The Gods Themselves
1972 novel by Isaac Asimov
The Gods Themselves is a 1972 science fiction novel written by Isaac Asimov, and his first original novel in fifteen years (not counting his 1966 novelization of Fantastic Voyage). It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1972, and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1973.
The book is divided into three main parts, which were first published in Galaxy and Worlds of If as three consecutive stories.
Overview
The book is divided into three sections; the first set on Earth, the second set on a planet in a parallel universe, and the third set on a lunar colony.
In the first section, the book opens at chapter six to give context to the other chapters, and alternates timelines. Thus, the flow is Chapter six overview of Chapter one, then Chapter one. Next, is Chapter six overview of Chapter two, then Chapter two. Following chapter three to five, chapter six then concludes, and the story proceeds with chapter seven.
The main plot-line is a project by those who inhabit a parallel universe (the para-Universe) with different physical laws from this one. By exchanging matter from their universe—para-Universe—with our universe, they seek to exploit the differences in physical laws.
“The Gods Themselves” enters the record as 1972 novel by Isaac Asimov. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Gods, Themselves and novel can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“The Gods Themselves” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Gods, Themselves and novel provides the most credible route into that argument.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q389750. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972, 1966 and 1973.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “The Gods Themselves” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.