Foundation
by Isaac Asimov
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recommended to Tom by:
Me Mums
recommends it for: Anyone who has a grain of interest in Sci Fi
recommends it for: Anyone who has a grain of interest in Sci Fi
I highly recommend Foundation to anyone who professes to have a grain of interest in Sci-Fi. The political intrigue, religious undertones, innovative sci-fi thoeories, world building, and epic scope make Foundation one of the most worthy reads of speculative fiction.
The premise is that the genius, Harry Seldon, has created and perfected a new science, phychohistory, a form of advanced statistics, to the degree that he can mathematically predict and guide the future of extremely large popula...more
The premise is that the genius, Harry Seldon, has created and perfected a new science, phychohistory, a form of advanced statistics, to the degree that he can mathematically predict and guide the future of extremely large popula...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
history and science students
I enjoyed the first book because its theories were new and intriguing. The second book just waded about, repeating itself, with a mutant variable thrown in. I liked the third book because it felt like something actually happened. It’s as if the first book is the word problem, the second book is the solving of it, and the third is the answer. I wonder if he intended this to be a trilogy when he started or the long series that it became. Asimov didn’t ever really write a novel with any of it. ...more
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Isaac Asimov is responsible for one of my favorite quotes (though not from this book):
"If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them."
And that ends up becoming one of my biggest problems with this book, that despite the implication of that quote, the entire premise of this book is based on solving problems through ignorance.
People cannot be permitted to undertake the study of "psychohistory" because knowledge of it would alte...more
"If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them."
And that ends up becoming one of my biggest problems with this book, that despite the implication of that quote, the entire premise of this book is based on solving problems through ignorance.
People cannot be permitted to undertake the study of "psychohistory" because knowledge of it would alte...more
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Read in January, 2008
The far, far future. The great centralized Galactic Empire is crumbling under its own weight, roughly following the path of the Roman Empire towards feudalism and eventual renaissance. It's lighter fare than it sounds, mostly hitting the big points in a short story that spans centuries, antagonists changing with the generations.
"Foundation" starts a tad slow for me, but just a couple chapters in I was hooked. It's an amazing book if only for its progression through periods of peace...more
"Foundation" starts a tad slow for me, but just a couple chapters in I was hooked. It's an amazing book if only for its progression through periods of peace...more
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A classic series I've re-read a few times over the years. I went through them quickly and have enjoyed the whole series each time.
In some ways in the same category as Dune with its broad use of history, science, and speculation in a culture of the future- long after man has left Earth for multiple planets. This is the first of several volumes. Off the top of my head, I believe there are five more. They are all on the bookshelves here somewhere.
My favorite concept is that an entire planet ...more
In some ways in the same category as Dune with its broad use of history, science, and speculation in a culture of the future- long after man has left Earth for multiple planets. This is the first of several volumes. Off the top of my head, I believe there are five more. They are all on the bookshelves here somewhere.
My favorite concept is that an entire planet ...more
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Read in April, 2007
thx to Arvin yang merekomendasikan buku ini untuk gue baca. Dan gue jadi suka ama cerita yang kayak beginian (science fiction maksudnya) walaupun tidak 100% mengerti bagaimana hal-hal "ajaib" itu terjadi.
Yang membuat buku ini menarik adalah mengenai situasi bumi yang sudah bukan lagi satu2nya planet yang bisa dihuni. Ada buanyak. Dan salah satu tokoh yang mempengaruhi karakter yang muncul ini adalah seorang psycho-historian. Sangat menarik buat gue, mengetahui bagaimana ilmu psikolog...more
Yang membuat buku ini menarik adalah mengenai situasi bumi yang sudah bukan lagi satu2nya planet yang bisa dihuni. Ada buanyak. Dan salah satu tokoh yang mempengaruhi karakter yang muncul ini adalah seorang psycho-historian. Sangat menarik buat gue, mengetahui bagaimana ilmu psikolog...more
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Read in July, 2007
In science fiction, one is certain of encountering ideas, and the degree to which these ideas are fascinating, compelling, or challenging determines to a large extent the credibility of the fictional world and the work's quality. However, the sci fi reader is less certain of experiencing other literary elements such as, say, characters with emotions, vivid settings other than planet surfaces or spaceship interiors, or women. Asimov's first novel in the Foundations series follows this schematic...more
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One of the great books of science fiction. Brilliant plot, great characters, and one of the most memorable quotes of all sci-fi: "violence is the last refuge of the incompetent". The first section reads slowly, but its worth sticking with it because the book as a whole is spectacular.
