Customer Reviews

The Foundation Trilogy

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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im a huge fan of isaac asimov for many many reasons. the fact that he wrote my all time favorite story is just coincidence. but he did. this incredible tale told in 3 volumes originally in the 1950,s and then continued years later in the 1980,s was based on THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE by GIBBONS that was written in the 1700,s. asimov decided to place the tale in the far future , in a galactic empire that includes thousands of worlds throughout the galaxy. the empire is falling in to barbarism and one man HARI SELDON has figured out a way to save it from falling. not totallly from falling mind you, that is way beyond help at this point but hes figured a way to cushion the fall so to speak and then make it rise again faster than it would through his discovery of " PSYCHOHISTORY". Physchohistory is the study of history and its past and what the future may bring based on what has happend combined with psychology and what very may well happen in the future. he creates TWO foundations on opposite ends of the galaxy to guide and help the whole of civilization along the next few million years to keep things from getting too bad, but something happens. some THING throws a monkey wrench into the works long after seldon is dead that threatens the whole of his work. or does it? the first 3 novels written in the fifties are markedly different in style from the ones written the eightys naturally and they can almost be considerd 2 seperate tales but they all work together well. so well in fact that even though asimov is dead the storys are continued by other science fiction writers like greg bear and gregory bedford. in fact they may continue forever with permission from the asimov estate but the original works are sheer genius. easy to read and simply written in the typical asimov style. great idea thats well thought out.

There's no real way to do justice to this monumental work, one of the most influential ones on later science fiction.

Rather than overpraise it, I will note that the style is a bit dated, but not sufficient to detract from its present day enjoyment. Notable is the lack of physical action and the fact that you don't even notice this lack.

Actually, this isn't as much a group of three novels as it is seven shorter works. They lead through a crucial part of Galactic history starting with the beginning of the First Foundation, the first predicted crises, and then the unpredicted emergence of The Mule which appears to throw Hari Seldon's psychohistory off course, up to the search for a Second Foundation, spurred by the political intrigue and power struggle Asimov handles so well.

If you've never read these stories, and if you appreciate expertly written science-fiction, you do owe it to yourself to read these.

I'm not a huge fan of the sci-fi genre, but I have to admit that Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy is an absolute masterpiece. The writing style is lucid and sharp. Asimov never makes the mistake that sometimes plagues sci-fi of becoming too bogged down in techno-babble. He keeps things high-tech, but never loses the reader. The pacing is wonderful and will keep you constantly wanting to know what happens next. The greatest strength of this book is, no pun intended, the plot foundation that Asimov introduces at the beginning of the very first book. The whole concept of Hari Seldon and his predictive psychohistory is ingenious and sustains all three books wonderfully. You won't regret reading Asimov's greatest work.

I ready Asimov's Foundation Trilogy over a week while living in Mexico back in 1974. This trilogy remains timeless, as enjoyable today as it was when first written back in the early 1950s. I am still fascinated by the original premise of the novel... that the world's scientific endeavors and future would be best served by a test to see which is more important: Science and technology or the mind.

Definitely worth a read.

John Cathcart
Award-winning author of "Delta 7"

This is a wonderful edition of this classic series. Very nice, slightly glossy, pages and excellent binding. I would say this should be considered as the "definitive" version. If you're a new-comer to the Foundation series, or a veteran looking to replace those battered old paper-backs with a shiny new edition, this one should be top of the list. The story itself is 5-star greatness, of course! The price is also excellent and shipping was super-fast, for me.

Asimov is not my favorite author--nor is he my favorite sci/fi writer (that would be Simak). Be that as it may, This is my favorite work of sci/fi. Not due to the quality of the prose, but because of the ingenious stories and characters here. I also like the great span of the trilogy. But, the main reason I keep re-reading it year after year is because of The Mule. The Mule is one of the most evil and tragic personas ever to grace a novel. The depth of his solitude is on a par with Ophelia, Gollum, or Count Dracula. The Mule is all powerful, pathetic, depressing to the point of suicide. An unforgettable character in all of literature.

This fantastic trilogy takes you through the fate of the universe. Of course which universe isn't ever exactly clear. The greatest feat of these three books, is their ability to never use any amount of action though, aside from the basic walking in and out of rooms, boarding craft and whatnot. In one of the later books in the series, (These first three were the original, but society demanded more), Asimov even himself said that he was surprised at the lack of action. Wonderful books though.

I first read these books when I was in high school and although
I almost never read fiction, and don't particularly like science
fiction (even though I studied geophysics in university and
work as an engineer), these books made an immense impression
on me. As I began to study Judaism, I finally discovered that
Asimov, a non-observant, yet knowledgable Jew, was using the
format of science fiction to describe the Jewish concept of the
redemption of mankind. A careful reading of the Biblical
Prophets shows that the ideal world that history is leading
mankind towards has universal peace between nations and a
de-emphasis of technology in favor of the development of man's
inner, more
spiritual side. However, this development of man's spiritual
qualities and move towards universal harmony is accompanied
by upheavels and wars. Jewish tradition also says that the
world is sustained by 36 "hidden" righteous people whose
good deeds and spritual superiority are vital from preventing
the destructive forces in the world, both natural and
man-made from overcoming everything and leading the world
to chaos.
Asimov used the two Foundations as his vehicle for describing
this cosmic process, and an important part of the story is
the necessity of the Second Foundation to remain "hidden" to
allow the process to work itself out.
As far as the story itself is concerned, it is true that it is
dated...for example, Asimov places the capital of the Galactic
Empire on the planet Trantor which "is at the center of the
Galaxy". Today, it is believed that the center of the galaxy
is full of black holes and lethal amounts of radiation, so it
is unlikely there would be life as we know it there. Also,
Asimov posits atomic energy as being the ultimate form of power
but physics has advanced beyond that point to fusion and other
exotic forms of power.
On the other hand, Asimov wrote these stories in the wake of
the Second World War and so he is quite aware of how so many
institutions created by men...including governments and religious
establishments, even starting with the best
of intentions, seems to run into crises. Thus the Galactic
Empire, which brought centuries of peace and prosperity to
mankind, is brought inevitably to a point of degeneration, and
how the (First) Foundation itself, founded by idealistic,
intelligent people who are at least partly aware of their
important role in shaping a better future for mankind, rapidly
degenerates into a repressive dictatorship.
As others have pointed out, these stories have almost no "action",
which is fine with me (my favorite movies and TV shows also
have no action, e.g. Twelve Angry Men) and in spite of the
fact that these stories are 60 years old, I recommend them
to anyone who wants a deeper look at mankind's nature
and its destiny.

I am 100% satisfied with my purchase of this book from Daisy Lane Books. The product was everything it was advertised to be. It arrived in perfect condition in a timely fashion. I highly recommend buying from this retailer.

I read these at the behest of a neighbor. I had to have all of them after that (at least the ones written by Asimov). I wasn't interested in the non-Asimovian "Second Foundation" trilogy. But The Original Trilogy is great, and it continues in many other books with the word Foundation in it.