)Florinia is ruled by the wealthy Sarkites, who profit from controlling the sole source of kyrt, and who treat the Florinians like serfs. Florinian society is divided into the laboring class and "Townsmen," who are the local representatives of Sarkite authority. They are educated and given special privileges, and so put above the ordinary Florinians. In other words, they're overseers.When an amnesiac named Rik (which is a nickname meaning "idiot" to the Florinians) is found on Florinia, he triggers a series of escapades involving a cast of Florinians, Sarkites, and representatives from Trantor, the most powerful planet in the galaxy. The Trantorians dislike the Sarkites' oppression of the Florinians, but they fear being accused of imperialist ambitions themselves, and will not risk war with Sark - both because of galactic political sentiment, and because they'd risk cutting off the kyrt supply.In case the metaphor eludes you, it's explicitly stated that kyrt, grown anywhere but on Florinia, is ordinary cotton. So the story turns out to be a combination of planetary adventure and morality tale; Florinia must be saved in more ways than one.The plot was well written and brought out the motives and personalities of Florinians, Sarkites, and Trantorians, none of whom are wholly good or wholly evil. I was also pleased at Asimov's descriptions of this advanced interstellar civilization; despite being written in 1952, it was not as dated as some other Golden Age sci-fi. (Except for the women, of course. Asimov didn't treat his women as badly as Heinlein: he just treated them as woman-shaped plot devices.)If you like good old-fashioned intelligent space opera in a perfectly self-contained story (The Currents of Space is supposedly part of a trilogy and linked to Asimov's Foundation series, but it stands alone just fine), it is definitely worth reading.
What do You think about The Currents Of Space (1991)?
sweet as native honey..sending a copy of this will be the most adorable thing to me since the millennium started
—jade
A very interesting plot that is interesting since the beginning. A man with a piece of information that is crucial for the security of the galaxy, gets captured and his mind wiped out. Left alone in as a sort of diminished-mind man in an opressed planet, is taken by a priest and a country girl who teach them how to get a living in the crops. Soon he begins to regain his memory, slowly realizing what he was and the danger that is going to befall in the planet he is. A little winkle to the Earth and this states that the people in the galaxy is starting to forget about her. Still it isn't the Galactic Empire but soon will be.
—Ivan
Rik is a simple-minded man who has lost most of his memories. He works in the kyrt mills of Florina, a planet oppressed by its neighboring planet Sark. Kyrt is a beloved fabric with very unique properties; it is used throughout the galaxy and only Florina can produce it. Sark's control over the kyrt trade is a monopoly and its rule over the population of Florina nothing short of slavery. When Rik's memories start to return, he realizes that he was something more than a Florinian peasant; he was once a spatio-analyst who knew something very important about Florina and the spaceways around it. Clearly, Rik's mind has been altered to keep this information from coming to light. And there are those on Sark and Florina who will stop at nothing to keep his secrets from coming out.This is another one of Asimov's Galactic Empire novels and with the others it is a space opera that takes the form of mystery. Rik goes on the run with the aid of Valona, a peasant woman, all the while wondering who he can trust. Meanwhile there are political machinations behind the scenes as interested parties from Sark, Florina and Trantor itself vie for position. But at the heart of the story, we as readers want to know what secrets lie underneath Rik's amnesia.As space opera and entertainment, the book is decent. I would rank this effort higher than "The Stars Like Dust" and just a little behind "Pebble in the Sky." Of course, none of the Galactic Empire books are as solid as the Foundation series. But as companion pieces, they're not bad. The story is interesting enough and the pages turn quickly due to Asimov's breezy writing style.What I did find interesting on this re-read was a recognition that the plot of this book is clearly being used as a metaphor for the American South (I don't recall this from when I read the book as a child). With the oppressed and (ironically) light-skinned Florinian peasants standing in for African-Americans, Asimov is making some commentary on the ludicrousness of slavery and Jim Crow laws. The darker-skinned rulers on Sark go to great lengths to keep the peasants "in their place" and make any number of derogatory assumptions about the intelligence and capability of the Florinians. But the book clearly demonstrates that inbreeding and myopia have made those on Sark unfit to rule anyone, even themselves. It is not until outside forces step in that equality can have its day.
—Mark Oppenlander
So he's lost his memory, but he's sure there's some terribly important thing he knew that he just has to tell people. And as his mind starts coming back, he finds that the black hats are chasing him and want to make sure they can shut his mouth permanently before he...I know. It's been done so many times that I'm sure you lost count years ago. I certainly have. But here's one detail I really liked. The aforementioned black hats are close behind him, he's in this deserted park, and he runs into this guy. He whips out his blaster, kills him, swaps clothes, then quickly vaporises the remains.So he escapes, fully recovers his memories, gets the message to the right place and saves the world. And then someone says, remember the guy you killed in the park when you were on the run?Um, yes, he says uneasily.Well, they continue, he was on his way to meet his wife. They first met at that exact spot, and every year they met there again on their anniversary. But now he won't be meeting her any more.Even though the end justifies the means a million times over, he's absolutely stricken by the realisation of what he's done and spends the rest of his life trying to make amends. Austin Powers did this idea too in a comic version, but Asimov was first and I thought his treatment was at least as good.
—Manny
