Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Foundation's Edge (Foundation (Publication Order) #4)

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 21,546 ratings · 329 reviews

At last, the costly and bitter war between the two Foundations had come to an end. The scientists of the First Foundation had proved victorious; and now they return to Hari Seldon's long-established plan to build a new Empire on the ruins of the old. But rumors persist that the Second Foundation is not destroyed after all & that its still-defiant survivors are preparin...more

Paperback, 450 pages

Published December 31st 2010 by Bantam/Spectra (first published 1982)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

137th out of 2,946 books — 12,390 voters

Hugo Award Winners

29th out of 68 books — 734 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 04, 2013 Clouds - (¿head-in-the?) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-series, locus-sci-fi, hugo, science-fiction, reviewed

Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.

On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me.

While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became...more

like 11 likes · see review

Apr 11, 2008 ttrygve rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was, like its predecessors, an enjoyable story. I enjoyed the premise for it, the pacing, and even the characterization is very much improved over the earlier Foundation novels (however little that may be saying).

But I cannot review this book without spoiling it. So read no further if that bothers you.

The real shortcoming is that Asimov abandons (at the very end) the first two foundations to have yet a third organization secretly pull strings from behind a curtain. I get that they're benevo...more

like 5 likes · see review

Oct 06, 2012 Martin Hernandez rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, american-authors

Escrita 29 años después de la publicación del último libro de la Trilogía de la Fundación, Segunda Fundación, y 32 años después del primer relato de Fundación, Los límites de la Fundación supone el retorno de Asimov a la continuación de la saga. Según el propio Asimov, en el prólogo escrito para Fundación y Tierra en 1986, "los aficionados [...] me pidieron que continuase la serie. Les dí las gracias, pero seguí negándome. [...] Pero Doubleday se tomó aquellas peticiones con mucha más seriedad q...more

like 2 likes · see review

Mar 31, 2013 Eric rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those who just finished the trilogy

Shelves: sci-fi

First off, I had to hide the book whenever the Nanny came over, because the cover made it look like I was reading a soft-core romance novel, only with a spaceshp in the background and the name ASIMOV in big letters. Guys named ASIMOV don't write romance novels - and when they try (which is a little bit too often for his books out of the 80s and 90s), it's really crummy.

But, Foundation's Edge! A 5?! It's probably not really a 5, but then again, Forward the Foundation was probably not really a 3 (...more

like · see review

Nov 30, 2012 Derek Davis rated it 5 of 5 stars

I didn't plan to read the "later" Foundation books because most attempts to reinvigorate an early, highly successful series (and except for "Lord of the Rings," no original series of the '50s and '60s was as successful as the Foundation trilogy) usually leave you somewhat embarrassed for the author.

Not here. Rather than trying to reanimate the sword-and-hoopla of much of 1950s SF, Asimov writes us a 450-page logical argument. You might think that would be enough to give Socrates a headache, but,...more I didn't plan to read the "later" Foundation books because most attempts to reinvigorate an early, highly successful series (and except for "Lord of the Rings," no original series of the '50s and '60s was as successful as the Foundation trilogy) usually leave you somewhat embarrassed for the author.

Not here. Rather than trying to reanimate the sword-and-hoopla of much of 1950s SF, Asimov writes us a 450-page logical argument. You might think that would be enough to give Socrates a headache, but, as the master storyteller he always was, Asimov keeps you hanging on every unexpected but perfectly reasoned turn of plot.

By "logical argument" I mean a warring of intensely bright minds trying to one-up each other's motivations and uncover the structure behind a constantly reorganizing viewpoint of political and social organization.

Roughly 200 years after the original stories, the Foundation has taken peaceful control of nearly half the galaxy's million colonized worlds. The Foundation believes that the secretive Second Foundation has been exterminated, but we (of course) know that it still lurks on the former Empire home world of Trantor, controlling the unfolding fate of the galaxy through subtle but benevolent mind-tuning.

