Customer Reviews

Foundation and Empire

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The trilogy is essential, but since Asimov also capitalized on his own genius by writing what seems to be hundreds of lesser Foundation stories, it can all get very confusing and a bit draining. This is the second book in the original trilogy, so it is from a science fiction point of view essential reading. The trilogy itself comes up with two highly memorable characters, Hari Seldon, the psycho-historian, who uses Mathematics to predict the future and establish a "Foundation" that will limit the dark ages after the fall of the "Empire" to a single millenium (as opposed to ten.) He reappears as a hologram at certain points in the story with more or less accurate takes on what is happening in "History" at that point.

The other very memorable character is the Mule. He represents the variable that makes predicting "History" mathematically a tricky business at least, not to mention impossible. He is a nasty totalitarian character who strangely in Asimov's hands manages to elicit some sympathy. Asimov is playing with the idea of predicting human behavior scientifically (or controlling it scientifically,) but this character is also a humanistic meditation on how masses of people get overwhelmed by evil social forces like fascism and soviet communism. You can see that Asimov lived through the era of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Stalin and that these cult of personality tyrants and the submission of masses of people to their destructive and sadistic wills profoundly affected his view of human nature. Foundation and Empire seems to be an attempt to come to terms with that experience, and so has something to say about the specifics of twentieth century history, as well as about historical philosophy.

First I should say that this is a great book. It is the second book in the Foundation Trilogy. And if you need some help on the order of the books, here tis : 1)Prelude to Foundation 2)Forward the Foundation 3)Foundation 4)Foundation and Empire 5)Second Foundation 6)Foundation's Edge 7) Foundation and Earth. #s 3,4, and 5 are the original trilogy. I have reviewed all of them. They're all good. This particular book has two parts. In the first part the Foundation is faced with the dying but still strong Galactic Empire, and in the second, more interesting part, they face the rising Mule. A few words bout him, he's not what or who you might think he is. The next sentence might be considered a spoiler, so choose to read it or not. The Mule is actually Bobo( this word only appears once in the book, and might be missed). Well, have fun reading!

I think asimov truly showed his ability in Foundation and Empire. Whether or not Foundation was better is debatable. But to create 2 knockout novels is pure gift. All the people who say it is bad are wrong. they say you should read a classic. It is a classic! A modern classic! the series deserves a place among Dune and other SF greats. The Mule was stroke of genius. The surprise ending was wonderful. whatever they charge you for this it is a deal.

This is the second volume published of Asimov's classic Foundation series (originally published as two novellas in 1945). Part I is titled "The General." A military leader in the Old Empire sees the Foundation as a threat (about forty years after the end of the events described in "Foundation"). He gets permission from the emperor to wage a campaign. The Foundation must find a way to stop him. Fortunately, the mathematics of Hari Seldon has already considered a course of action. In Part II, called "The Mule," a mutant with unparalleled power (power never considered in Hari Seldon's psychohistory; he can control the emotions and commitments of others) fights and defeats the Foundation about 300 years after the start of the novel "Foundation." But, now the Mule has to go in search of the Second Foundation which is made up of psychologists and psychohistorians (the First Foundation had been set up primarily with physical scientists). When "The Mule" appeared in magazine format in 1945, it wowed the readership. With these stories, the series really began developing a following. I am in my 50s and have read the books a couple of times. But, my father has read them ten times!

Foundation and Empire is the second of the original Foundation trilogy written in the 1950s. The first book is Foundation and the last is Second Foundation. I enjoyed Foundation but I liked F&E quite a bit more! Foundation consists of five disconnected short stories, too short for adequate development of the settings or characters. F&E is much more focused, containing only two stories, the second of which really impressed me.

A quick refresher on the background: The psychohistorian Hari Seldon was able to mathematically foresee the future of human society in the Milky Way. It wasn't pretty. Socio-economic forces were to cause the total collapse of the Trantorian Empire and lead to 30,000 years of anarchy and barbarism before a new empire restored peace and order. However, Seldon saw an "alternate path" that could reduce the duration of the Dark Ages to a single millennium. He established two societies (called Foundations) to bring this change about.

In Foundation, we learn how the fledgling First Foundation established itself after Seldon's death and how it grew powerful. In F&E, Seldon is long dead and the First Foundation faces much more serious threats: a war with the dying but still powerful Trantorian Empire and a war with a mutant leader called The Mule who possesses incredible powers. The part about the war with the Empire is a straightforward narrative with a couple interesting twists. The second part about The Mule takes place a few decades later and is written in the style of a mystery, sort of like the first two Robot novels.

Since The Mule is an individual of extraordinary power, Seldon's psychohistorical predictions for the First Foundation are in jeopardy because they deal only with masses of people and large scale socio-economic forces. Hence the second part is a more exciting read. :-) Also, until the end of the second part the Second Foundation is a mysterious society on the other side of the Galaxy about whom we know next to nothing. Although I guessed the nature of The Mule's powers, I did not guess his identity and it was a great surprise for me when it was revealed at the end. The events of the last two chapters are stunning and really make you want to rip into the third book. Yet F&E doesn't end on a cliffhanger and is quite satisfying in and of itself. This unique blend is a testament to Asimov's genius as an author. Also, you'll learn why the mutant calls himself The Mule and it's quite enlightening!

