You can challenge it all you want, but this book will always be considered a classic.

However, I have the same issues with Asimov's writing that you do. He's that type of old school writer who is more enamored with ideas than he is with character or story. His writing can feel very stodgy and dull, and that's why I think he will always fall behind Arthur C Clark and Ray Bradbury on my list of great classic science fiction authors.