Foundation

Isaac Asimov

Considered by many to be the greatest science-fiction series of all time (at least the original...more

Considered by many to be the greatest science-fiction series of all time (at least the original trilogy). In the far future, psycho-historian Hari Seldon has created an avenue of mathamatics that can predict the general sweep of future history. Seldon predicts the Galactic Empire will fall, leading to a long period of chaos and barbarism. But Seldon has a plan--create a society and storehouse of the civilization and knowledge of the Empire to help shorten the gap to possibly only a 1000 years. This is the Foundation. But Seldon has a different plan for the Foundation, one that he keeps secret from the Empire that creates the Foundation as well as the scientists who become a part of it. The story examines the creation of the Foundation and two of the first several crisis the Foundation faces. It also looks at how the Foundation becomes the only nuclear power in the known universe and creates a form of religion in order to consolidate its power base over the various kingdoms and factions that come onto the scene. Asimov has created a fascinating future history, populated by interesting characters who all have plots within plots. The story features political mechanizations, power grabs and the creation of various factions, kingdoms and empires within its short 250 or so pages. The story holds up well, even though it's not as focused on characters as many of todays' sci-fi stories are. But it's still a good read and one that I enjoyed.    hide

One of the reasons this book is a classic must be its influence over so much science fiction that...more

One of the reasons this book is a classic must be its influence over so much science fiction that came after it. But like so many creative works at the beginning of movements, Asimov's "Foundation" is primitive in comparison to later examples in the genre. The first two-thirds of the book are gripping. Asimov is clearly writing about ideas here, and the ideas are interesting enough: that the lifespan of empires and social systems are similar, no matter the millennium or the duration of the system. The arc of the story is clearly and unabashedly taken from the fall of the Roman Empire. Asimov's thesis caused me to initially forgive such flaws as lack of characterization and perfunctory dialogue. Unfortunately, by the last third -- or maybe as early as the story's middle -- the shorthand description of characters and endless pages of spoken exposition (which is often repeated from earlier chapters, revealing the seams of short stories that were later joined to make the novel) wore away my generosity of patience. The final straw was the brutal misogyny. For two-thirds of the book, female characters are almost non-existent. Later, the only women in the story are giggly, gullible bubbleheads or vindinctive, shrewish wives. That the book was originally published in the early 1950s is not an excuse for such a simplistic and binary view of women. Complex female characters, written by men and women authors, had long been a staple of fiction. I'm told that the next book in the "Foundation" series is better than this first. My hope is that it must be.   hide

Finally found just the original and in great condition! I think that the story was actually harmed...more

Finally found just the original and in great condition! I think that the story was actually harmed by the fact that I expected so much from it. I'm left disappointed, but the story is actually quite solid. Told from the perspective of different people along Seldon's predicted timeline of Empire collapse - it still has quite a bit to say about modern society and life on the edge of a former Empire. The only weak point is the characterization. All of the main people are men, culturally white, ambitious men. There are only brief forays into the beauty of tech, usually alongside the practical and always as part of a trading ploy. Only once does a character describe the failure of a power ploy in the past. It seems that the losers fade away into the background and never try to stick another fork in. I wish conflict was ever that simplistic. But still, is a fascinating read and one of the best philosophy courses that you can get your hands on to look underneath the skirts of society and culture and think about what's really behind the school board, state representation, and presidential propaganda. Is this a tempest in a teapot or a turning point for the better? Who knows - it might be a "Seldon crisis."   hide

I have long heard that the Foundation novels are THE science fiction series to read, but for some...more

I have long heard that the Foundation novels are THE science fiction series to read, but for some reason never got around to it until a long train ride across northern India this week. And now I'm a believer. While some have called the Foundation books a sci-fi epic, I like that Asimov is able to establish relevant concepts and dilemmas for each section very quickly (unlike other "epic" fiction). Most writers are incapable of telling a coherent story with this kind of sparse precision; Asimov excels at it.   hide

This is brilliant. The writing is very terse and devoid of flowery descriptions or emotional...more

This is brilliant. The writing is very terse and devoid of flowery descriptions or emotional baggage, in fact most of the writing is straight dialogue, there's no romance and there's actually not that much in the way of "action" either. Yet it still managed to captivate me, I found it totally engrossing and loved every word. I read the book in one sitting and immediatley went out to find more Asimov. I find it hard to explain what it was, exactly, that I found so appealing about this book, but I didn't want to put it down. All I can think to say (and it really doesn't do it any justice) is: it is very, very clever. Part speculation, part history lesson, part study of human psychology. It really works.   hide