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Foundation and Earth (Foundation (Publication Order) #5)

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 18,993 ratings · 293 reviews

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

Paperback, 528 pages

Published August 31st 2004 by Spectra (first published January 1st 1984)

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Apr 03, 2009 Kevin Slater rated it 5 of 5 stars

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" us from...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Francis Gahren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

Foundation and Earth (1986) is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation Series and chronologically the last in the series.

Plot introduction

Several centuries after the events of Second Foundation, two citizens of the Foundation seek to find Earth, the legendary planet where humans are said to have been originated. Interestingly, even less is known about Earth than was the case in Foundation, when scholars still seem to know the location of 'Sol'.

The story follows...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone in the Foundation Series

Shelves: sci-fi

While I am going to read "The End of Eternity" to wrap up my 8 month Asimov Expedition, Foundation and Earth is the true conclusion to the Foundation Universe. It is left unfinished - the concept behind the Foundation has been disassembled by an Asimov who seems to have tired up the original idea, finding, instead, more outlandish pet philosophies to promote. The Galaxy, and, for the first time, Universe at large, is left in a state of tension. In a (perhaps intentional) stroke of irony, the the...more While I am going to read "The End of Eternity" to wrap up my 8 month Asimov Expedition, Foundation and Earth is the true conclusion to the Foundation Universe. It is left unfinished - the concept behind the Foundation has been disassembled by an Asimov who seems to have tired up the original idea, finding, instead, more outlandish pet philosophies to promote. The Galaxy, and, for the first time, Universe at large, is left in a state of tension. In a (perhaps intentional) stroke of irony, the the series ends with the future uncertain, despite every attempt to control and predict it.

Asimov began intentionally consolidating his three great series', the Robot Novels, The Empire Novels, and the Foundation Series later in life. The attempts were occasionally labored, and damage was done to each in an attempt to synthesize them into a greater whole. But I read each of these novels in succession. If there was anyone who would appreciate the coherency of the Asimov Foundation Universe, it was meant to be me. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and am sad to be done with them.

Foundation and Earth, itself, is fine. I enjoyed it - maybe not quite as much as the first 3/4th of Foundation's Edge, but certain far more than the miserable prequels. This particular book REQUIRES a fluency in the Robot Novels for it to make sense. Asimov has a queer manner in which he incorporates his seemingly benign stories into the mythology of the future - his world was THE world for those living 20,000 years after the Robot Novels, and the stories that he had written 50 years earlier become the legends told by his later characters. I find it implausible that humankind would forget Earth, but remember Detective Elijah Bailey after twenty millennia...I didn't even find him particularly interesting in his own time. But I guess having your best bud turn into the true Deus ex Machina has its benefits as far as your legacy goes. Whatever the case, Foundation and Earth leans heavily on Asimov's previously laid framework. It is a child of his Universe.(less)

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Mar 22, 2013 Wesleyaboyer rated it 1 of 5 stars

I loved the first 3 foundation novels. But this one, and to a lesser but still significant extent, the previous one, were awful.

Have you seen the first season of the tv show 24?

It follows various characters through 24 straight hours of an action packed day. Jack Bauer, the main character, is doing whatever the main plot of the season is, saving the president or whatever.

All the while, as filler, other things are happening. The worst of all are the ridiculous storylines following his daughter, wh...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Πέτρος rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is more like the second part of the same story, as unlike the previous books it picks up immediately a few months later instead of doing yet another century-long time-skip and dealing with different characters.

In this book what is mostly addressed is if the Foundation’s masterplan is at fault for simply trying to return the galaxy back to its earlier state instead of trying to improve it further. This is where the Gaians from the previous book come in and intend to establish a hive mind th...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Tim rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm about to read the prequels, but as of now, this is the worst of the 5 foundation books i've read. I'll start positive, and say I like the characters. Looking back at the first foundation book, when you may only have 50 pages with a set of characters, and that 50 pages would be almost entirely devoted to weaving a complex plot, it certainly is a huge improvement so spend basically 1000 pages with the same set of characters, almost forming a buddy-buddy situation in which I actually cared abou...more I'm about to read the prequels, but as of now, this is the worst of the 5 foundation books i've read. I'll start positive, and say I like the characters. Looking back at the first foundation book, when you may only have 50 pages with a set of characters, and that 50 pages would be almost entirely devoted to weaving a complex plot, it certainly is a huge improvement so spend basically 1000 pages with the same set of characters, almost forming a buddy-buddy situation in which I actually cared about the characters. Bliss was a good addition as well, because I felt she acted as great character foil for Golan when they argued. The arguments also did a good job of exploring the themes of individuality and unity.

