195th out of 1,969 books
—
9,099 voters
Foundation and Earth (Foundation #5)
by
Isaac Asimov
The fifth novel in Asimov's popular Foundation series opens with second thoughts. Councilman Golan Trevize is wondering if he was right to choose a collective mind as the best possible future for humanity over the anarchy of contentious individuals, nations and planets. To test his conclusion, he decides he must know the past and goes in search of legendary Earth, all refe...more
Mass Market Paperback, 528 pages
Published
December 31st 2010
by Spectra
(first published 1984)
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Fondazione e Terra è un romanzo fortemente sociologico, attraverso i suoi personaggi Asimov spesso intavola una discussione fatta di contrapposizioni tra la collettività in senso positivo, rappresentata da Galaxia e Gaia e dall'individualità, che secondo Trevize è una forza propulsiva ma che indubbiamente porta gravi bilanciamenti (la crimininalità e la violenza).
Come libro sé stante è un trattato socio-filosofico e un romanzo di fantascienza sociologica affascinante, ma considerando i pregressi...more
Come libro sé stante è un trattato socio-filosofico e un romanzo di fantascienza sociologica affascinante, ma considerando i pregressi...more
The last of the Foundation books in order of sequence and the best book of the series. Reading about it online some people complain about the lack of an ending that satisfies questions brought up in the series but I think it ends splendidly. I also felt that we have a great conclusion to the question of why Earth and Gaia, the purpose of the Seldon plan and what the Robots were doing and why. I can't think of a better conclusion even 500 years before the end of the 1000 years "promised"...more
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I won't even read the other reviews first (I know from real life what people think of this book compared to the others in Asimov's Foundation series), but it's the only Asimov on my "Favorites" list, and as such it sorta represents the whole Foundation series to me, and deserves to represent because it's proof that a writer can finish a series with no loose ends in a reasonable amount of time SO DAMNED WELL.
(The prequels, I'm not including in the Foundation series; they're ...more
(The prequels, I'm not including in the Foundation series; they're ...more
I really wanted to give this book like a four, but upon further reflection I just can't. Foundation and Earth is the conclusion of Asimov's masterpiece Foundation Series (I haven't read the two prequels yet) and it takes the series in a completely new direction. Which is wonderful, and also problematic. The Seldon Plan and the Galactic Empire on which the series were founded become side notes, mentioned in parenthesis and trivial in the wake of Golan Trevize's solving the ultimate human myste...more
This book by Isaac Asimov is fascinating in two ways--first, it is the last of the Foundation series; second, it is another link between two of the greatest series in science fiction, the Foundation series and the Robot series. As always with Asimov, there are the irritating things--his characters get talky, plot sometimes breaks down, and there is a certain discursive quality to his writing that does not always serve movement of the story well. However, by this point in his career, Asimov was c...more
Following "Foundation's Edge" Asimov continued writing a strong narrative with interesting characters. The character development isn't prize-worthy, but it is a big improvement over the original Foundation trilogy. I also give Asimov credit for not doing what so many writers do, which is to have their characters ignore what should be some very obvious issues. If there is something that could be dangerous, the intelligent Trevize is appropriately cautious. That is not to say the charact...more
I was hoping Asimov would move the Foundation story forward with this one, but he ended up writing the longest novel of the series that spanned only a few months of the 1,000 year period. The story is about people searching for the legendary birthplace of humans and it was fun to see them try to unwrap the myths and actually find earth, but the story was ultimately unsatisfying and a bit boring.
Hey, I finally finished another book series I started years ago! This time I've finished Foundation and Earth, the seventh and final book in Asimov's Foundation series. Well, yeah, other authors have written books set in this universe, and, well, yeah, this wasn't the last book he wrote in the series, but it IS the last one chronologically.
The Foundation books can really be broken into three different groups - the main Foundation Trilogy consists of Foundation, Foundation and Empire,...more
The Foundation books can really be broken into three different groups - the main Foundation Trilogy consists of Foundation, Foundation and Empire,...more
Spoiler Alert!
Foundation And Earth is the final volume in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation saga and it attempts to not only wrap up that particular story stream, but to merge it with the Robot story stream which also occupies a significant portion of Asimov’s fiction.
For fans that have followed the Foundation story to this point, there are a lot of fascinating details that will delight. The most obviously compelling thing about the book is that Asimov is looking back on his lit...more
Foundation And Earth is the final volume in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation saga and it attempts to not only wrap up that particular story stream, but to merge it with the Robot story stream which also occupies a significant portion of Asimov’s fiction.
