Source Texts
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Text 1
Isaac Asimov, author of Nemesis and The Stars, Like Dust, is highly regarded despite his mediocre writing style. His prose is workmanlike; his characters are flat and discuss ideas rather than emotions. That his work is enjoyable despite this is a testament to his prodigious imagination—even if people read his books only for the ideas, they will have plenty to consider.
Text 2
Asimov is critiqued for his style, but it is wrong to fault a writer for failing to do what he never intended to do. For example, although most of his novel Foundation consists of people discussing science and politics and we find out little about his characters' lives, Asimov wanted to convey the vast sweep of human history over centuries, and one of his points is that at such a timescale, individuals don't matter. Thus his lack of characterization is central to Asimov's thematic aims.
Isaac Asimov, author of Nemesis and The Stars, Like Dust, is highly regarded despite his mediocre writing style. His prose is workmanlike; his characters are flat and discuss ideas rather than emotions. That his work is enjoyable despite this is a testament to his prodigious imagination—even if people read his books only for the ideas, they will have plenty to consider.
Text 2
Asimov is critiqued for his style, but it is wrong to fault a writer for failing to do what he never intended to do. For example, although most of his novel Foundation consists of people discussing science and politics and we find out little about his characters' lives, Asimov wanted to convey the vast sweep of human history over centuries, and one of his points is that at such a timescale, individuals don't matter. Thus his lack of characterization is central to Asimov's thematic aims.