Where this story was poor was the plot. I didn't like the fact that Foundation's Edge took the plot beyond the Seldon Plan, but at least in that book the two foundations were a large part of the story, and the epic showdown at the end was well set-up. Here, they set out to look for Earth (again) for poorly justified reasons. One could say Golan's opinion that he'd find what he wanted to find was an acceptable reason because he's always right, but personally I never bought into that idea that he has some magical talent to be right. Not to mention the fact that it was demonstrated to be wrong several times.

And the idea of searching for Earth isn't what bugged me. Originally, I found the concept of them stumbling upon our planet to be intriguing. But to me, the book was devoid of anything interesting. Certainly not enough to justify its 500 page length. I mean it draaaged. I've come to view the Foundation series as a slow one, but that never bothered me because I still found it enjoyable and intriguing. Here the story could progress for a long time without any discovery of interest being made, which may be the idea the characters were supposed to feel, but in other Foundation books it is what kept me hooked to reading them as the new information constantly unfolded.

The ending was fairly poor as well. Daneel Olivaw, I understand, is an important character in the greater Foundation universe, but still it just seemed so, lame. I mean compare it to a book like Foundation and Empire, when it was revealed Magnifico was the Mule, and Asimov did such a good job of justifying it and making sense of it by looking at many oddities in the story. Here, it was basically like "Yeah, those few things that went in you favour, I helped you". It concluded with Trevize siding with Galaxia, which was already decided in the previous book, making this story pretty much useless, except now we there's a freaky hermaphrodite child with transducer lobes who will now help steer the galaxy. I also wished for a lot more Earth, which maybe is unfeasible due to already established ideas in the Asimovian universe, but barely any discoveries were made which shed light on our world, which was disappointing.

Also, I criticize the end discovery of Golan. I liked how he tried to use a flaw in psycohistory to justify Galaxia, as this actually was relevant to the Foundation story. Unfortunately, the idea he came up with was the possible existence of aliens from other galaxies, something that wasn't hinted at or thought of until the last few pages. Bullshit. Overall, good characters, but they couldn't save this overlong book from being stale.(less)

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Jan 26, 2012 Prashanth rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Two men from the Foundation, and one lady from Gaia go about searching for earth that holds secrets to why Trevize chose Gaia model over Seldon's model of second empire.

I/I alone (this is in reference to I/We/Gaia blah) do not find this exciting. Trevize seems to be just out of high school, and is really, really lucky to stay alive. His companion Pelorat is a good-natured, simplistic, absent-minded professor. Bliss seems to treat Pelorat as her pet-dog, and is out to protect the above two with n...more Two men from the Foundation, and one lady from Gaia go about searching for earth that holds secrets to why Trevize chose Gaia model over Seldon's model of second empire.

I/I alone (this is in reference to I/We/Gaia blah) do not find this exciting. Trevize seems to be just out of high school, and is really, really lucky to stay alive. His companion Pelorat is a good-natured, simplistic, absent-minded professor. Bliss seems to treat Pelorat as her pet-dog, and is out to protect the above two with nothing but a psychological connection to home planet through hyper-spatial space/time warp. As with other early SF (this was published first in 1983), this turns out to be not so interesting for adults now. However its pointers to sexual encounters proves to be a risque for kids (albeit in a gentlemanly way - good-old fashioned behind the curtains, or shall we say with a rose in front of the kissing couple? (joke ref: indian movies of the 80s).

