The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Asimov robot re-read 2/25/21

This time, like the last time, over thirty years ago, I was struck by how Asimov could twist simple agoraphobia into two distinct branches that could cover two whole branches of humanity. One, a real-presence phobia that mimicks, if not having the motive, our current society where social-distancing is required, not actively sought-after.

Of course, then, like now, introverts tend to thrive in such situations. And Bailey, coming from an extreme extrovert society on Earth, tended to have the upper-hand when dealing with these utterly compartmentalized Solarians on their introverted home-turf.

Asimov always did have a deft hand with turning a handful of simple ideas into far-reaching sociological world-building twists.

And while the murder mystery tale wasn't particularly deep or complicated, it was quite solid.

One thing Asimov always has going for him is a very clear, always accessible style. He really shouldn't be forgotten in the annals of SF classics.

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