For fans that have followed the Foundation story to this point, there are a lot of fascinating details that will delight. The most obviously compelling thing about the book is that Asimov is looking back on his lit...more
La scrittura è fluida ed il libro si lascia leggere facilmente. Ho trovato affascinante l’approccio, per così dire, scientifico con cui vengono descritte le tecnologie ed affrontate le nuove scoperte: mezzi di trasporto, pianeti sconosciuti, nuove culture di diversa natura. Ci si troverà dunque a riflettere su modi di vivere differenti dal nostro e chiedersi fino a che punto si possano accettare e rispettare certe tradizioni, per noi ingiustificate o barbare.</p>
Come nei romanzi precedenti
...more
• Like most of the other Asimov books I’ve read this book was very intelligently written. It makes you feel smarter after reading it. Asimov teaches you things about the galaxy and about interactions between different types of people that you may overlook in normal daily life. As far as the story itself, I thought it was very entertaining. It moved quickly. It had different possibilities, and not always the best one happened. And, at the end, there was a very sentimental character that was...more
Asimov's universe is complex, and filled with the cynical--yet realistic--aspects of human life. For a man who studied chemistry and biology, he seems to understand a lot of the human condition and none is best illustrated than in his Foundation and Robot Series.
Foundation and Earth, the final chapter in his universe, sinks the reader into an established galaxy in chaos and turmoil. Half way through the predictions made by Harry Seldon, the Scientific Foundation on Trentor is met wi...more
Foundation and Earth, the final chapter in his universe, sinks the reader into an established galaxy in chaos and turmoil. Half way through the predictions made by Harry Seldon, the Scientific Foundation on Trentor is met wi...more
This is the most awesome series I ever read. Any science fiction fan should read this series. It is miss-marked. The first 3 books in the foundation series stand alone and IA claimed he did not intend to continue them.
These final 2 books were written many many years after the original 3. They are actually a continuation of the first 3 and the Robot series.
That means, before you read this one and the 4th book in the Foundation series, make sure you read the book...more
These final 2 books were written many many years after the original 3. They are actually a continuation of the first 3 and the Robot series.
That means, before you read this one and the 4th book in the Foundation series, make sure you read the book...more
This closing book in the Foundation series was a disappointing end for an otherwise decent series. This book felt like a rehash of the previous four books, with lots of boring dialog, little action, and none of the clever intrigue from the earlier stories. Trevize had potential to be an exciting (if barely likeable) character in the fourth book but this book only manages to solidify him as a cantankerous jerk. It ends with an interesting idea, but many of the fun questions posed along the que...more
Certainly a let-down from Foundation's Edge, which I consider to be the best of the five Foundation books. (I'm not including the two prequels.) This book was a bit of a bore due to the constant intellectual argument-for-argument's sake between Golan Trevize and Bliss about whether or not "Galaxia" is the right choice for the universe.
The parts that succeeded were the individual explorations of the original "spacer" planets, each in isolation for 1,000s of years. H...more
The parts that succeeded were the individual explorations of the original "spacer" planets, each in isolation for 1,000s of years. H...more
Another feeble addition to the Foundation series. To be fair, the prose was good in places but in others it reached heights of Asimovian mediocrity: at one point, a character notes that their ship is ''rather farther'' than he thought from a planet. The dialogue is stilted and tedious as usual: after the four-hundredth page of pseudo-Shakespearean banter between the three main characters I was considering using the book as a missile of some kind. See also the chapter entitled ''New Earth'': h...more
So, this series won the Hugo Award for Best All Time Series the only year the award was given out before the series was even finished! While I don't agree with choosing favorites, this series has seriously grown on me. Not only because it spans a wide range of time, characters and space, but because it really shows the journey of one man and his writing. The most striking part about this series is the way Asimov's writing becomes tighter, more efficient, evocative and emotional. From a series of...more
Ouch, what a disappointment. I had really enjoyed the plot and characters of "Foundation's Edge" and was looking forward to finishing up the series with this book. Most of the books in the series have their flaws, but are generally pretty entertaining. This final volume has a series of problems.
The plot: There is just enough plot here for a short story. The crew is searching for earth. Why? I forget, and Asimov doesn't remind us, opting instead for pages and pages of...more
The plot: There is just enough plot here for a short story. The crew is searching for earth. Why? I forget, and Asimov doesn't remind us, opting instead for pages and pages of...more
I amb aquest llibre arribo al final de la relectura de la Fundació. Hi tornaré. D'aquí a un temps, que espero que no sigui tant com aquesta vegada.
Fundació i Terra és un llibre que normalment no té massa bones crítiques, suposo que perquè el final, després de totes les aventures, és una mica brusc i en voldries més.
Però a mi m'agrada aquesta búsqueda de la Terra, com es van acostant, seguint pistes, i trobant diversos móns, cada cop més propers. Com et fa pensar en què...more
Fundació i Terra és un llibre que normalment no té massa bones crítiques, suposo que perquè el final, després de totes les aventures, és una mica brusc i en voldries més.
Però a mi m'agrada aquesta búsqueda de la Terra, com es van acostant, seguint pistes, i trobant diversos móns, cada cop més propers. Com et fa pensar en què...more
The last book chronologically in the Foundation series which surprisingly has very little to do with the Foundation.