There's no need to list more facts, because this is not a fact-based novel. It's a constantly unfolding and interfolding of ideas through the truly deft use of mind games. And it works only because Asimov created superb characters who speak to each other not in didactic paragraphs but in a genuine attempt to explain the situation to each other. We, the readers, are but eavesdroppers.

One thing from the original series remains the same, and it's always seemed both silly and endearing to me. Despite the fact that the galaxy is home to a quintillion human beings (or, one royal shitload squared), their fate always hangs on tiny a handful of isolated minds, who meet two or three at a time out behind some planet where any two spaceships can always conveniently find each other, like neighborhood rudeboys dreaming up a heist in the parking lot of the Pep Boys' warehouse. (less)

like 1 like · see review

Aug 25, 2012 Πέτρος rated it 2 of 5 stars

After the collapse of the galactic empire, the second Foundation is preparing the way for a second empire to emerge in some centuries and restore the civilization to the galaxy. But something is amiss, as there seems to be another powerful group of telepaths out there that stand in their way.

This book was written decades after the initial trilogy, so it has a far more mature way of writing. The characters feel a bit livelier and there are far more descriptions around technologies and the galaxy...more

like · see review

May 24, 2012 David Sarkies rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

In this review I would like to give an outline on Isaac Asimov, not because the book is bad, or boring, but because I felt that somewhere I should give an outline of the author and the the first commentary on one of his books is a good place to start. I will write a bit about this book, but the thing is that this book is a sequel to what I consider to be Asimov's best work of science-fiction, and unfortunately, as can be expected, the long awaited sequel (written almost thirty years after the o...more In this review I would like to give an outline on Isaac Asimov, not because the book is bad, or boring, but because I felt that somewhere I should give an outline of the author and the the first commentary on one of his books is a good place to start. I will write a bit about this book, but the thing is that this book is a sequel to what I consider to be Asimov's best work of science-fiction, and unfortunately, as can be expected, the long awaited sequel (written almost thirty years after the original trilogy) does not (and cannot) live up to what I consider to be the pinnacle of his fiction.
Isaac Asimov was a prolific writer, and in fact he wrote much, much more than the science-fiction stories that we are all familiar with. In fact wikipedia says that he has written at least one piece in each of the ten major categories of the dewey decimal system (though his piece in the 100s is a forward to a book on humanism, though I must admit that this still counts). I remember when I was wondering through the religious section of the Barr Smith Library (the Adelaide University Library) and discovered a two volume book written by him which was a commentary on the bible. Now, the reason I found that interesting is that one of the main arguments that Christians love to use is that atheists have gone out of their way to disprove the bible, and everybody who has attempted to do this have ended up becoming a Christian. Well, speak about over generalisation, especially since when I do it for a small thing they will jump down my throat. In fact, I actually really admire Asimov for writing these books because it is very clear that he would have read the bible to write the commentary, despite the fact that he was an atheist.
Asimov's science-fiction writing can be divided into two sections, the first (and his better period) between around 1940 and 1955 and the second period from 1980. From what I have discovered, Asimov stopped writing science-fiction after the Russians launched Sputnik and focused more on writing non-fiction. Asimov was a scientist, a biologist I believe (oh, and he was also born in Russia, but emigrated to America early on). In a way I do find the man to be very impressive, since despite being a scientist, he made his fame writing fiction, and pretty damn good fiction at that. In his first period you will find most of his famous books such as I Robot and the Foundation Trilogy (though I Robot is a collection of short stories that he wrote much earlier, all of them about robots).
If you are familiar with Asimov though you will notice a significant difference between his earlier and his later writings. In many ways Asimov is the quintessential philosopher, and while one might jump up and say 'no, he was a scientist' we must remember that it is only very recently that science and philosophy have become two distinct fields, with philosophy these days being primarily concerned with ethics. In Ancient World philosophy and science were consider the same discipline, and many of the ancient philosophers (Plato included) wrote texts dealing with both. So, in many ways, his early writings take a more philosophical bent, and tend to be focused more on speculation of the direction humanity is heading, though I will discuss the various themes when I reread the relevant books.
His later writings tend to be a lot more commercialised, and we see him trying to add more depth to his characters and also attempting to help them relate a lot more, to the point where he will even attempt romantic relationships. However, I have to say that when he does attempt to do that he tends to fail abyssimally. That is not to say that these books are bad, they are not. As is expected from Asimov, they are very well written and accessible to many readers that do not have his scientific background, however, as an author of fictional characters, unfortunately he does tend to fail in that regard. You may wonder why he returned to writing science-fiction later on in his life, and the only reason I can state is that it was due to popular demand (and hey, if I was reading Asimov back then, I would also be hoping that he would continue to write fiction).
Another thing that Asimov does is to use science-fiction as a means of constructing a mystery novel. In some of his books he does have the main character investigating a murder, and Asimov has actually written murder mysteries, however, as Conan Doyle demonstrated (though he did set the standard for mystery novels) a mystery is not necessarily a murder, but something that is unknown that needs to be uncovered. I have seen this with some of Simak's writings, particularly Shakespeare's Planet, where the main characters are attempting to work out the mystery of the planet. Foundation's Edge is similar because it is the start of the quest to discover the origins of humanity (and this quest ends in Foundation and Earth).
This lead on to my final point (and I am sorry that I did not say much about this book, but I guess I got sidetracked a lot) and that is the idea that once humanity begins to colonise the stars and the expand out across the galaxy, as time passes, knowledge of origins soon become lost. In a way, humanity's home is where they were born, and as one moves away from their origin, they begin to distance themselves from that place as well. We see it beginning to happen in our world, however out extensive literary output since the Renaissance has kept a record of our origins. However, take the nativism movement in the United States where the Anglo inhabitants are now beginning to call themselves native americans (and this idea was even parodied in the Simpsons).
Of course, all of this is speculation, and Asimov assumes a number of things, being that there are habitable planets out there, that there is no other intelligent life, and that the vast distances between the stars can be traversed in little time. There is also the assumption that the colonies were develop their own seperate identities, and begin to distance themselves from their point of origin. This is another thing that Asimov does, and does well, and that is to explore how culture develops, and he uses science-fiction as a means to explore these ideas. (less)

like · see review

Jan 26, 2012 Prashanth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is surely one of the better novels of the Foundation series. We have our old friends Trevize and Pelorat getting kicked out of the planet and venturing out to find second foundation. That is not what they really want - in fact there are too many things that too many people want.
1. Pelorat wants earth
2. Trevize wants God-knows-what
3. Mayor wants to keep out Trevize, and also the second foundation
4. Second foundation (more specifically, a speaker) wants second foundation
5. Gaia wants Trevize...more

like · see review

Jul 05, 2010 Oomaf rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In his fourth installment in the Foundation Series Asimov blunders and completely drops the ball. While the first three novels did a marvelous job of telling the story of The Seldon Plan (The True Main Character of the Foundation Series), Asimov decides to toss what was a very good plot aside in favor of connecting the Foundation Series to the Empire and Robot series.

I was flabbergasted as a dues ex machine arrives to serve only one purpose (make everything fit together). Not only was the sudde...more

like 2 likes · see review

Mar 10, 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's Edge, the next to last book in the 15-16 book collection of books that weave together Asimov's Robot series, Empire series, and Foundation series does its fine job of knitting these earlier unrelated series into an excellent story that brilliantly can also stand alone. Over the last couple months I've re-read the series in Asimov's suggested chronology of the stories and having done so found this novel much deeper and richer than if I had not read the previous 13 books. I'd almost g...more

like · see review

Dec 14, 2011 Julio Cesar rated it 5 of 5 stars

Casi 500 años despues de la promulgacion del Plan Seldon Goldan Trevize(quien al parecer posee la facultad para llegar a conclusiones corectas basandose en datos insuficientes)es desterrado de Terminus por la mujer de bronce la alcaldesa Hala Branno quien pide a Munn Li Compor que lo siga atraves de los saltos hiperespaciales de la nave de ultima generacion(la estrella lejana) que le proporciona para que emprenda su viaje acompañado por el erudito Janov Perolat bajo la coartada de buscar la tier...more

like 1 like · see review

May 30, 2012 Erika RS rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the first book after the original Foundation trilogy. Foundation's Edge was written decades after the original trilogy, and feels different than the original. Some of the differences make the book feel less dated: women can hold political power and technology has advanced.

