Pretzels and Möbius Strips: On the Question of Plot Twists

When I was in junior high, I read Asimovs Foundation Trilogy. I absolutely loved it. I re-read it multiple times throughout the years, and each time I marveled at Asimovs tight plotting, culminating in the triple punch of plot twists at the end of the third book. What made this work for me was the fact that one of those twists was solidly set up at the very beginning of the first book, the other two at the beginning of the third. As a result, though the curves were unexpected, they made...