les as and when possible with the least intrusion. Asimov uses various devices for info-dumping to avoid monotony. The first one that we encounter is the use of metatext, the Encyclopedia Galactica, which not only informs the reader but is also the ultimate point of reference. Extracts from this invented encyclopedia introduce some characters of the novel and give glimpses of the kind of world, with its social and political milieu, in which they live. Also, the use of an encyclopedia strikes the reader as a scholarly approach, in keeping with the 'logic' strategy, while serving an important narrative function. The second device is the most commonly used one; that of the authorial voice, but Asimov takes care never to overuse it. Instead, he uses conversation, where at least one of the characters is either young and inexperienced, or does not conform to the prevalent ideas of that society. Gaal Dornick is a provincial boy who is visiting Trantor for the first time and (like the reader) does not know much about it. It is natural for him to ask questions and the answers that he gets inform the reader
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