More than a few factors don't stick:
1. Taboos dont stick for long. "Robots are bad" has been around for 20,000 years, and what more - humans dont know robots except for in the legends.
2. Computing is grossly under-estimated, which leads to some frustration. Our hero toiling away in front of computers - charting out routes seems to be his favorite pass-time. Probably the human element in the calculation assures us that there will be space-ship pilots around even after 20k years.
3. Humans still look up to a robot savior, which is now aspiring to put its intelligence in a human creature that doesn't like other humans (yes, the human is referred to as 'it' - it is whole, no problem)
4. Though the robot had an initial stake in gaia, and is convinced that gaia is the future, why would it still want a leadership in this 'it'. i/we/gaia dont like someone outside to rule.

A bigger planetary organism with convenient placements of various species and non-living things down the chain is indeed an interesting concept. Whether humans will accept the lack of privacy and losing identity for common interests (like Trevize seems to point out 1000 times) is indeed worth pondering. I am of the opinion that the general factors driving humans are to live, flourish and multiply (the higher order humans are sadly almost non-existent). Any outsider other than self is competition, and shall be treated accordingly. Yes, sacrifices are made, there are millions of exceptions, and so on - but the contributed living certainly requires fundamental changes to the way humanity is (or will be), even 20k years from now.
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Mar 05, 2011 Tracey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, sci-fi-best

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 optional, and I didn't...more

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Sep 09, 2009 Nicholas rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: npr-s-top-100-sci-fi-fantasy

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 mystery...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 mystery in the story line: Where is Earth and why can't people find it any more. I have to admit, I loved the mystery and I loved the futuristic archeology, mythbusting and history work that went into the characters finding the planet and unraveling its mysteries. But the writing was just not A+ typical Asimov.

Golan Trevize becomes increasingly annoying. He is arrogant, pedantic, self-absorbed and just plain mean spirited. Hardly four pages go by when he doesn't have a philosophical argument with Bliss about whether or not its better for humanity to remain isolated individuals or to join together in a superorganism that spans the galaxy, giving up their individuality and humanity to become something far bigger and better. It's repetitive, esoteric and slows down the pace of the story for no good purpose. Once the argument is outlined, at the end of the last novel in the series no less, he then proceeds to beat the dead horse into a bloody pulp until I found myself, quite frankly, skipping pages. It got really old. Asimov also uses Trevize to give mini-astronomy lessons, which altogether weren't that bad and interesting. But he makes Trevize talk in this Sherlock Holmes sort of way where he's always giving the deductive and inductive evidence for every decision he makes - again annoying. "I decided we should go to Planet X because A) I'm hungry, B) the Stars align every so precisely in that direction, C) the women on the planet might be hot, D) the computer in it's complex model has illustrated a design flaw in the universe that intrigues me because: D1) the laws of physics forbid such anomalies, D2) blah, blah, blah, blah. You get the picture.

This novel was a plot success and a failure in the execution. I think that's my main problem with a lot of the "bad" books I read. People have good ideas and then muck it all up. I think by this point Asimov was really doing fan-service and really had no idea where the heck he was going with it. In fact, his wife comments in the afterword that he never wrote a sequel because he didn't know how to finish it, so he wrote the prequels instead. I can understand this. The plot shift at the end is dramatic and way out of left field. It's intriguing and quite genius and has enormous potential. It's a shame it couldn't be developed further. But this particular installment is in it's character development and dialogue is atrocious. Wikipedia it to clear up the mystery and move on with life.(less)

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Jun 19, 2009 Steven Peterson rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 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 capable at developing characters (and it shows here) and had otherwise grown greatly as an author. And, as ever, he was capable of developing big picture, galaxy-wide concepts that challenge the reader to think about things in a new way.

The work begins with Golan Trevize having already made his fateful decision to impel the galaxy to move toward a major superorganism to be called Galaxia, with its model the planet-wide Gaia superorganism. In that, he turned his back on the vision of either the Foundation or the Second Foundation being the model, with Hari Seldon's vision being transcended by another. In that sense, this really is not a Foundation novel (maybe an anti-Foundation work?).

