Very much enjoying finally reading these (and surprised that it seems I never had, or had done so so long ago that I’d forgotten).

The scope of the series, in both time and distance (galaxy and century spanning) still impresses. While Asimov’s women don’t entirely escape his sexist conceits, they have more agency and personality than in the first book. And I still love how easy he makes the writing seem, even when switching between the narrative and the various dialects of the characters, especially Magnifico’s near-Shakespearean floridity.