Pebble in the Sky [Paperback]

This is the world where Joseph Schwartz, a complacent and mild-mannered tailor, finds himself after being catapulted forward in time as a result of an accident in a nuclear lab in mid-20th century Chicago. He soon meets two brilliant scientists: Dr. Bel Arvardan, who is intent on proving that Earth is humanity's birthplace, and Dr. Affret Shekt, physicist and inventor of the Synapsifier, which can boost intelligence in astonishing ways. They team up to foil a plot that could destroy nearly every human alive in the Galaxy.

The book is not without weaknesses. The future science that drives the plot is often a bit dodgy and far-fetched. Schwartz is propelled into the future as a result of an experiment with crude uranium gone freakishly awry, but how exactly this happens is never explained. Nor does Asimov convincingly describe how the biological WMD at the heart of the plot could actually spread across the Galaxy so quickly without the many technologically-advanced worlds of the Empire discovering a way to stop it. Then there is some of the dialog. Even though most of the book takes place so far in the future that humans have evolved miniature appendices and no longer grow facial hair or wisdom teeth, the characters sometimes lapse into dialog reminiscent of American slang straight out of a bad 1950s detective novel. Dr. Arvardan, for example, after knocking down an obnoxious Galactic lawman who has slapped him, asks: "Any other .. think he can play pattycake on my face?" Ughh. These weak spots make suspension of disbelief a bit challenging at times.

As with the other books in the trilogy, however, Pebble's strengths outweigh its shortcomings. It is a worthy addition to Asimov's pre-Foundation future history and a fun read to boot.

A man named Joseph Schwartz is for no reason warped in time to the far future when the Trantorian Empire (introduced in The Currents of Space) has conquered and brought general peace to the entire Milky Way galaxy. The novel takes place wholly on Earth but the Earth of the future is a shattered and largely radioactive planet that bears little resemblance to what it is today. There is no space travel in this book.

After the random time travel event, Schwartz proceeds to acquire superhuman powers and uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the Empire, helped by a couple people who really just end up being the supporting cast for Schwartz's show. The viewpoint of this book is interesting: the "good guys" are the vast and powerful galactic Empire and the "bad guys" are some militant activists on Earth!

Overall, this book was a letdown after The Currents of Space, my favorite of the seven Asimov novels I've read so far. Still, it gives you an interesting perspective on the Empire at the peak of its power. From what I've heard, the Foundation series is where the Empire begins to crumble. So read the Empire series if you want to get a better idea of what life in the early Trantorian regime was like!