The Naked Sun (Asimov's Robot #3) by Isaac Asimov

I must of picked this up at a thrift store or similar cheap place for used books. Who knows how many years this has been in my possession.

The Naked Sun (Asimov's Robot #3) by Isaac Asimov

A really nice thing about my read every book we own project is that I get to discover masterpieces hiding in place daylight on our book shelves. And The Naked Sun is a masterpiece.

My first time reading an Isaac Asimov novel and wow!... what a writer! Asimov invented the sci-fi mystery sub-genre after hearing it couldn't be done.

There seems to be confusion as to whether this the 2nd or 3rd in Asimov's Robot series. Goodreads says it's number 3; Wikipedia says it's number 2.



It does appear to be second of three novels featuring Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw. Baley is a NYC detective in his 40s. Olivaw is a robot that he has been partnered with once previously. 

Set 3000 years in the future, they are sent to one of the colonized planets to investigate a murder. The colonized planets have become much wealthier and more powerful than Earth and look down upon the inhabitants of Earth as inferior.

A totally masterful work. I liked the subplots and how Asimov shown a light on them. Asimov knew his readers were reading for leisure. When a character or subplot comes back around, he reminds us of what we read earlier. Much nicer than having to constantly page back looking for what I've forgotten. 

The story, the plot, the characters, and the settings are all excellently constructed and presented. As I was reading it, I was blown away by how good this book is.