However, he is troubled about his decision and wants to understand better his decision, be sure that it is the right one. So, he begins what might be called an Odyssey, along with his friend Pelorat and his friend, Bliss, a part of Gaia. That sets up an almost Socratic dialogue among the three as they move from planet to plant, trying to find answers--including the location of the mythical home planet of humanity, Earth. The discussions sometimes slow the forward movement of the novel, but they do elaborate the various views of where humanity and the galaxy ought to go.

After revisiting some places that will be familiar to readers of the Robot series, the trio finally arrives on Earth, by then a dead planet. And they meet an old friend of every Asimov fan in a way that produces an upbeat ending and a resolution as to where humanity will go, with that character promising to be a guiding hand, working behind the scenes, to help produce that future.
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Apr 29, 2013 Sparrow rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is really more 3 and a half stars. Parts of this I liked a lot. I liked the whole search for earth storyline. And of course Daneel... and Fallom. But parts I just.... really didn't like.... the whole diversion of New Earth and Travize's sexual escapades were unnecessary and dumb. Having Bliss and Pelorat being romantically involved was dumb. Would have liked a female character there in their own independence without always having to be some romantic item. But she turned into a decent charac...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Todd rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

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 characters don't...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Artur Coelho rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dos livros da série Fundação que tenho vindo a ler, este é o que me desperta uma reacção mais contraditória. Se nos leva a adensar a cosmologia do universo ficcional das obras, deixa quase totalmente de lado o vasto tabuleiro de jogo que caracteriza a série e acaba por parecer uma forma algo amarfanhada de interligar o universo de Fundação com outras vertentes da obra de Asimov.

Foundation and Earth inicia-se onde termina a obra anterior e o seu mote é o desvendar do mistério que acaba por domina...more Dos livros da série Fundação que tenho vindo a ler, este é o que me desperta uma reacção mais contraditória. Se nos leva a adensar a cosmologia do universo ficcional das obras, deixa quase totalmente de lado o vasto tabuleiro de jogo que caracteriza a série e acaba por parecer uma forma algo amarfanhada de interligar o universo de Fundação com outras vertentes da obra de Asimov.

Foundation and Earth inicia-se onde termina a obra anterior e o seu mote é o desvendar do mistério que acaba por dominar os principais personagens de Foundation's Edge: a busca pelo berço ancestral da humanidade, o planeta Terra. Não é uma demanda simples. A localização do planeta foi perdida, esquecida e deliberadamente apagada dos registos das civilizações que abarcam a galáxia. Apenas restam informações díspares em mitos e superstições, pequenos indícios que levam o triunvirato de personagens que dominou o livro anterior a uma viagem pelos locais ocultos da galáxia. Tarefa simples graças a um artifício narrativo que coloca nas suas mãos uma nave avançada com um sistema revolucionário de propulsão capaz de se deslocar numa fracção de tempo do utilizado pelas restantes naves espaciais. Artifício que funcionou bem em Foundation's Edge, mas que soa demasiado... artificial (passe a expressão) neste livro.

As aventuras acabam por se desenrolar como se o livro fosse uma daquelas incongruentes séries televisivas de FC em que em todos os episódios os heróis enfrentam novas ameaças sempre em diferentes planetas. Em busca da localização da Terra os personagens descobrem e visitam mundos ocultos na galáxia, cuja colonização data dos primórdios da expansão humana. Os mundos encontrados são metáforas patológicas do destino humano. Um encontra-se em dissolução ecológica, com a humanidade extinta e entregue a matilhas de cães. Outro é o paraíso dos solipsistas, habitado por um género humano que vive isolado em vastas propriedades, evoluiu para o hermafroditismo e preza tanto a individualidade e isolamento que recusam o contacto entre si para mais do que o estritamente necessário, e mesmo assim apenas por via remota. O terceiro mundo recorda o futuro distante de A Máquina do Tempo de Wells, com as ruínas de uma civilização avançada cobertas de musgo. O último é um paraíso arcádico na orbita de Alpha Centauri cujos habitantes não hesitam em infectar estranhos com vírus mortais para se manterem ocultos do resto da galáxia. Solipsismo, isolacionismo e decadência reforçados até ao eventual assassínio de estranhos que por acaso ou curiosidade se deparem com as costas malditas destes mundos que optaram por se isolar do resto da humanidade.