The larger change is a change in focus. The original trilogy focused primarily on large themes -- the development of worlds and flow of history -- and secondarily on people. This book focuses primarily on people and se...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 22, 2012 Artur Coelho rated it 5 of 5 stars

Este é um livro curioso na série Fundação. Termina quase da mesma forma como se inicia, revê alguns dos pressupostos fundamentais da série e é um romance. Os primeiros livros da série contavam as histórias da Fundação através de contos longos. Este quarto volume quebra essa formalidade e avança com uma narrativa longa, complexa e centrada num só arco de acontecimentos.

Uma das coisas que observei ao longo da série foi uma visão algo draconiana da forma como Asimov via a necessidade de liderança d...more Este é um livro curioso na série Fundação. Termina quase da mesma forma como se inicia, revê alguns dos pressupostos fundamentais da série e é um romance. Os primeiros livros da série contavam as histórias da Fundação através de contos longos. Este quarto volume quebra essa formalidade e avança com uma narrativa longa, complexa e centrada num só arco de acontecimentos.

Uma das coisas que observei ao longo da série foi uma visão algo draconiana da forma como Asimov via a necessidade de liderança das sociedades, com uma noção de progresso através das acções de líderes esclarecidos que vêem para lá das necessidades contemporâneas expressas. Subjacente está a crença na ciência como algo acima da visão dos indivíduos comuns e uma ideia de poder alicerçada numa certa bonomia ditatorial. Outro pormenor é a sujeição dos indivíduos às grandes forças que modelam o curso do devir histórico. Neste romance, surpreendentemente, é o contrário que é defendido. As lideranças utópicas são expostas como demasiado agarradas a necessidades mesquinhas e os momentos decisivos são deixados nas mãos de indivíduos que estão fora das correntes de pensamento.

Foundation's Edge leva mais longe a história das duas fundações que funcionam como o repositório da luz do conhecimento numa galáxia após a queda do império que a unificara. Asimov coloca o que são essencialmente duas faces de uma mesma moeda em confronto directo. Apercebemo-nos que a ciência tecnológica e a ciência psicológica das duas Fundações se complementam, mas essa visão escapa aos intervenientes. O confronto torna-se inevitável e até desejável pelas lideranças, mas um terceiro factor entra em jogo.

Os conflitos entre as duas fundações, um jogo de gato e rato de manobras secretas, levam duas personagens a vaguear pela galáxia ostensivamente em busca do elusivo berço primordial da humanidade, o esquecido e de localização ignorada planeta Terra. Encontram, ou mais precisamente são levados a encontrar, aquilo que de facto é uma terceira via na evolução da galáxia. Em busca do planeta original deparam-se com o mistério de um planeta consciente.

Em oposição à frieza científica das Fundações Asimov leva-nos até à harmonia natural de Gaia, planeta vivo onde todos os seres se encontram em sintonia e fazem parte de uma consciência colectiva embora mantenham a sua individualidade. Misturando um pouco das suas séries sobre robots com o universo de Fundação, Gaia é um artefacto que sugere a mistura de inteligência artificial avançada com uma visão hippie da humanidade em comunhão com a natureza. Chega até a propor-nos a ideia de um refúgio seguro para humanos construído por robots, que deixa no ar mais como mito criador do que componente da narrativa.

