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Foundation by Isaac Asimov is our READERS PICK for August.



"For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. Only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.

But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. And mankind’s last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and live as slaves—or take a stand for freedom and risk total destruction..."

Are you reading this book? Shout it out in the discussion thread below! Find out who else is reading it. Share your thoughts and links to your reviews. Just remember to be kind and use the spoiler .html so you don't spoil the fun!

Ok, it’s time to give the Foundation another try. I have it on my gave-up-on-it list.

I enjoyed the Foundation series, but got more 'in' to it once it re-merged with the 'I, Robot' series. I like that human element.

Alright, only 10% in yet but I thoroughly enjoy it. It’s been 15 years and I read it in german, so maybe things got a bit lost in translation.

About 75% or so through, and definitely will continue on in the series. One of the most interesting aspects of this book to me is how Asimov allows you to see history developing in brief chunks.

Will be very interested to discuss certain aspects as people finish the book. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone yet!

Salvor Hardin is a favorite character thus far.

I read this many years ago and loved it. Don't know whether I'll be able to read it again. I haven't started last month's books yet. I can't keep up.

I just set up a Book Buddy Club down at the bottom of all the threads where you guys can discuss Foundation in bare-knuckled, spoilery glory.

/topic/show/...

Anybody can request a book buddy for ANY book, but you've got a better shot of luring people down to the bowels of the community to spoil-away if you post an invite where people can see it.

Go forth, my lovelies, and SPOIL away 3:-)

I looooove Foundation. Foundation and Empire is even better. The robot novels are good. I loved 'The Robots of Dawn' so much, it is one of the only a handful of books I've read twice. Robots and Empire is again heartfelt and awesome. The way the eighties series of foundation books linked up with the robot books completely blew my mind. One day I'll read them all over again.

I love this book. I continued on with the second in the series, but never finished it.

Just finished reading Foundation and enjoyed it a lot. Moving on to Foundation and Empire. What are people's thoughts on order of reading for Asimov? I have heard that he recommended chronological order, as in Robots>Empire> Foundation, but I decided to read in publication order because I wanted to see his development as a writer. Am I missing out by not reading the I robot series first?

Kate wrote: "Am I missing out by not reading the I robot series first?..."

I read Foundation before I, Robot and when I got to Foundation and Earth I was like 'who is that dude they just went to meet?' So ... Foundation and Empire next is good. But you might want to take a detour after that to get a clue who R. Deneel Olivaw is before they have the big meetup in latter books :-)

So glad to see something that looks familiar. I read this earlier this year. I loved it and can't wait to continue. I've decided to begin his robot universe and then go back for the trilogy and see what happens after that.

This has been on my "to read" list for a couple of decades. So glad I finally got to it. I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

This was my introduction to science fiction. I was in my early teens in the 60's and stumbled into a copy in Aarhus, Denmark, of all places while traveling with my father back to the old country. I was bored seeing relative after relative, people I did not really know, especially so as my Danish was very limited. I just found a copy in a bookseller bargain bin and bought it.
It was so amazing to me. I had never read anything like it. The Mule was awesome. The concepts and story line were fascinating. It was a magnificent introduction to science fiction, one I recommend still.

The Foundation series and the Robot novels were also my introduction into Space Opera. And I just loved it, marking the starting point for my sci-fi development. The whole storyline is amazing, and I remember my surprise Seldon actually died but still doesn't, and how Asimov introduces new main character that sing his Opera.
I reread the whole Foundation series, also 4-6 and the prequels, 5 years ago, and somehow I got a very tiny "outdated scenery" feeling, but I guess that is what years of hard sci fi reading and development in the genre has done to me :) i will probably not reread them again, but they are on an eye-height shelf in my library as I do value this series as highly important in my personal life.

An interesting rif on the Foundation/Robots series, by David Brin:



I think I'm going to have to reread the original series, then pick up on some of the later ones that I missed.

Hi, folks,
I read Asimov as an adolescent. The basic ideas (psychohistory) were fantastic, but now those stories strike me as dated. I think modern authors generally do a better job with their characters than Asimov did. Maybe that's just a personal preference for getting inside a character's head. The presentation in Asimov is usually a narrator rather than a character. If you're interested in more modern examples, and better character development, I would point you to Edward Robertson (the Rebel series) or Adrien Tchaikovsky (Children of Time).

In most respects you're correct Roger, the stories are nearly 75 years old, so it's inevitable that they feel dated. (Although, for me they are less dated than many others from a similar time.) And yes, Asimov's characters were not always well-developed - especially female characters - but he was a wonderful storyteller. Its at least 55 years since I first read an Asimov story - but I can still re-read them with pleasure today.