Foundation
question
A bit let down by the Chronological Order of the extended Foundation Series
Faxe
Jun 19, 2024 06:05PM
When I first read The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov, I was convinced I needed to see how this interesting compilation of works led into, what many consider, a classic sci-fi epic. The passage of time, and the building of a subtle chronological prelude to the technological state of the universe (from hyperspatial travel to the waning of the mechanical men corporation on Earth), the state of the Earth as expressed in The Evitable Conflict, and the social situation between spacers and earthmen, transition rather spectacularly into the Elijah Bailey Trilogy.
The Elijah Bailey Trilogy was incredible to me, as someone who is very fond of cyberpunk detective novels. The relationship between Daneel and Elijah, in addition to the subtle mastery of Giskard's characterization, was delightful, and the conclusion of Robots and Empire made it feel as though a character-driven epic that pushed forward the passage of time in well-paced increments was on the way! And what was this psychohistory Giskard and Daneel were going on about? The epic introduction and development of the Zeroth law? That must be immediately important to the following entries, right?
Much to my chagrin, the three following novels took the wind right out of the sails. The Currents of Space, Stars Like Dust, and Pebble in the Sky all featured interesting one-off stories, which offered very little in the way of chronological development. The only major takeaways were that Earth was uninhabitable, the spacers and robots were gone, and things had gone feudal. I was honestly disappointed that these entries weren't back to back, or that at the very least, they would be mentioned more than twice in the actual foundation novels! They were fun, self-contained stories, for the most part.
Then, WHAM! Prelude, and Forward the Foundation drop! And what do you know! They were epic, showcased the everyday life of people across the world, gave context for the technological climate, had an interesting main cast (I love you Dors <3), and WAIT, WHAT'S THAT? DANEEL? MY BOY? And what's more? A sequel that picks up with an appreciable time skip, and similar to the bicentennial man, a soul-crushing, and hope-soaring passage of time brings us nearly to the beginning of foundation! They were everything I hoped for!
And then, I realized I had made a horrible mistake. The chronological order was for suckers like me... Foundation was basically just an exhibit of sci-fi concepts, with the main characters featured therein fading into the chapter headers you'd get in dune, glorified quote machines. Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, and Foundations Edge do a better job of containing character-driven stories again... but they immediately lose the overarching story developments. The mule was the single most impactful development of the entire series apart from the Seldan Plan itself, but his impact goes away almost immediately, and he too becomes a hollow point of reference as the boogeyman of psychohistory, with basically no other impact on the world at large.
Foundations Edge and Foundation and Earth hark back to the good old days of Prelude and Forward the Foundation, but still manage to balance the character elements with world-building exhibitionism.
I only later found out that the first foundation book itself was a disjointed, Frankensteined union of separately released stories, and Isaac Asimov was basically extorted into continuing the series, as elaborated on in the forward in Foundation and Earth. I sincerely wished I had read them in release order, as the Chronological Order was a rollercoaster of expectations, and It has only succeeded in leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
The Elijah Bailey Trilogy will stick with me for the rest of my days, and I will fondly remember Prelude and Forward, but the rest? Someone get the psychic probe and crank that baby up to 11
“It was childish to feel disappointed, but childishness comes almost as naturally to a man as to a child.”
(I am very well aware that this is largely just my opinion of the Chronological Order, and that it wasn't altogether unpleasant. I would love to hear the opinions of those who also read them chronologically for the first time, and from those (especially) who read them in release order! Thank you for reading, much love <3)
The Elijah Bailey Trilogy was incredible to me, as someone who is very fond of cyberpunk detective novels. The relationship between Daneel and Elijah, in addition to the subtle mastery of Giskard's characterization, was delightful, and the conclusion of Robots and Empire made it feel as though a character-driven epic that pushed forward the passage of time in well-paced increments was on the way! And what was this psychohistory Giskard and Daneel were going on about? The epic introduction and development of the Zeroth law? That must be immediately important to the following entries, right?
Much to my chagrin, the three following novels took the wind right out of the sails. The Currents of Space, Stars Like Dust, and Pebble in the Sky all featured interesting one-off stories, which offered very little in the way of chronological development. The only major takeaways were that Earth was uninhabitable, the spacers and robots were gone, and things had gone feudal. I was honestly disappointed that these entries weren't back to back, or that at the very least, they would be mentioned more than twice in the actual foundation novels! They were fun, self-contained stories, for the most part.
Then, WHAM! Prelude, and Forward the Foundation drop! And what do you know! They were epic, showcased the everyday life of people across the world, gave context for the technological climate, had an interesting main cast (I love you Dors <3), and WAIT, WHAT'S THAT? DANEEL? MY BOY? And what's more? A sequel that picks up with an appreciable time skip, and similar to the bicentennial man, a soul-crushing, and hope-soaring passage of time brings us nearly to the beginning of foundation! They were everything I hoped for!
And then, I realized I had made a horrible mistake. The chronological order was for suckers like me... Foundation was basically just an exhibit of sci-fi concepts, with the main characters featured therein fading into the chapter headers you'd get in dune, glorified quote machines. Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, and Foundations Edge do a better job of containing character-driven stories again... but they immediately lose the overarching story developments. The mule was the single most impactful development of the entire series apart from the Seldan Plan itself, but his impact goes away almost immediately, and he too becomes a hollow point of reference as the boogeyman of psychohistory, with basically no other impact on the world at large.
Foundations Edge and Foundation and Earth hark back to the good old days of Prelude and Forward the Foundation, but still manage to balance the character elements with world-building exhibitionism.
I only later found out that the first foundation book itself was a disjointed, Frankensteined union of separately released stories, and Isaac Asimov was basically extorted into continuing the series, as elaborated on in the forward in Foundation and Earth. I sincerely wished I had read them in release order, as the Chronological Order was a rollercoaster of expectations, and It has only succeeded in leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
The Elijah Bailey Trilogy will stick with me for the rest of my days, and I will fondly remember Prelude and Forward, but the rest? Someone get the psychic probe and crank that baby up to 11
“It was childish to feel disappointed, but childishness comes almost as naturally to a man as to a child.”
(I am very well aware that this is largely just my opinion of the Chronological Order, and that it wasn't altogether unpleasant. I would love to hear the opinions of those who also read them chronologically for the first time, and from those (especially) who read them in release order! Thank you for reading, much love <3)
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