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The Mule: From Foundation And Empire
First published as a 2-part serial in the November and December 1945 Astounding Science Fiction, this novella was later published as part of Foundation and Empire.
Audio Cassette
First published January 1, 1945
About the author
Isaac Asimov
3,955 books23.5k followersIsaac 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 one of the most prolific writers 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/wiki/Isaac_As...
Professor Asimov is generally considered one of the most prolific writers 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/wiki/Isaac_As...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 4, 2019
Great discussion with Scott from Narrated on the podcast.
January 14, 2023
This entire arc is so well written I am not surprised it won the retro Hugo. Who .. and what is The Mule? A man who can seemingly win any and every battle, regardless of who has technological superiority? Interestingly ... the ability to manipulate the masses is kind of powerful.
Too powerful even! I can't even contemplate facing someone who can literally so they win at everything. They're also smart like you wouldn't believe! They realize the Second Foundation is a threat and seek to find it, gaining alliances, messing up The Seldon Plan, and out maneuvering pretty much everyone except for one character.
It is only by luck that we got the ending we have, that was pretty much a double triple quadruple cross of epic proportions in a nail biting finale. Bravo!
Too powerful even! I can't even contemplate facing someone who can literally so they win at everything. They're also smart like you wouldn't believe! They realize the Second Foundation is a threat and seek to find it, gaining alliances, messing up The Seldon Plan, and out maneuvering pretty much everyone except for one character.
It is only by luck that we got the ending we have, that was pretty much a double triple quadruple cross of epic proportions in a nail biting finale. Bravo!
October 5, 2017
I haven't read other in the series so I found it kinda jarring. Some of the characters were so much fun, but generally meh for me.
October 19, 2012
I love Asimov with the passion of thousands suns: this one was one of my chilhood favourites.
September 10, 2016
An original stand-alone novella which ended up in Foundation #2. Pretty fun and cool!
November 9, 2017
Well done golden age!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews