Review: Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus

Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus 
by Isaac Asimov

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus / 1421049260

I enjoy Asimov's Lucky Starr series very much, but this novel is definitely my favorite. I particularly love the "Sherlock Holmes meets Space Opera" feel of the series, right down to tall, wiry Starr/Holmes and his beefy, obtuse sidekick Jones/Watson.

The plot of "Oceans of Venus" follows the usual-yet-delightful Lucky Starr mystery format. Something is quite wrong at the lovely underwater station on Venus -- Lucky Starr's friend and fellow councilman has been accused of serious crimes, and the Venusian settlers are behaving very oddly. Can Starr solve this mystery under the sea without being drowned or crushed to death by the ocean's immense pressure?

The details of Venus, though in retrospect wrong, are delightful to see here in Asimov's vivid writing; it's extremely interesting to see how science has marched on and what it has learned in the meantime about Venus' surface and climate. The fictional Venusian ocean is beautiful and exotic, and will draw the reader in instantly with its rich, vibrant life -- it's almost a shame, really, that Asimov's original vision didn't pan out to fit with the facts as we know them now.

I truly love this novel as a wonderful nostalgic treat on a rainy day. If you like scifi and Sherlock Holmes and haven't been introduced to the beauty of Lucky Starr, definitely check this novel out. I only wish it were available in eBook form.

~ Ana Mardoll

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