This story revolves around Trevize, the main character from Foundation's Edge. Trevize is searching for information on the origin planet of all humanity, Earth. There's the typical traveling adventure stories but it gets pretty interesting when they finally find earth and realize that there's been a major player in the universe for the last 20,000 years who's been mani...more
This story revolves around Trevize, the main character from Foundation's Edge. Trevize is searching for information on the origin planet of all humanity, Earth. There's the typical traveling adventure stories but it gets pretty interesting when they finally find earth and realize that there's been a major player in the universe for the last 20,000 years who's been mani...more
Well, I've finally come down from my Asimov high. Books 1-4 are outstanding, highly recommended. Unfortunately I can't say the same for book 5.
In the Foreword to the book, the history of the series is explained, and it's quite interesting. However, it is also mentioned that for this book, the publisher changed the rules, and required a minimum of 240,000 words (far longer than any of the previous 4 books). It shows. :( Though the story and characters are still there, this artif...more
In the Foreword to the book, the history of the series is explained, and it's quite interesting. However, it is also mentioned that for this book, the publisher changed the rules, and required a minimum of 240,000 words (far longer than any of the previous 4 books). It shows. :( Though the story and characters are still there, this artif...more
Another enjoyable read from the Foundation series. The book describes the adventures of a trio of characters we met in the previous book. Their journey in search of Earth takes them to several worlds, many unlike any they've seen before. Their visits brings about healthy discussion on the nature of humanity and the best future for the Galaxy. The book ties up many loose ends and delves into the history and motivations that brought about the state of the Galaxy and the events that triggered the f...more
El protagonista de Límites busca una razón para convencerse a sí mismo de que la decisión que tomó para la Galaxia es la adecuada. Emprenderá de nuevo su búsqueda de la Tierra, a travesando la galaxia para llegar a los mundos del Amanecer, y finalmente a la Tierra. En nuestra familiar Luna, encontrará la respuesta a sus pesquisas: la Galaxia debe ser Una para que el plan Seldon de resultado.
Es una soberbia conclusión al Ciclo de la Tierra de Asimov (risas enlatadas). No, mentiras, pero sí e...more
Es una soberbia conclusión al Ciclo de la Tierra de Asimov (risas enlatadas). No, mentiras, pero sí e...more
I was greatly looking forward to this book because I was somewhat dissatisfied with the ending of Foundations Edge, and this book was supposed to help justify it. Unfortunately, this book spent a lot of time on tiring conversations between the two main characters on the same subject. The conversations seemed to be constantly finding new deceased horses to pummel. As such, the book dragged in parts. Most of the book seemed to be killing time before getting to Earth and resolving the questions...more
This one got even more philosophical than the last. It was enjoyable, and it was good to see the conclusion of Foundation & Empire explored further (and I did enjoy the characters' disbelief at the possible descriptions of Earth and its solar system). However, there was a lot of arguing between characters that felt unnecessary. Then again, I thought that way at first with Brothers Karamazov, and that grew on me. If you read the Foundation trilogy, make sure to make your way through Foundation & ...more
If you are into in depth on going sci-fi dialogue while actually being enlightened while reading on the basis of astronomy and astrophysics, Foundation and Earth is for you. For any curious reader, Golan Trevize's search for Earth and it's lost contents is what propels the reader into reading more. Asimov has a very interesting way of making the description of the universe so simple, but yet so complex and so vivid in the reader's mind. Considering the book was written in the late 80s, it gives ...more
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click here.
I liked this one the best in the series. Of course I still have the 6th one to go. However that one is a prequel to the very 1st of the Foundation series and I'm guessing will be more about Hari Sheldon and how he came up with Psychohistory.
This one was written 40 some years after the original series and after many other books including his robot stuff. So no surprise perhaps that robots have a part in #4 and 5 whereas they didn't show up in the first 3. The disappointment is that it ...more
This one was written 40 some years after the original series and after many other books including his robot stuff. So no surprise perhaps that robots have a part in #4 and 5 whereas they didn't show up in the first 3. The disappointment is that it ...more
I just can't do it.
I can't finish this book. If I could sum up Foundations Edge and Foundation and Earth in four words, it would be "Massive (Expletive Deleted) Disappointment".
If you liked Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth more than the original three, you sir or madam are an idiot. Stop reading Asimov, right now. For all of you who thought they were better because they had a continuing narrative, stop reading old science fiction. It's not for you. G...more
I can't finish this book. If I could sum up Foundations Edge and Foundation and Earth in four words, it would be "Massive (Expletive Deleted) Disappointment".
If you liked Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth more than the original three, you sir or madam are an idiot. Stop reading Asimov, right now. For all of you who thought they were better because they had a continuing narrative, stop reading old science fiction. It's not for you. G...more
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Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.
Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards, and he has works published in ni...more
More about Isaac Asimov...
Professor Asimov is generally considered the most prolific writer of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards, and he has works published in ni...more
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