With novels written later, Asimov tied together three series into one huge one! I recommend reading the entire 14-book series in the following order: the four Robot novels, the three Empire novels, and the seven Foundation novels (the original trilogy plus two prequels and two sequels). So far I've yet to read the last three Foundation books (Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, Foundation and Earth), but so far most have been excellent and all have been well above average.

As in Foundation, this is actually not a single story. Here are presented two separate episodes in the development of the Foundation toward the establishment of the Second Galactic Empire.

The first details the encounter between the growing Foundation and the still-very-powerful Empire. At the forefront is an Imperial General of outstanding ability and charisma. Unfortunately, Hari Seldon, the architect of the Foundation, predicted all this with his psychohistorical calculations. While the general is very successful in his opposition to the Foundation, his very nature ensures his downfall.

The second story is quite ingenious, in that the single large failing of Seldon's psychohistory is brought to light. An individual beyond the predictive nature of psychohistory has appeared and done the impossible. While there is a type of mystery presented, Asimov either wanted the reader to know the answer before the characters, or he didn't try very hard to obscure the nature of things. But this is a crucial moment in the Foundation's development, as they seem to be vulnerable after all. This story depends heavily on a plot element present in all the Robot-Empire- and now Foundation Series: psionic abilities. Clearly this was a favorite concept for Asimov, and he never seems to abuse it; that is, it never seems there for its own sake but always represents a fundamental encounter when it appears, and you can bet there are severe ramifications.

While I have noted a few complaints about the second of these two stories, this book is still very well written, with action and suspense as good as any I've read. Asimov did such a wonderful job crafting this future history that I can only applaud having had the pleasure to read it. If you like S-F, you will love this whole series, chosen as the Best Series Ever Hugo winner. Need I say more?

The key to enjoying the original Foundation trilogy is to understand that the three novels which make up the "trilogy" are not really novels. They are a series of interconnected stories written over time. Foundation is actually 5 short stories. Because of this the stories vary in quality.

The second book, Foundation and Empire is actually two stories. The first is called The General, and tells the story of the empire's last ditch effort to conquer the foundation. The weakness of the first story is that all the action takes place off page. We never see any of the actual combat, we just read the characters talking about it. Also, the resolution comes way too quickly. It feels like Asimov had reached his page limit and decided to end the story as quickly as he could.

The second story, called The Mule, is the real draw here. All the previous stories presented a challege for the foundation to overcome. However, it was always expected that the foundation would triumph based on the long term scientific predictions of its founder. The Mule throws in a variable that was not predicted. The appearance of a mutant who swiftly moves to conquer the various planets left in the wake of the old empire's collapse. Ultimately, he sets his sights on the foundation. The best part of the story is a visit to the ruins of the planet Trantor. Former capital of the galactic empire.

Having finished this second book, I have come to realize that the Foundation trilogy, while entertaining is certainly not Asimov's best work. Time is not always kind to science fiction and all of these early stories were written before 1950, when Asimov was still a young writer. I plan to continue on to the next book, but I no longer expect to be overwhelmed by the classic status these stories have achieved.

Ultimately, the hardest decision about the Foundation books is to decide how to read them. Maybe I'm being ridiculous, but I think you will enjoy them more if you read them in the order they were written. If so, this is the second book. If you have not yet read Foundation, then you need to go back and do so before tackling this one.

Your other choice is to read the prequels first, then go onto Foundation. In that case, this is the fourth book you should read.

Whichever choice you make, don't read this book first.

On the surface, Foundation and Empire will seem like an uninspired playing out of Hari Seldon's vision for the future. Ah! But there's much more happening, so pay attention. When you get to the end of the book, you may find you have missed the mainstream and will have to go back. Don't worry, almost everyone has that reaction.

Asimov is a brilliant conceptual writer, but not someone who slaved over every word (in fact, he was famous for writing most of his many books in only 1 or 2 drafts, with little editing after that). This book begins to develop the full Foundation concept in all of its stunning beauty.

In many ways, you will be reading this book from the eyes of the first Foundation. But that's the unimportant one. The real action is with the second Foundation. Be sure to keep that in mind.

When you meet the Mule, don't think of him as an aberration but rather as an extension of today's potential. That will make the book more interesting for you.

Many people find this book to be the least interesting one of the Foundation series. Let me warn you that reading this one will greatly increase your pleasure in the following books beginning with the Second Foundation (which is your next pleasant reading assignment).

Enjoy this irresistible series!

"Foundation and Empire," the second novel in Isaac Asimov's landmark science fiction series, is a definite improvement on the first novel. The first novel was hardly a novel at all, but rather a loose and uneven collection of short stories. "Foundation and Empire" is actually two novellas, and more care has obviously been taken with writing style, pacing, and character development.

The second story, "The Mule," is perhaps the best of the entire Foundation series. The characters are enjoyably real and likable, and there are two masterful surprises at the end.

The entire Foundation series is essential reading for any science fiction fan.

You can read the publisher's summary for yourself, but let me just add that this is THE classic SF trilogy. Book one, "Foundation," creates the future world, its declining culture, and how a group of strong-minded individuals don't want to see knowledge die. How they do that drives this novel. In book two, Asimov introduces the mystery of the mule, and in book three Asimov pulls a rabbit out the hat called the Second Foundation.

If you enjoy books that entertain, books that offer good mysteries, and books that make you think about bigger things in life, than this series is for you. It's too bad our political leaders don't read novels like this. Maybe we'd avoid the continual messes they get countries in.