SPOILER ALERT - THE FOLLOWING IS A TRUE STORY, BUT CONTAINS ELEMENTS OF THE BOOKS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE ENTIRE SERIES (AND ARE PLANNING TO) STOP READING N...more
SPOILER ALERT - THE FOLLOWING IS A TRUE STORY, BUT CONTAINS ELEMENTS OF THE BOOKS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE ENTIRE SERIES (AND ARE PLANNING TO) STOP READING N...more
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Read in January, 1981
Although firmly entrenched in the rationalist science field, Asimov nevertheless had his toes in a number of waters (?)
In the Foundation series future history, he hearkens to the the collapse of the western Roman empire and the chaos, savagery and superstition that ensued for a millenium.
One reason sometimes given for the extraordinary length of the Dark Ages was the sack of Alexandtia nad, with it, the collosal repository of classical knowledge at its library.
For Asimov, the Foundat...more
In the Foundation series future history, he hearkens to the the collapse of the western Roman empire and the chaos, savagery and superstition that ensued for a millenium.
One reason sometimes given for the extraordinary length of the Dark Ages was the sack of Alexandtia nad, with it, the collosal repository of classical knowledge at its library.
For Asimov, the Foundat...more
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Essential science fiction reading, "Foundation" contains the first short stories Asimov published revolving around a concept in which he took "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," moved it 10,000 years into the future (literally), and proposed a fall of a Galactic Empire. Perhaps more impressively, Asimov managed to make an octogenarian mathematician into an iconic hero in Hari Seldon, bestowing his champion with the ability to predict the future using mathematics and ...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone that thinks they like scifi even a little
This is truly great science fiction. From the beginning you will notice (if you're a nerd like myself) elements of this book that subsequent scifi franchises have borrowed from. The book itself is broken up into five parts. It was originally published in pieces in the 1940s era scifi magazines. This is, never-the-less, a classic scifi novel.
The basic plot is that the galactic empire is in decline. But the people have become complacent and don't even notice the stagnation of science an...more
The basic plot is that the galactic empire is in decline. But the people have become complacent and don't even notice the stagnation of science an...more
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Considered by many to be the best science-fiction series of all time, an opinion I agree with, this is the first of what would eventually become a multi-book storyline written throughout the adult life of Isaac Asimov. Ultimately it's the tale of "psychohistory," a branch of science in the future that says that the future can be predicted, given a large enough population sample (an entire planet at a minimum), and that these people don't know they're being studied. The founder o...more
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Read in October, 2002
Although Foundation has been on my list for years, I must confess that for some reason I didn't think I would ever really read it. Don't ask me why, but it seemed everytime I would see it I would leave it and buy something else. Well, the mood hit me right one weekend and I thought, oh why the
hell not? and picked up a nice used copy of the Foundation trilogy. Yes, this is a trilogy, and you are well advised to either get this series in one package or have the next book in hand as you finish F...more
hell not? and picked up a nice used copy of the Foundation trilogy. Yes, this is a trilogy, and you are well advised to either get this series in one package or have the next book in hand as you finish F...more
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The unfortunate truth is that the Foundation books just aren't very good and don't deserve the mounds of praise heaped upon them.
Asimov's characters are uninteresting and essentially interchangeable. I feel like he never quite learned what real people are like. His dialog is cringe-inducingly bad.
