Pebble in the Sky

Asimov's firsst full length novel is no spectacular masterpiece, but still is a solid enjoyable read. It was a change to see a middle-xaged sedentary man as the hero for once, and the story was engaging enough. I was reading Zelazny's This Immortal at the same time, and there was a similar theme, a post nuclear war badly radiated earth, much of the population fled to other planets as second class citizens, outsiders in control of the earth. A nicely developed plot here, with a few surprises, though the characters are as usual rather cardboard, and there is quite a bit of coincidence. There was an obligatory stilted romance, though it was of interest in the prejudices the young archaeologist hero had to overcome to accept one of the despised earth citizens as a worthy lover. All in all a good effort from the young Asimov, and a pleasant read.