Ratings41
Average rating3.5
“Production was below, but consumption was above.”
The second book in the Galactic Empire series, although it can be read as a standalone novel as far as I can tell. It's a classic asimovian mistery story yet not his best. Slightly better than The Stars, Like Dust in my opinion but not enough to reach 4-asimovs and similar to the previous one in the sense of despotic rulers. Except for one, maybe, characters are flat as hell but the story itself is good and enjoyable. ⠀
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Florinians are forced to work in the kyrt fields and are treated as an inferior race by the resident Sarkites. Kyrt is a unique and extremely expensive natural plant fiber that does not grow on any planet other than Florina, making kyrt a treasure and a curse to the locals, but a source of wealth for Sark. Trantor is galaxy-wide empire with a million worlds under its belt and looking for expansion. When Rik, a spatio-analyst, discovers the terrible danger that threatens Florina, political and economic stability hang by a thread.⠀
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Unless Pebble in the Sky it's a 10-star book, I can confirm that this series is the weakest.