No final do périplo encontra-se o graal planetário, o berço da humanidade. É uma desilusão para o leitor, que talvez imagine que Asimov nos reserve para a sua visão de futuro longínquo uma futura Terra habitada por sábios e evoluídos humanos, anciães galácticos que debaixo dos plácidos céus azuis e rodeados dos artefactos que preservam a memória da imensa história observam os netos espalhados pela galáxia. Mas o autor não segue esse utópico caminho, mostrando-nos um planeta inacessível debaixo de radioactividade e um segredo oculto sob as crateras lunares.

É nesta revelação final que cai mais um elemento que desilude. Essencialmente Asimov tenta interligar o mundo de Fundação com outras das suas obras, particularmente as séries sobre robótica, com um novo personagem. Um robot literalmente milenar com capacidades psiónicas, que revela que tem estado a tentar influenciar a história galáctica através dos milénios e atrai os personagens do livro à Lua para desvendar o destino final da humanidade: evoluir para uma galáxia sentiente capaz de se expandir no universo e evitar possíveis invasões de civilizações extra-galácticas. É uma intrigante premissa, certamente inspiradora de épicas space operas, mas que após todo o brilhantismo de múltiplos significados, intrigas intricadas e evolução humana como um enorme jogo de xadrez que caracteriza a série Fundação este final a tentar interligar narrativas díspares soa como um corpo estranho enxertado à força.

Foundation and Earth é, dos livros da série que já li, aquele que parece mais forçado. Abandona os grandes temas deste universo ficcional e centra-se na busca de um berço ancestral da humanidade mas a demanda parece forçada, casual e demasiado dependente de artifícios narrativos. Os personagens e ambientes ficam-se pelos estereótipos, longe da fluidez imaginativa das obras anteriores e o infodump reina. Ao invés de conclusão, fica-se como um enxerto que tenta ligar diversos universos ficcionais do autor. (less)

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Apr 01, 2013 Aditya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

And the final book of the Robot-Foundation series is done. I must say am really not happy with the ideas presented in his final book or two. The move towards Gaia and all. My own emotions are still very conflicting - am a bigger fan of the robot series than the foundation, so (view spoiler)...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Diana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed this series and only wish I could have the experience of reading it again for the first time. Books #4 & #5, written nearly 40 years after the first books in the series, were amazing for their fluid continuity, depth and suspense. There was also a marked increase in the attention to individual characters which only furthered the immersive feel of the story. Sure, there were some unanswered questions and whatnot, but I wouldn't say they detracted in any way...m...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Norm Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Science Fiction Fans

Shelves: adventure-suspense, mystery, science-fiction

Foundation and Earth ends my revisit to the 15 novel, space opera, by Isaac Asimov, read in the suggested chronology by Mr. Asimov. Collectively I'd give the series 5 stars yet I know the best I've given any of the individual novels is no more than a 4.

Foundation and Earth begins immediately after Foundation's Edge and it is a story of a search for a reason the Foundation Councilman Golan Trevize made a galaxy changing decision in the previous novel. Tortured with uncertainty about his decision,...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Chip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Picked this up at the library sale after realizing I had never read beyond the original Foundation trilogy (this would be book 5 of the trilogy). It sat next to the couch for a few days before I picked it up to read a few pages while waiting to leave -- and as soon as I returned picked it back up and read it through in one sitting. I haven't read Asimov in 20 years, but wow - it seemed like yesterday. Asimov doesn't waste a lot of time with flowery descriptions of settings, and some of the dialo...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi

I really liked it. It was really interesting encountering the different people from other worlds how much they have changed. Although it didn't seem like it at first. The author definitely touches on a lot of gray areas that he just talks about and doesn't make any hard conclusions, which is nice. Trevize and Bliss got on my nerves. Probably because they were both extremes that I do not believe it and it was frustrating listening to them bicker with each other. I'm definitely more along the line...more

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Jun 11, 2007 -uht! rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

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.

