The Librarian
Banned
Spoilers, otherwise this post would be mostly black bars.
I was at a bookstore one day and, on a whim, I decided to look into Asimovs Foundation series. I had never read the series before, but I had certainly heard of it enough times. I knew the trilogy was the meat, but before I dipped my toes into that I decided start at the beginning. I walked out of the bookstore with Prelude to Foundation.
The prequel to the trilogy is, I think, a pretty good novel, and was an excellent way to familiarize myself with the universe. The further I got into the book, the more I read in one sitting. What mainly drove my interest was the continuous tease of learning the future history of this universe. What happened to Earth? Who was this robot renegade? Was Aurora the first colony found by man? Of course, not everything is answered in fact, very little is revealed. The twists at the end were fantastic, though, and left me more than satisfied. Dors is a robot. Chetter Hummin is an ancient robot that looks out for humanity. None of which I saw coming. I knew as soon as I had finished the book I had to read more. At the very least, I wanted to see what elements of Prelude to Foundation would be incorporated into the trilogy. I knew PtF was written afterwards, but I still figured there might be some elements Asimov took from the trilogy and expanded upon in the sequels.
I looked on Amazon to see if there was any special editions I might find of the trilogy. And, as luck would have it, there was! Heres a picture of it. I got it a couple of days later. Its a really nice book. Hardcover, with its own string bookmark and the pages feel wonderful at the touch.
After reading the whole introduction which, thankfully, wasnt spoilery I turned the page to experience a grand adventure.
Foundation
Violence is the last refugee of the incompetent. Salvor Hardin
The first story, The Encyclopedists, is about Terminus and Salvor Hardin seizing power. From there, it follows Hardin as mayor in The Mayors where the balance of political power in the immediate region that is, Terminus and the four kingdoms shift dramatically towards Terminus. From there, the story reaches out to the Korellian Republic, just beyond the grasp of the decaying Empire.
The impression I got of the Galactic Empire is that its essentially the Roman Empire in space a fantastic metaphor. Trantor was the Eternal World much like Rome was (is?) the Eternal City. Their declines are comparable, resulting from many factors occurring at once, and their demise ushers in a dark age. I think Asimov did a great job of conveying the reach and extent of the Empire.
Foundation and Empire
I. The General
It seemed inevitable that the next danger the Foundation would have to face was the final lash of the dying Empire.
Here, the scope of the story expands again: from the edge of the galaxy, Terminus, to the center cluster, Trantor. Asimov uses certain plot threads to help the galaxy feel lived in and interconnected, namely by visiting the descendants of past characters. Cleon I > Cleon II, Onum Barr > Ducem Barr, you get the idea. It was very effective for those purposes.
This was my least favorite of the two sections. To me it came off as another war but without a major interesting hook to it, or with a major character I really liked. Luckily the next section was more thrilling.
II. The Mule
He has no other name than that of the Mule, a name reportedly applied by himself to himself, and signifying, by popular explanation, his immense physical strength and stubbornness of purpose. Captain Pritcher
Probably my favorite story of the entire series, if Search by the Foundation isnt in consideration. The story builds interest slowly then skyrockets in enjoyability once Magnifico Giganticus is introduced.
A war soon starts between Kalgan and the Foundation. At this point, the Foundation has come out on top in all of its wars through extraordinary circumstances. The reader, if not baited into a false security, has to consider that, given everything before this war, the Foundation is likely to be victorious in this instance as well. So when the Mule does conquer the Foundation, not only does it jeopardize the immediate future, but carries with it a 30,000 year price tag: a heavy weight.
This moves the story into a lull as Bayta, Turan, Mis, and Giganticus flee from planet to planet in search of the fabled Second Foundation at this point, the only hope to stop the Mule. They eventually settle on Trantor, and Mis stays in the Imperial Library to find the location. The location is almost revealed, but Bayta shoots Mis before he can say. What follows is probably the best twist in the book: that Magnifico Giganticus is, in fact, the Mule. What makes this plot twist overshadow all the others is that it not only has the effect of turning everything on its head, but make the Mule a much more sympathetic character. Bayta is the only one who has ever genuinely liked the Mule, so he left her alone, his decision-making blinded by affection shown towards himself. It shows he's fallible, and therefore more human.
And the end of this chapter leaves us there, on a low note. The Mule still has his power, and at this point, it doesnt look like he can be stopped aside from a fable.
Second Foundation
I. Search by the Mule
It was not to be compared with the tightly controlled Union of Worlds under the Mule, particularly during the era of the so-called Search Encyclopedia Galactica
The first story of the third book resolves the Mules fate, resuming after a Converted Pritcher has failed to locate the Second Foundation at the other end of the galaxy (the scale of the story has again expanded). The Mule sends a later-to-be-revealed Second Foundationer, Channis, to assist Pritcher in his search. Channis leads Pritchers fleet to some obscure, backwater planets that dont really hold any meaning. On these planets the Second Foundation conquers the Mule, in part due to their mental abilities.
