Foundation (Foundation, #1) in Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Apr 22, 2015 Jean rated it really liked it

Three stars? Four? Five? I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, it's like THE space opera; I cracked the first few pages and was exhilarated by the scope of Asimov's ambition and imagination. Like Gaal Dornick, fresh-faced and fresh off the spaceship, we're mesmerized by the prospects of our time in this new literary cosmos: we want to gawk at the parsecs inexplicably devoured in jumps, book a space tour, and buy a ticket to the observation tower to marvel at the planet-wide city covering Tranto Three stars? Four? Five? I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, it's like THE space opera; I cracked the first few pages and was exhilarated by the scope of Asimov's ambition and imagination. Like Gaal Dornick, fresh-faced and fresh off the spaceship, we're mesmerized by the prospects of our time in this new literary cosmos: we want to gawk at the parsecs inexplicably devoured in jumps, book a space tour, and buy a ticket to the observation tower to marvel at the planet-wide city covering Trantor.

Then there's the science of psychohistory and its mysterious phenom/prophet, Hari Seldon, striving to establish a bastion of knowledge and order in a rapidly-declining galactic empire. Across time and space, we watch his baton pass from hand to hand in an effort to spare humanity thousands of years of immense suffering. It's so satisfyingly medieval and futuristic all at once! Plus, what's his real endgame? Are we really going along for this millennium-long ride simply to find ourselves in a new iteration of the same old empire?

And beyond being impressive in its own right, it's easy to spot Foundation's influence on so many other amazing works in the genre: Star Wars, Hitchhiker's Guide, Dune...the list goes on.

So what didn't I like? The immensity of space and time covered in the first novel alone is impressive and certainly keeps the pages turning, but doesn't lend itself to local world-building or individual character development. In fact, given the pace at which events unfold and centuries slip by, it's hard to really sink your teeth into much of anything; the moment I'd get a handle on the who, what, where, and why, another major shift in time would take place and I'd find myself grasping for north yet again. In this vein, I found that the rapid forward momentum of the book necessitated boring one-dimensional characters and a great deal of explanation that was often delivered in stilted, unnatural dialogue.

Finally, WHERE ARE THE WOMEN? Seriously. For the first two thirds of the book, women are referred to a few times, I suppose, as in, "The scientists' wives would accompany them to X planet." Then there's a little girl that tries on a necklace, followed by a queen with an actual name who says some insults to her husband before being placated with said necklace. Then the last third of the book is back to square one, with a couple of vague references to mistresses and ladies being peeved when their atomic kitchen knives stop working. Like, I get that it's a feudal society, but women are not alien creatures living beyond the bounds of the observable universe. Other imperial space operas have done just fine incorporating female characters...can we get some Bene Gesserit witches or spunky imperial princesses or something?

All this being said, I can't wait to keep reading. I love sci-fi, but have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to the "foundational" (hehe) texts. Eager to see how this all ends. ...more

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Feb 06, 2007 Francisco rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: novela, estadounidenses, sci-fi

Primera parte del ciclo de "Fundación"... No está mal, pero envejece mal. ...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Michelle rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, 1001-books, book_club, award_winner, ebook, grand_masters

yeah, 2 whole stars. yes, i'm aware that it's ASIMOV, that it was part of the BEST SERIES EVER Hugo award, that it's most definitely a sacred cow of the SF canon.

problem is, to a modern reader, it's more than occasionally boring, and very very dated. some bonus points because it's a fine example of an intellectual, thinky, non-violent SF (i.e., space ships are useful for more than just blowing stuff up), i just wish it had more of a cohesive plot.

a mathematician/sociologist comes up with a whole yeah, 2 whole stars. yes, i'm aware that it's ASIMOV, that it was part of the BEST SERIES EVER Hugo award, that it's most definitely a sacred cow of the SF canon.

problem is, to a modern reader, it's more than occasionally boring, and very very dated. some bonus points because it's a fine example of an intellectual, thinky, non-violent SF (i.e., space ships are useful for more than just blowing stuff up), i just wish it had more of a cohesive plot.

a mathematician/sociologist comes up with a whole new branch of statistics/psychology/future prediction that he dubs "psychohistory". he uses this system to predict that the allied galactic government will shortly be collapsing into war & decadence, and so he plans out an enclave community designed to keep the intellectual torches burning for when the knowledge is next needed. throughout 'foundation', we get updated as to the project's success via brief glimpses into it's current overseers.

asimov states in his introduction to the version i was reading that he's mystified as to its continuous popularity. "it's just a series of short stories that i made up on short notice, with no cohesion or common character running through them. but apparently people like them." the smug, aw-shucks tone of the intro is mildly off-putting, but it's accurate: there is no commonality of character or narrative that consistently engages the reader throughout the book. if you do find you like a protagonist of any of these moments in history, he's gone at the end of that vignette.

additionally, this future was written before asimov kicked in with his "women's lib" beliefs, so the only woman with a speaking role here is a shrewish wife harping on her husband's shortcomings; all other women are referred to off-camera, as the "wives and families" of these future politicians. though it was 1940/50-something when these stories were written, after all, it can be a little tough to give the implied sexism a pass.

if books play out like movies in your head like they do in mine, this one is in black & white, and it's a bunch of men dressed in 1950s suits sitting around talking and oh-ho-ho chuckling gentlemanly at each other about how clever they all are, and there's a painting of a typical super shiny phallic-shaped 1950s rocket ship pasted to the outside of the window glass.
...more

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Sep 30, 2015 hh rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015, sff, reread

no things but in ideas.

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Jun 06, 2008 Robin rated it really liked it

Shelves: i-own-a-copy, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, series, sci-fi-or-fantasy

Like most of Asimov's books that I've read so far, this is less of a novel and more of a series of short stories strung together by a common background. I love the premise, and the book flew by because of the engaging plot, characters, and dialogue. Asimov does a lot of dialogue, which can be a bit trying if you're used to heavier descriptive type text. All in all, a very good read--looking forward to reading the rest of the series! ...more

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