He got a little better at this later in his career, but as of Foundation he was very young and these problems were present in full force.
This one I've given 3 stars; it's a lot of fun desp...more
Asimov's characters are uninteresting and essentially interchangeable. I feel like he never quite learned what real people are like. His dialog is cringe-inducingly bad.
He got a little better at this later in his career, but as of Foundation he was very young and these problems were present in full force.
This one I've given 3 stars; it's a lot of fun desp...more
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Read in October, 2007
Okay, it's settled. I do not like Isaac Asimov.
(I also do not like Scott Brick, who was the narrator on this as well as I, Robot. He's so . . . flat.)
He just can't write a story. He has these (admittedly interesting) ideas of what the future might be like, and in order to tell us about it, he attempts to write fiction. And FAILS. Miserably. Every scene is some boring dude speaking derisively to some other boring dude. There's no im...more
(I also do not like Scott Brick, who was the narrator on this as well as I, Robot. He's so . . . flat.)
He just can't write a story. He has these (admittedly interesting) ideas of what the future might be like, and in order to tell us about it, he attempts to write fiction. And FAILS. Miserably. Every scene is some boring dude speaking derisively to some other boring dude. There's no im...more
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Read in January, 1995
recommended to Amanda by:
Bob
I read the Foundation series on the recommendation of the same friend who recommended Stranger in a Strange Land and I don't take book recommendations from him anymore. Actually, the Foundation books are okay. Some little things bothered me:
In the future when they have "atomic" (nuclear powered) everything, the thing they talk about all the time is the atomic powered ash tray. You have harnessed the power of the atom and the only thing you can think to do with it is dispose of...more
In the future when they have "atomic" (nuclear powered) everything, the thing they talk about all the time is the atomic powered ash tray. You have harnessed the power of the atom and the only thing you can think to do with it is dispose of...more
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Read in December, 2007
I had to go back and read Foundation after being so disappointed in Prelude to Foundation. I am happy to report that Foundation is every bit as good as I remember it being the first time around.
It is basically a set of short stories that follow various periods of times after the fall of the Empire where psychohistorian Hari Seldon mathematically predicted what came to be known as "Seldon crises" for his fledgling Foundation. It follows various leaders as they navigate these crise...more
It is basically a set of short stories that follow various periods of times after the fall of the Empire where psychohistorian Hari Seldon mathematically predicted what came to be known as "Seldon crises" for his fledgling Foundation. It follows various leaders as they navigate these crise...more
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Well, Asimov has been criticized (by himself, among others) for the style of writing in this book. He basically sets up the conflict, then skips the part when it was resolved and shoots you through to the next section where you have to reconstruct how things played out.
He may not have liked it, but I dug it. It reminded me of greek plays where the violence happens offscreen. In his later Foundation novels, Asimov writes it all out for us and it isn't nearly as good.
Anyway, I'm rambling. ...more
He may not have liked it, but I dug it. It reminded me of greek plays where the violence happens offscreen. In his later Foundation novels, Asimov writes it all out for us and it isn't nearly as good.
Anyway, I'm rambling. ...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
science fictioneers, psychology fans, history buffs
I first read this when I was 16, and it changed my life, giving me a whole new take on history and psychology and even math. I even tried a year as a psych major in college to see if the statistical approach was really the answer. Forty years later, I read it again, just to see what effect it would have. What I noticed was that the plot was carefully staged and not "fair" (in that the writer often kept some secret informaiton up his sleeve that the reader didn't know, but still it w...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in April, 2008
My parents have owned this book since before I existed, so I really have no excuse for not starting this series sooner. The story is fantastic and is extremely well written. The only complaint that I have is that the huge jumps in time mean that every new section has completely new characters and my incommensurate brain had trouble keeping up with them all; not to mention they all had crazy futuristic space names that I wouldn't even try to pronounce in the secrecy of my own home. A solid pro of...more
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