I felt this was a cheap way to neuter the Mules threat to the galaxy and the Seldon Plan. As far as I can remember, there was no mention of the people of the Second Foundation having mental powers before the Mules fall from power. Yes, it said they were psychologists, but that doesnt mean they had powers. So when it was revealed that they do have mental powers at just the right moment, it came off as clumsy and too convenient. Oh, by the way, the Second Foundationers can do this, this, and this.
II. Search by the Foundation
She remembered a favorite line, and used it promptly. Men are so stupid! Arcadia, possibly my favorite character out of the trilogy.
What I really liked about this story was that it took the saviors of the first citizens of the Second Foundation and turned them into something not so pristine, more grey. Understandably, a large group of people possessing the mental powers that they have can pose a danger to the rest of the human population, so this story follows a group of scientists trying to eliminate the Second Foundation. On the other hand, the Second Foundations top priority is to ensure the success of the Seldon Plan, and this means taking action to eliminate the Foundations knowledge of them.
What really drove the story, and its interest to me, was the mystery of the Second Foundations location. I had considered three locations: Trantor, Terminus, or Earth. In the end it was Trantor, with an awesome twist that the farmers are the Second Foundationers.
I loved seeing weaseling her out of the dangerous situations she got herself into. She had to grow up fast, and Asimov made it clearly aware she was doing stuff she knew wasn't perfectly honest. I think reason why I enjoyed Arcadia so much was because she was the strongest female character of the entire trilogy.
And thats probably the biggest level of criticism I can level at Isaac Asimovs Foundation trilogy: there is little-to-no female representation in the series at all. There are only two female characters you could argue are main characters, and very few play the role of significant, background characters. When it comes to the leaders of the Foundation, or any planet really, its always gentlemen. But I dont hold too much against the book for that. A lot of it is a product of its time, just like the terms "hypernuclear," and the use of phrases like "Great galloping galaxies!" It's worth it, though. I found it fascinating that Asimov didn't end the trilogy with a definite answer on the success or failure of the Seldon Plan. (Though, judging by the Encyclopedia Galactica entries, they did succeed).
Not sure if I'll go on to read the other books in the series, but I'm glad to have read the trilogy. I really, really enjoyed it.
Also: kudos to anyone for reading all of this!
I was at a bookstore one day and, on a whim, I decided to look into Asimovs Foundation series. I had never read the series before, but I had certainly heard of it enough times. I knew the trilogy was the meat, but before I dipped my toes into that I decided start at the beginning. I walked out of the bookstore with Prelude to Foundation.
The prequel to the trilogy is, I think, a pretty good novel, and was an excellent way to familiarize myself with the universe. The further I got into the book, the more I read in one sitting. What mainly drove my interest was the continuous tease of learning the future history of this universe. What happened to Earth? Who was this robot renegade? Was Aurora the first colony found by man? Of course, not everything is answered in fact, very little is revealed. The twists at the end were fantastic, though, and left me more than satisfied. Dors is a robot. Chetter Hummin is an ancient robot that looks out for humanity. None of which I saw coming. I knew as soon as I had finished the book I had to read more. At the very least, I wanted to see what elements of Prelude to Foundation would be incorporated into the trilogy. I knew PtF was written afterwards, but I still figured there might be some elements Asimov took from the trilogy and expanded upon in the sequels.
I looked on Amazon to see if there was any special editions I might find of the trilogy. And, as luck would have it, there was! Heres a picture of it. I got it a couple of days later. Its a really nice book. Hardcover, with its own string bookmark and the pages feel wonderful at the touch.
After reading the whole introduction which, thankfully, wasnt spoilery I turned the page to experience a grand adventure.
Foundation
Violence is the last refugee of the incompetent. Salvor Hardin
The first story, The Encyclopedists, is about Terminus and Salvor Hardin seizing power. From there, it follows Hardin as mayor in The Mayors where the balance of political power in the immediate region that is, Terminus and the four kingdoms shift dramatically towards Terminus. From there, the story reaches out to the Korellian Republic, just beyond the grasp of the decaying Empire.
The impression I got of the Galactic Empire is that its essentially the Roman Empire in space a fantastic metaphor. Trantor was the Eternal World much like Rome was (is?) the Eternal City. Their declines are comparable, resulting from many factors occurring at once, and their demise ushers in a dark age. I think Asimov did a great job of conveying the reach and extent of the Empire.
Foundation and Empire
I. The General
It seemed inevitable that the next danger the Foundation would have to face was the final lash of the dying Empire.