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Nov 14, 2012 Katie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Here's what I was waiting for, a more in-depth search for Earth, and getting to chuckle at the characters saying that a planetary system with a gas giant with enormous bright rings and a habitable planet with a huge satellite was pretty much impossible. Fun to think about the unique beauty of our solar system. And there was plenty of questioning of the weird new age Gaia crap, though it was never completely shot down. There was also the illustration of how going to far in the other direction and...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Tim Giauque rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

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, and Second...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Katie Konrad rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have been listening to the Foundation series audiobooks, read by Larry A. McKeever, over the past few months. Considering the first Foundation novel was written in 1957 - and this particular one 1986 - I can't help but feel humility curling about my bones as I attempt to formulate a conducive analysis of this series, let alone this book.

Foundation and Earth is unique in the series as it continues the adventures of the characters from the previous book - all other Foundation novels span hundred...more

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Aug 07, 2012 kingshearte rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fiction, sci-fi

After finally encountering elements that were vaguely familiar in the last book, I was once again lost in a sea of unfamiliarity with this one. I seem to recall the Bliss-Pelorat relationship a bit, and that was mostly developed here, so maybe I read this one? And this one was the one that was on the list I was working from, so surely I read this one. Assuming I did, though, I do now understand why I thought I was quitting before actually finishing the series (there is actually still Forward the...more After finally encountering elements that were vaguely familiar in the last book, I was once again lost in a sea of unfamiliarity with this one. I seem to recall the Bliss-Pelorat relationship a bit, and that was mostly developed here, so maybe I read this one? And this one was the one that was on the list I was working from, so surely I read this one. Assuming I did, though, I do now understand why I thought I was quitting before actually finishing the series (there is actually still Forward the Foundation, but chronologically, it falls earlier in the series), because the ending of this one, although it resolves the plot points of this book, does leave a pretty open door for continuing the story, and I can see myself not really feeling inclined to continue in that direction.

But the rest of it. Yeah, I just don't know. What's especially weird to me is that not only do I not remember anything about the series as a whole, I didn't really even enjoy it all that much, which is disappointing, because I distinctly remember that I did enjoy it when I read whatever portion of it I read before. True, I'm 20 years older now, but I just thought it would hold up. I didn't hate it; I just found it a bit tedious, with not particularly well-drawn characters, and not particularly well-executed plot lines. Even the main one, as someone else pointed out, is kind of tossed aside for the deus ex machina of Gaia at the end of the previous book, and that is disappointing. You spend all this time, through all these books, setting up psychohistory as the basis for the future, and then just toss it aside for something entirely different. I guess I just don't feel like it really lived up to its promise, and that's too bad.

Also, Trevize gallivanting across the Galaxy, Kirking it up in a big bad way? Really, Asimov? Was that necessary? And I'm sorry, but having Bliss call him on it doesn't absolve you from that particularly eyeroll-inducing set of mini sub-plots.

I was intrigued enough by the robot stuff that came up in here to be potentially interested in reading that series, but I think I'll be giving the Asimov a rest for a while.(less)

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Apr 01, 2011 Paul Baker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

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 little universe from 20,000...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Martin Hernandez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, american-authors