O duplo confronto altera-se com este terceiro elemento. A decisão da obra está na escolha de uma de três vias hegemónicas: o militarismo da Fundação tecnológica, a ditadura benevolente da Fundação psicológica, ou uma utopia evolucionária assente na expansão das consciências planetárias até a própria galáxia atingir a consciência. E é aqui que o livro termina quase como começou. Após a decisão, quase todos os intervenientes se afastam sem se recordarem dos acontecimentos marcantes. As duas fundações continuam os seus percursos olvidadas uma da outra. A forma como Asimov cria conspirações dentro de conspirações, jogos duplos e diferentes camadas é uma das marcas da série. Quanto ao destino final da galáxia, é sugerido que está dependente da resolução do mistério da localização do berço primordial da humanidade.

Obra intrigante, Foundation's Edge tira o tapete ao leitor e altera as expectativas sobre a série. O próximo passo é ver o que o autor nos reserva na busca pelo ponto inicial da expansão humana pela galáxia mítica. A revisitação de Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire já se encontra ultrapassada e Asimov encarreira-nos para um certo arthurianismo onde o planeta Terra funciona como um graal cósmico, cuja demanda molda os destinos dos personagens.(less)

like · see review

Feb 14, 2012 Simon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned-books, fiction, fantasy

This is probably the weakest of the Foundation novels (I have not read the last one yet), yet I still cannot possibly give it less than 4 stars. The first half of the book, in fact, is absolutely fantastic. Its denouement, though, is wanting.

Regardless, the Foundation series as a whole should be judged together, and it is probably the greatest science fiction series every written, alongside the Robot series by, again, Asimov. Foundation's Edge cannot compete with, say, Foundation, Second Foundat...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 08, 2012 Michael Prenez-isbell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just finished. I've read all but FOUNDATION AND EARTH now. This book stayed on the NYT Best Seller list for 25 weeks, and there's a reason for that: strong complicated plotting, far better characters than the first three in the trilogy, though Trevize has learned a lot from Han Solo. This is the first Foundation book Asimov had written in 32 years, and he not only picks up where he left off but also begins the process of wrapping in the Robots, Empire and Eternity books as well, to make a single...more

like · see review

Jun 06, 2012 Ryan Curry rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ok so,
I love the Foundation Series!! I think it's quite amazing! I also think the original trilogy was perfect all on its own, i was highly considering not reading the following novels as I thought they might take away from my experience. However, my curiosity won out. So, therefore Foundation's Edge.

I really enjoyed it, more than i thought i was going to! It does upset me a little that story focuses less on the idea of the Seldon Plan. I really like that idea, i think its a crazy interesting...more

like · see review

Jul 27, 2011 John added it

Written some 20 years after the original Foundation "trilogy" stories, this book is not what you expect. While the trilogy covered some 400 years of time, this book covers just a few weeks at most, and revolves around one set of characters. That being the case, some may feel it doesn't recapture the "scope" or feel of the original, but I feel it does...just in a different way. Asimov did a magnificent job of typing up some loose ends from the Trilogy (the original of the Mule, for one), and he m...more

like · see review

Sep 07, 2009 Nicholas rated it 5 of 5 stars

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

Finally! Asimov realizes the potential of his Foundation stories in this fourth volume in the series. There is an altogether different feel to it. Less a dramatic history and more of a suspense/mystery tale, Foundation's Edge focuses on Councilman of the Foundation Golan Trevize whose conspiracy theories concerning the existence of the Second Foundation get him in a lot of trouble. Set up opposite Golan is a young speaker of the Second Foundation, also aware that something is completely wrong wi...more Finally! Asimov realizes the potential of his Foundation stories in this fourth volume in the series. There is an altogether different feel to it. Less a dramatic history and more of a suspense/mystery tale, Foundation's Edge focuses on Councilman of the Foundation Golan Trevize whose conspiracy theories concerning the existence of the Second Foundation get him in a lot of trouble. Set up opposite Golan is a young speaker of the Second Foundation, also aware that something is completely wrong with the Seldon Plan. Golan is exiled for his challenge to the status quo by the Mayor of the Foundation, his secret mission, to explore, from the peripheries, his belief that the Second Foundation exists and if so, what it is up to. The speaker's goal: to find who or what is manipulating the Seldon Plan outside the Second Foundation. Two mysteries intertwine and combine in a wonderfully new direction for the Foundation series that leaves so many more questions than before.

