The Gods Themselves was published by Doubleday in 1972 and won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. The title comes from Schiller (via Asimov’s reformulation): “Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.” The novel is divided into three parts, each with a different setting and protagonist.
Part One, set on Earth, follows physicist Peter Lamont, who discovers that the Electron Pump — a device that exchanges matter with a parallel universe to produce free energy — is slowly altering the physical constants of both universes. If it continues, our sun will explode. But nobody wants to hear this, because the Pump provides unlimited free energy.
Part Two, set in the parallel universe, follows beings radically different from humans — “soft ones” who merge triadically to reproduce — and their discovery of the same danger from their side. This section was Asimov’s most ambitious attempt at depicting truly alien consciousness and sexuality.
Part Three, set on the Moon, follows Selene, a lunar colonist who helps devise a solution that saves both universes.
Asimov himself considered The Gods Themselves his best novel — the one where he pushed beyond his usual strengths (dialogue, ideas, puzzle-solving) into genuinely alien characterisation and emotional complexity.
The Para-Universe
Part Two — “The Gods Themselves” — is the novel’s most daring section and the part that earned it its awards. The parallel-universe beings are genuinely alien: they exist as “soft ones” (Rationals, Emotionals, and Parentals) who must triad — merge physically and mentally — to reproduce and to create “hard ones,” a more permanent form. Dua, the Emotional protagonist, discovers that the energy exchange is destroying her universe, but the hard ones — who benefit from the exchange — suppress her findings.
Asimov had been criticised throughout his career for writing fiction that was cerebral and emotionally flat, populated by functional characters who served as vehicles for ideas. The para-universe section was his answer: an attempt at genuine emotional and sexual characterisation in a setting so alien that human conventions did not apply. The result is not entirely successful — Asimov’s prose remains functional rather than lyrical — but the ambition is remarkable, and the alien biology is imaginatively realised.
The Political Allegory
The novel is, among other things, an allegory about the politics of energy. The Electron Pump provides unlimited free energy at a cost that is real but invisible — the gradual alteration of physical constants that will eventually cause the sun to explode. The parallels to fossil fuel dependence (or, in retrospect, to nuclear power and climate change) are transparent. Asimov’s point is that institutions, once committed to a technology, will suppress evidence of its dangers because the benefits are immediate and the costs are deferred. “Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain” — the stupidity in question is not ignorance but wilful blindness.
Critical Reception
The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel — Asimov’s first major individual novel awards, remarkably, given his stature. Critics praised Part Two as Asimov’s most ambitious writing and noted that the novel represented a significant artistic growth. Part Three, set on the Moon, was considered the weakest section — competent but conventional compared to the para-universe material.
Collecting The Gods Themselves
First edition (1972, Doubleday, New York): Boards with dust jacket.
Approximate market values:
- Fine/Fine in dust jacket: $400–$1,000
- Near Fine/Very Good jacket: $150–$400
- Signed first edition: $600–$1,500
- Without jacket: $30–$80
Value trajectory (2016–2026): Approximately 1.5× appreciation. A mid-tier Asimov collectible — more valuable than later novels, less valuable than the Foundation trilogy or I, Robot.
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate continued appreciation. The novel’s Hugo/Nebula double win and its status as Asimov’s own favourite give it permanent collector significance. Fine/Fine copies should reach $1,500–$3,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this really Asimov’s best novel? He thought so. Most critics would choose Foundation or The Caves of Steel instead, but The Gods Themselves represents Asimov’s most ambitious and most experimental work — the novel where he tried hardest to transcend his known limitations.
What is the energy exchange? Matter is exchanged between our universe and a parallel universe with different physical constants. The exchange produces energy in both universes, but it gradually alters the constants of both — in our universe, the strong nuclear force increases, which will eventually cause the sun to go nova.
Do I need to read other Asimov to understand this? No. The Gods Themselves is entirely standalone — it has no connection to the Foundation or Robot series.