La última parte del Ciclo de las Fundaciones, me pareció un cierre sensacional a la historia. La Saga de la Fundación es una serie de por lo menos 16 libros escritos por Isaac ASIMOV en los años 1942-1957 y 1982-1992 (año de su muerte), textos que esbozan (según sus propias palabras) una especie de historia del futuro. Se trata, en verdad, de una ficción tecno-sociológica donde los artefactos tecnológicos, fundamentalmente los robots, condicionan la organización social de modos que sorprenden e...more La última parte del Ciclo de las Fundaciones, me pareció un cierre sensacional a la historia. La Saga de la Fundación es una serie de por lo menos 16 libros escritos por Isaac ASIMOV en los años 1942-1957 y 1982-1992 (año de su muerte), textos que esbozan (según sus propias palabras) una especie de historia del futuro. Se trata, en verdad, de una ficción tecno-sociológica donde los artefactos tecnológicos, fundamentalmente los robots, condicionan la organización social de modos que sorprenden e incitan a la reflexión.
En la saga se aborda y desarrolla la primera y reñida expansión humana en la Galaxia mediante la colonización de los primeros mundos espaciales, la lucha de éstos con la Tierra por el predominio galáctico, la derrota final de los espaciales a manos de los colonos terráqueos, la decadencia de la Tierra (Tierra/Saga de la Fundación) como planeta civilizado por efecto de una radiactividad inducida, la gran diáspora que significó la huida de la población humana de la Tierra y su dispersión por la Galaxia, la colonización de millones de mundos por la humanidad, la formación del Imperio Trantoriano, su conversión en Imperio Galáctico y la decadencia del mismo. En paralelo a esto se narra el desarrollo de la ciencia robótica y la influencia que los robots tienen sobre las sociedades humanas. Un momento clave y decisivo es la creación del robot R. Daneel OLIVAW, personaje mítico que abarca con su presencia explícita o velada toda la Saga. El Imperio, formado originalmente por la expansión de los seres humanos en el espacio exterior (origen del que se ha perdido la memoria), agrupa millones de planetas de nuestra Galaxia. Su decadencia sucede en un futuro muy lejano y el planteamiento central es el problema de evitar el dolor y la destrucción de vidas y bienes que se producirá con la desaparición de su sistema absolutista de gobierno galáctico. Para minimizar el daño, ya que la caída del Imperio es inevitable, se crean dos poderosas organizaciones: una pública (la Primera Fundación) y otra secreta (la Segunda Fundación). Situadas en extremos opuestos de la Galaxia, servirán de promotores de la gestación de un Segundo Imperio Galáctico. Las medidas a tomar son las dictadas por una ficticia ciencia aplicada, la psicohistoria, que permitirán reducir el inevitable período de caos a sólo mil años. La Saga se cierra con un enlace entre el ciclo de los robots y el de la Fundación propiamente dicha, mediante la exposición del plan Gaia-Galaxia de Daneel OLIVAW, como respuesta a la necesidad de hacer frente a una hipotética invasión alienígena.
No se trata de burdas historias de monstruos verdes con ojos saltones ni de vaqueros espaciales. El rigor científico con que están escritos sus libros se refleja, por ejemplo en las frecuentes citas de la ficticia Enciclopedia Galáctica, monumental obra que recopila los saberes de todos los habitantes de la galaxia. En todos los libros de la Saga, ASIMOV enfatiza la importancia de los factores culturales y ejemplifica maneras de promover los positivos y de eliminar, atenuar o sortear los negativos.(less)

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Jun 21, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

Several hundred thousands of years in the future, two citizens of the Foundation, Pel and Trev, seek to find the planet of human origin called Earth. At each step that brings them closer to Earth, they are met with danger, wonderment, and forms of human life more culturally alien to them than they anticipated.

Geriatric sex, hermaphrodites, robots, hive mind, and plenty more sex. What a departure from the other Foundation books in the series; neither in a good or bad way. I have to admit I enjoye...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Giacomo Boccardo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

Come nei romanzi precedenti della sag

...more

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Apr 12, 2012 JJ rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 02, 2010 Tamcamry rated it 5 of 5 stars

• 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 broug...more

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Mar 28, 2009 Alexander Z rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 with another c...more

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About Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and 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. He has works published in nine of the te...more Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and 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. He has works published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (lacking only an entry in the 100s category of Philosophy).

Asimov is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered one of the "Big Three" science-fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He penned numerous short stories, among them "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time, a title many still honor. He also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as a great amount of nonfiction. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.

Most of Asimov's popularized science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include his Guide to Science, the three volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery.

Asimov was a long-time member and Vice President of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs" He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, a Brooklyn, NY elementary school, and two different Isaac Asimov Awards are named in his honor.

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Isaac Asimov. (2007, November 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:50, November 29, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?t...(less)

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