I loved the brilliant new twist to this storyline comes in Golan's companion, Historian Jan Pelorat, a fringe academic who believes, astonishingly, that human beings, now spread over millions of habitable planets across the galaxy, actually originated on a single planet: Earth. Pelorat joins Golan as a cover for his investigation of the Second Foundation. Why did people leave Earth 20,000 years ago? And why are there no precise records of it's history or even location? Through their journey the explore mythology and legend, folklore and fairytales of the future. Was Earth destroyed in a radioactive cataclysm? Did a war between robots and humanity force human beings to flee the planet to establish a world without?

The difference in this particular novel is Asimov's focus on just a couple of characters. He builds the mystery of Earth throughout the entire novel and does it in a very intriguing fashion. Written 30 years after the original Foundation trilogy, this novel shows Asimov's growth as an author. Gone is a lot of the repetitive explanations of bits of technology or futuristic custom and in it's place is solid character and plot development. Foundation's Edge ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, Golan is forced to make a choice for the future of humanity and it's not altogether clear what his decision entails. The Seldon Plan takes a backseat for the first time in the Foundation's history and a new force outside the Foundation makes its presence known. Guess I'll be finishing this series after all...(less)

like 1 like · see review

May 22, 2012 Tim rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book, but more for the improvement on character building, which the other books lacked. It's easy to see why, when this book spend 450 pages with the same set of characters, as opposed to the original trilogy which spend a fraction of that. It was generally enjoyable to read, slow at parts (though often interesting), but I wasn't a fan of where the plot was taken. It was cool how the showdown was arranged, but the whole idea of Gaia not only seemed like a bunch of bullshit that didn...more

like 1 like · see review

Aug 19, 2007 Loosechanj rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2007

This is probably blasphemy, but I liked this book better than the Foundation trilogy itself. Which isn't too surprising, my favorite of that trilogy was Second Foundation. I love mysterious behind the scenes type mysteries, and this was sort of a continuation of that theme, with the promise of more to come in Foundation and Earth so I'll definitely be picking that up.

like 1 like · see review

Jan 08, 2013 Dave marked it as to-read

Shelves: calibre

SUMMARY:
At last, the costly and bitter war between the two Foundations had come to an end. The scientists of the First Foundation had proved victorious; and now they retum to Hari Seldon's long-established plan to build a new Empire that the Second Foundation is not destroyed after all-and that its still-defiant survivors are preparing their revenge. Now the two exiled citizens of the Foundation-a renegade Councilman and the doddering historian-set out in search of the mythical planet Earth. . ....more

like · see review

Oct 10, 2010 Tim Giauque rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: hugo-nebula, sci-fi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm a little bit confused about this one, honestly.

The original Foundation trilogy was about the struggle of the two Foundations to stick to the Plan, and here he tosses all that buildup and backstory out the window in favor of creating a new organization bent on controlling both Foundations. I felt like he was interested in overthrowing the strictures of the Seldon Plan because he was tired of it, almost like he wanted to transcend the old trappings of human society altogether. The concept of G...more

like · see review

Mar 19, 2010 Clay Evans rated it 4 of 5 stars

As an adult, I've been generally disappointed by Asimov. I know his Foundation and Robot stories blew my circuits when I was 12 or 14, but today the simplistic writing and almost one-dimensional characters are sometimes painful to read.

I just took the time to reread the original Foundation series/stories, and while I have the same basic complaints, I did feel a bit of their old charm.

