Customer Reviews
Foundation Series' second helping - By: Mr. Liam Edward Sharratt, 04 Aug 2008 
The secondin Asimov's `Foundation Series' differs slightly to the first bookin the fact that it is only split into two sections, with complete narratives & continuous sets of characters. However, this does not alter the pace of the storytelling & allows the reader to form longer-lasting relationships with the characters; especiallyin the second section. There are also the characteristic plot twists which we have gotten used to with Asimov's writing.
The second section entitled `The Mule' follows a newlywed couple; one a native of a planet called Haven from the Independent Trading states & the other a citizen of the Foundation. They goin search of a mysterious figure called the Mule who is intent on conquering the Foundation & uniting the Galaxy under his leadership. The fact that he is a mutant somehow allows him to manipulate eventsin his favour with the possible consequence of bringing the `Seldon Plan' to it's knees, & therefore the future of the Foundation & humanity.
Its the original "Empire strikes Back" - By: Dmitri M. A. Hubbard, 29 Mar 2008 If you consider Star Wars as George Lucas's answer to Asmiov's "Foundation" then this is very muchin the mode of Episode V. Asimov spent the first book building up his psychohistory paradigm just to knock it downin Foundation & Empire. A much darker & more intense book, downbeatin mood, & leading to the inevitable conclusionin Second Foundation.
An absolute classic from a classic of a series - By: , 03 Aug 2005 Asimov is probably the best science fiction writer to date, & the foundation series isin my opinion his finest series of books. Any science fiction fanin my opinion will love the entire foundation series including this book.
Subtle Story Development Can Lull You into Stalled Thinking - By: Donald Mitchell, 24 May 2004 Ultimately, the hardest decision about the Foundation books is to decide the orderin which to read them. Maybe I'm being ridiculous, but I think you will enjoy them more if you read themin the order they were written. If so, this is the second book. If you have not yet read Foundation, then you need to go back & do so before tackling this one.
Your other choice is to read the prequels first, then go onto Foundation. In that case, this is the fourth book you should read.
Whichever choice you make, don't read this book first.
On the surface, Foundation & Empire will seem like an uninspired playing out of Hari Seldon's vision for the future. Ah! But there's much more happening, so pay attention. When you get to the end of the book, you may find you have missed the mainstream & will have to go back. Don't worry, almost everyone has that reaction.
Asimov is a brilliant conceptual writer, but not someone who slaved over every word (in fact, he was famous for writing most of his many booksin only 1 or 2 drafts, with little editing after that). This book begins to develop the full Foundation conceptin all of its stunning beauty.
In many ways, you will be reading this book from the eyes of the first Foundation. But that's the unimportant one. The real action is with the second Foundation. Be sure to keep thatin mind.
When you meet the Mule, don't think of him as an aberration but rather as an extension of today's potential. That will make the book more interesting for you.
Many people find this book to be the least interesting one of the Foundation series. Let me warn you that reading this one will greatly increase your pleasurein the following books beginning with the Second Foundation (which is your next pleasant reading assignment).
Enjoy this irresistible series!
Hari Seldon's plan receives a kick from the Mule - By: , 27 Apr 2003 I totally liked the pattern that Isaac Asimov establishedin "Foundation," the first volumein what we know refer to as the original Foundation trilogy. Hari Seldon created the revolutionary science of psychohistory & mapped out a future for humanity that would allow thirty thousand years of barbarism between the existing galactic empire & the future one to be reduced to only one thousand years. Through the effort of the psychohistorians the Foundation was established with its encyclopedists. Then we saw the rise of the Mayors, the Traders, & the Merchant Princes, each representing a step on the path laid out with mathematical precision by Hari Seldon over the first two centuries of the millennium he plotted out.
I was looking forward to a continuing series of Seldon Crises as the Foundation played out the rise of human civilization, thinking that what we had hear with what Arnold Toynbee had done with his study of ancient civilizations extended into a future that covered an entire galaxy. But Asimov was setting us up for something unexpectedin "Foundation & Empire"; the idea was that at this stage the Foundation would be threatened by the final power play of the dying Empire. But the universe is apparently tired of Hari Seldon playing with his mathematically loaded dice & has thrown the entire plan into doubt by creating a mutant, nicknamed "The Mule." Now the Foundation, the Seldon Plan & the entire galaxy is facing a new & powerful threat.
When I first read "Foundation & Empire" I was rather dismayed at the big changein direction. But, of course, Asimov knew what he was doing. He had already proven the validity of psychohistory, at least within the context of his futuristic novel, & there really is no reason to put out another four books (at two hundred years apiece) to complete the plan. Historians might find this interesting, but Science Fiction fans were going to want more than that from Asimov. Indeed, the Mule proves to be, bothin terms of the story & the trilogy, the link between the Foundation & the Second Foundation. The Foundation trilogy is classic science fiction from the genre's self-proclaimed Golden Age, & even if the writing style seems dated or quaint, it remains a seminal series.