Here, the scope of the story expands again: from the edge of the galaxy, Terminus, to the center cluster, Trantor. Asimov uses certain plot threads to help the galaxy feel lived in and interconnected, namely by visiting the descendants of past characters. Cleon I > Cleon II, Onum Barr > Ducem Barr, you get the idea. It was very effective for those purposes.
This was my least favorite of the two sections. To me it came off as another war but without a major interesting hook to it, or with a major character I really liked. Luckily the next section was more thrilling.
II. The Mule
He has no other name than that of the Mule, a name reportedly applied by himself to himself, and signifying, by popular explanation, his immense physical strength and stubbornness of purpose. Captain Pritcher
Probably my favorite story of the entire series, if Search by the Foundation isnt in consideration. The story builds interest slowly then skyrockets in enjoyability once Magnifico Giganticus is introduced.
A war soon starts between Kalgan and the Foundation. At this point, the Foundation has come out on top in all of its wars through extraordinary circumstances. The reader, if not baited into a false security, has to consider that, given everything before this war, the Foundation is likely to be victorious in this instance as well. So when the Mule does conquer the Foundation, not only does it jeopardize the immediate future, but carries with it a 30,000 year price tag: a heavy weight.
This moves the story into a lull as Bayta, Turan, Mis, and Giganticus flee from planet to planet in search of the fabled Second Foundation at this point, the only hope to stop the Mule. They eventually settle on Trantor, and Mis stays in the Imperial Library to find the location. The location is almost revealed, but Bayta shoots Mis before he can say. What follows is probably the best twist in the book: that Magnifico Giganticus is, in fact, the Mule. What makes this plot twist overshadow all the others is that it not only has the effect of turning everything on its head, but make the Mule a much more sympathetic character. Bayta is the only one who has ever genuinely liked the Mule, so he left her alone, his decision-making blinded by affection shown towards himself. It shows he's fallible, and therefore more human.
And the end of this chapter leaves us there, on a low note. The Mule still has his power, and at this point, it doesnt look like he can be stopped aside from a fable.
Second Foundation
I. Search by the Mule
It was not to be compared with the tightly controlled Union of Worlds under the Mule, particularly during the era of the so-called Search Encyclopedia Galactica
The first story of the third book resolves the Mules fate, resuming after a Converted Pritcher has failed to locate the Second Foundation at the other end of the galaxy (the scale of the story has again expanded). The Mule sends a later-to-be-revealed Second Foundationer, Channis, to assist Pritcher in his search. Channis leads Pritchers fleet to some obscure, backwater planets that dont really hold any meaning. On these planets the Second Foundation conquers the Mule, in part due to their mental abilities.
I felt this was a cheap way to neuter the Mules threat to the galaxy and the Seldon Plan. As far as I can remember, there was no mention of the people of the Second Foundation having mental powers before the Mules fall from power. Yes, it said they were psychologists, but that doesnt mean they had powers. So when it was revealed that they do have mental powers at just the right moment, it came off as clumsy and too convenient. Oh, by the way, the Second Foundationers can do this, this, and this.
II. Search by the Foundation
She remembered a favorite line, and used it promptly. Men are so stupid! Arcadia, possibly my favorite character out of the trilogy.
What I really liked about this story was that it took the saviors of the first citizens of the Second Foundation and turned them into something not so pristine, more grey. Understandably, a large group of people possessing the mental powers that they have can pose a danger to the rest of the human population, so this story follows a group of scientists trying to eliminate the Second Foundation. On the other hand, the Second Foundations top priority is to ensure the success of the Seldon Plan, and this means taking action to eliminate the Foundations knowledge of them.
What really drove the story, and its interest to me, was the mystery of the Second Foundations location. I had considered three locations: Trantor, Terminus, or Earth. In the end it was Trantor, with an awesome twist that the farmers are the Second Foundationers.
I loved seeing weaseling her out of the dangerous situations she got herself into. She had to grow up fast, and Asimov made it clearly aware she was doing stuff she knew wasn't perfectly honest. I think reason why I enjoyed Arcadia so much was because she was the strongest female character of the entire trilogy.
And thats probably the biggest level of criticism I can level at Isaac Asimovs Foundation trilogy: there is little-to-no female representation in the series at all. There are only two female characters you could argue are main characters, and very few play the role of significant, background characters. When it comes to the leaders of the Foundation, or any planet really, its always gentlemen. But I dont hold too much against the book for that. A lot of it is a product of its time, just like the terms "hypernuclear," and the use of phrases like "Great galloping galaxies!" It's worth it, though. I found it fascinating that Asimov didn't end the trilogy with a definite answer on the success or failure of the Seldon Plan. (Though, judging by the Encyclopedia Galactica entries, they did succeed).
Not sure if I'll go on to read the other books in the series, but I'm glad to have read the trilogy. I really, really enjoyed it.
Also: kudos to anyone for reading all of this!