Now, reading "Foundation's Edge" - which I had long in my possession, since '83 or so, but never read - I am surp...more

like · see review

Jul 14, 2011 Cláudio rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: far-future, sci-fi

The first book after the Foundation Trilogy takes place in the 5th century after Hari Seldon founded the Foundation in Terminus. Contrary to the other books this is composed of only one part or story arc that connects all the characters. The First Foundation is again suspicious of the Second Foundation intervention and the Second Foundation needs to protect itself, often referring to the Mule and Preem Palver, although they suspect of a third influence that conspires to keep the Plan to perfectl...more

like · see review

Apr 30, 2012 Ankit rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

The weakest among the first six books of the 7-book Foundation Series! Too long, too action-less. If you remove last 20% (well, yeah, I read it on Kindle), it is complete crap. The characters are too verbose. Unlike previous installments in the series (Prelude, Forward, Foundation, &Empire, Second), the characterisation is actually weak, though it may as well be opinionated by few to be stronger due to verbosity of the characters.

Please don't read it IF you are Isaac Asimov's fan - for preci...more

like · see review

Jul 22, 2009 Erik Graff rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Asimov fans

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: sf

Having been impressed by The Foundation Trilogy when I was a kid, the issuance of a fourth book in the series decades later was of some interest. Well, either I was more easily impressed as a kid or this was just a hack job for the money, but I was disappointed.

like 1 like · see review

Jul 08, 2009 The_Mad_Swede rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, 2009, asimov

Some thirty years after the original Foundation trilogy, Asimov returned with a thicker volume, dealing with a time about 500 years after the Foundation was set up by Hari Seldon and focusing on Councilman Golan Trevize who is convinced that there still is a Second Foundation and that such an entity is harmful to the interests of the (First) Foundation.

In his search, Trevize is accompanied by Janov Pelorat, Professor of Ancient History at the University of Terminus, who in turn is occupied by th...more

like · see review

Dec 28, 2012 Jeremy Patton rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: just-finished

Just finished reading this on my trip back from ABQ NM over the holiday break 2012. After just having completed the original Foundation trilogy, I immediately started on Edge. The series, so far, has been very reminiscent of Clarke's Rama series, which I loved immensely. I was extremely excited and intrigued by the inclusion of the planet Gaia as I did not see this branch coming or the Three Laws Of Robotics! I always imagine these science fiction stories as films and wonder why no one has tackl...more

like · see review

Jul 08, 2009 Sam Grover rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ok so I recently completed this fourth book in the Foundation series. It was the longest one so far and some of the motivation for that is described in the beginning of Foundation and Earth which I'm reading now. Clearly this was very different as compared to the first three, written as it was thirty years after those. Unlike the earlier books, which spanned decades, even centuries each, this one had a story that lasted a few weeks. The characters were well developed unlike the previous ones. La...more

like 1 like · see review

Dec 19, 2012 Peter Greenwell rated it 3 of 5 stars

There's much to admire here, and almost as much to despise. I read the original trilogy over a decade ago. Those three books were face-paced, full of ideas and completely character-less. Replete with ciphers who bore inconsequential names. Now, Asimov, years hence, has felt it wise to imbue his latest clutch of people with (pseudo-)real personality. Tyrants, idealists, thinkers...but it kind of fails to work. Or at least gel. None of the characters are believable. They don't eat and breathe, wal...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (61)

More editions...

Genres

Science Fiction

1,135 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

67 users

Classics

37 users

Science Fiction > Space Opera

28 users

Fantasy

27 users

Novels

19 users

Speculative Fiction

17 users

Space

13 users

Mystery

10 users

Literature > American

8 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

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.

----------------------------------------
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)

More about Isaac Asimov...

Books by Isaac Asimov

The Foundation Trilogy (Foundation, #1-3)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Foundation's Edge

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Foundation's Edge

“You show me someone who can't understand people and I'll show you someone who has built up a false image of himself.” — 14 people liked it

“It seems to me, Golan, that the advance of civilization is nothing but an exercise in the limiting of privacy.” — 3 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Foundation's Edge
avg rating	preview: Foundation's Edge Goodreads rating: 3.95 (21546 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76683.Foundation_s_Edge?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320514001l/76683.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76683.Foundation_s_Edge?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov[/url]

Foundation's Edge (Foundation (Publication Order) #4)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website