Customer Reviews
Fast-paced storytelling and plot-twists to leave the reader wanting more - By: Mr. Liam Edward Sharratt, 11 Jun 2008 
Isaac Asimov's first novelin the `Foundation' series is a must read for all who enjoy science-fiction literature, & even those who would not normally read such material. The text is of a simple style, & manouvered using fast-paced storytelling & plot-twists to leave the reader wanting more after it's fairly short 240 pages. Luckily this is the firstin the original Foundation trilogy, & only a small part of the expansive 40-year Foundation Series.
The focus of the story is a group of scientists called the `Encyclopedists', who are trustin the rebuilding of the 12′000 year old Galactic Empire which is facing a long & drawn-out demise. Situated at one edge of the Milky Way, these pioneers proceed through an array of religious-scientific methods to bring about the Second Galactic Empirein 1′000 years, far short of the 30′000 predicted by their founder, Hari Seldon, if his knowledge of `Psycho-history' is not embraced to engineer this transition.
One of the cornerstones of science fiction - By: Dmitri M. A. Hubbard, 29 Mar 2008 
This book, along with Frank Herbert's Dune are the two cornerstones of science fiction. Many subsequent writers owe a debt to Foundation, which is best read within the original trilogy (Foundation, Foundation & Empire, Second Foundation. It is extremely exciting for anyone with a sense of the 'epic' questions of the fate of mankind, or for that matter, any large society or culture. A staggering achievement.
It is hard to get to the end of this work & not want to pick up Foundation & Empire.
Now I might add that I did not personally enjoy very much the subsequent "interference" with the books created by the subsequent novels - Foundations Edge, Foundation & Earth, & Prelude to Foundation. I think Asimov's idea for the story changed as he got older (certainly the "robot" angle is increasingly emphasised, which I think is to the general detriment of the series) & while I have not read much literary criticism on this topic, I would suggest the original idea was better.
Great read - By: Bobby Elliott, 06 Sep 2007 I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interestin science fiction & politics. I won't write a synopsis since other reviewers have already done that, but suffice to say that this book is short, easy to read & very thought-provoking, if a little dated.
While reading it, I kept wondering why no-one had ever made a movie out of it. It's ideal source material, with its strong plot & episodic narrative. It's like Star Wars for grown-ups. I guess the politics aren't to Hollywood's liking with its dual themes of control by religion & the avarice of royalty. Pity since it would make a truly wonderful film (or series of films). Maybe one day. In the meantime, read it!
The seed from which modern Sci-Fi grew - By: C. Ring, 18 Jun 2007 Having never read any of Isaac Asimov's Story's but knowing of his reputation, I eventually decided to take the plunge & read Asimov's Foundation. In my experience, so many books have praise heaped upon them but they never quite live up to their reviews, however that cannot be said for Foundation.
From the moment you turn the first page, you are gripped by Asimov's words, from the conversation of his characters to the description of his environments to the grandure of the story itself.
Even though Foundation was written over half a century ago, the story, the technology, eveything about it is timeless, unlike some stories that become dated, Foundation not only feels Modern & futuristic but shows no sign of age.
The Story itself is is enthralling, as you progress from the beginning, excerpt's from the Encyclopedia Galactica set the stage for the forthcoming pages, we as the reader are propelled through events that Hari seldon had Calculated to be the focal pointsin his Psychohistory of the Future. Having predicted that the Galactic Empire would fall & cause an interregnum of 30,000 years of barbaric dark ages, Hari seldon sets his Plan, the Seldon Plan,in motion to create two "Foundation's" at either end of the Galaxy to shorten this interregnum to 1,000 years. Eventually becoming the Foundations of the Second Galactic Empire.
I found myself unable to set this book down, stealing myself away only when I had reached the end of a chapter, each page left mein anticipation of what would happen next, &in only 2 evenings I had finished the whole book. And the result, I was desperate to read Foundation & Empire to find out what would happen next.
I cannot praise Foundation enough, from the word go you begin to realise where many modern Sci-fi films, shows & books have emulated many parts of their story's from, & the influence of Foundation can even be seenin some of the biggest block buster Sci-fi movies, the Planet Trantor being a world completely covered by a single city for example, emulatedin a well know 6 part movie series.
Foundation is a Joy waiting to happen to any reader willing to pick it up, I have already ordered "Foundation & Empire", & even if it's only half as good as Foundation, I will definately be reading "Second Foundation". You cannot be dissapointed with this book, anyone who says they are, hasn't actually read it.
laid the foundation for much of today's scifi - By: , 13 Jul 2004 Asimov's Foundation series was more aptly named than many suspect. Over the years it has served as an inspiration to many science fiction masterpieces, & became the benchmark by which all other epic science fiction was based. Much of today's space opera owes much to the original vast planet-spanning tale of the birth of a civilisation guided through the ages by the God-like hand of Seldon, & its testament to the enduring legacy of the work that its still as awe inspiring a tale as it was more than half a century ago. True, some of the technologies & settings are a little dated but that's not where the strength of the series lies.
If you're unfamiliar with the Foundation work, they are basically a series of short stories taking place over a number of centuries that chart the rise of an intergalactic civilisation from humble origins to a vast galactic power, & the trials & tribulations that shaped it, narrated from the perspective of its major historical figures, such as prominent civic leaders, military heroes, merchant traders, brilliant scientists etc. Underpinning all this is the strange figure of genius Hari Seldon, who predicted the whole course of future events through his discipline of psychohistory, a science that predicts the actions of whole civilisations & societies over a grand time-scale.
Each chapter starts with an excerpt from the fictional Encyclopedia Galactica on the events portrayedin the following scene as if the whole series is a look back at history from some undisclosed future. It lends a wonderful sense of grandness to the stories as well as being an original & novel way of introducing the new setting. As I mentioned earlier, each chapter takes place several decades after the previous one so characters who were 'upstart young rebels'in one story become 'noble visionaires'in the next scene, & 'legendery heroes'in the one after that. The chapters all focus on a Seldon Crisis, which are a series of predicted crises that would mark a new stepping stone to greatness, & are accompanied at the conclusion of the section by the appearance of the long dead hologram of Hari Seldon popping up every few centuries describing the events that have just occured.
The character of Seldon & the way he evolves from crackpot theorist, to brilliant but misunderstood genius, to an almost prophetic role is wonderfully moving, as are the other important characters throughout the novel, & the development of the Foundation & its gradual dominance through various means (including religion, trade & war) is spell binding. Asimov touches on many themes here: the role of religion as a tool of conquest, the magicianry associated with any highly advanced technological society, the inevitable bureaucracy that any establishment eventually succumbs to, the predictability of mob-mentality. Unfortunately, many of these wonderful themes are only lightly touched upon, which is a shame although Asimov's clear simple writing style & light humour make his work accessible to anyone.
If you can ignore the surface details & the slightly comic-bookish settings then you will enjoy one of the most pivotal & ambitious science fiction series written. I also highly recommend the two sequels.
