Second Foundation Review

Second Foundation   

-            Isaac Asimov

Publisher: UK – Collins

When the First Foundation was conquered by a force Seldon had not foreseen - the overwhelming power of a single individual, a mutant called the Mule - the second Foundation was forced to reveal its existence and, infinitely worse, a portion of its power. One man understood the shifting patterns of the inhabited cosmos. This was Hari Seldon, the last great scientist of the First Empire. The mathematics of psychohistory enabled Seldon to predict the collapse of the Empire and the onset of an era of chaos and war. To restore civilization in the shortest possible time, Seldon set up two Foundations. The First was established on Terminus in the full daylight of publicity. But the Second, "at the other end of the galaxy", took shape behind a veil of total silence. Because the Second Foundation guards the laws of psychohistory, which are valid only so long as they remain secret. So far the second Foundation's location, its most closely guarded secret of all, has been kept hidden. The Mule and the remnants of the First Foundation will do anything to discover it. This is the story of the Second Foundation.

When I reviewed Foundation, I said that the book was full of ideas but had little character or plot development. How far we’ve come! Second Foundation is the search for a mystery, a shadowy second foundation set up in case anything was to happen to the first. This search is split into with the story picking up on The Mule’s continuing search, thwarted at the end of the Foundation and Empire but still ongoing. In his search he sends ships across the stars looking for the only people who could conceivably stop his conquest of the galaxy. The second part, my favourite, was set some years after the Mule’s death when the original Foundation struggles to return the original Seldon Plan – this element introduces an intelligent but precocious teenager, Arcadia who thinks she can outwit the Second Foundation. For the first time while reading this series I came to care about at character rather than just admiring the ideas. Arcadia is sharp, over confident but retains an innocence and naiveté that is appealing. Her adventures and revelations were exciting and surprising and I actually cared about what happened to her.

The writing style seemed different to be as well, moving from drier fact based telling to more event orientated complete with twists and turns. There were a number of revelations about the nature and location of the Second Foundation, some of which I was able to guess and some I wasn’t. There is a deep psychological game played between the characters and again with the readers as to the location and nature of the Second Foundation and even if the Seldon plan was still valid or not. This makes it almost into a mystery as well for the reader.

Having finished the original Foundation trilogy I can see why these books are classics and still relevant today nearly 60 years after they were first written. There are so many ideas and society analysis that if you think too much it could give you a headache! At the same time it’s an interesting adventure looking at how predictable or not people are as a group. These books are the very definition of intelligent science fiction and worth a read if you fancy some deep thoughts and intriguing cultural development.

 Recommended for fans of Orson Scott Card and Larry Niven. 8 out 10



Part of FTC's Speculative Fiction Challange Book 10/12

 Part of My Personal Classics Challenge Book 3

Foundation and Empire Review

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Foundation and Empire

-       Isaac Asimov

Publisher: UK - Collins

The Seldon Plan guided the First Foundation safely through two centuries of chaos as the Galactic Empire disintegrated. Seldon's recorded holographic image appeared in the Council Chamber on Terminus at moments of crisis predicted by pshychohistory, and his voice was heard. Even war between the Foundation and the remains of the Empire was foreseen - and planned for - by the great scientist. But Seldon had no way of predicting the birth of the Mule, a mutant of uncanny power and unlimited ambition. The Mule's conquests are effortless and his subjects mind-controlled slaves. The Foundation is powerless against the supernormal force the Mule exerts. The Seldon Plan is in tatters.

This is the second of the Foundation series, a classic science fiction tale written by a legendary man himself, Isaac Asimov. I read Foundation and really enjoyed the ideas and theory behind the classic novel. In this next novel, the story of the Foundation’s task to reduce the chaos between Galactic Empires continue. The first part of the book covers a new Seldon Crisis where the remains of the old empire turns it’s attentions to the emerging power base of the Foundation and leads to conflict. The second part of the story is set a hundred years later and charts the time history starts to diverge from the psychohistory that Selden had foreseen three hundred years earlier with the rise of the unknown Mule who starts to conquer the galaxy. This was a pleasant change of pace as up until this point it was pretty much confirmed that Seldon had been right all along.

There is less emotion in this book than most novels but the ideas and economy of language provoke such startling thoughts, you never notice that you’re not emotional attached to these characters. Each character has a different personality and adds a different point of view to the situation. In fact most of the action occurs through conversations rather than physical action. While short on pages, this book is big on  ideas and even manages to end in something of a cliff hanger that I will have to pick up Second Foundation soon.

Recommended for fans of Ian M Banks and Jostein Gaarder. 7 out of 10.

Part of FTC's Speculative Fiction Challange Book 6/12

 Part of My Personal Classics Challenge Book 2

Foundation Review

Foundation

- Isaac Asimov

Publisher: UK - Collins (1994 reprint)

Foundation marks the first of a series of tales set so far in the future that Earth is all but forgotten by humans who live throughout the galaxy. Yet all is not well with the Galactic Empire. Its vast size is crippling to it. In particular, the administrative planet, honeycombed and tunneled with offices and staff, is vulnerable to attack or breakdown. The only person willing to confront this imminent catastrophe is Hari Seldon, a psychohistorian and mathematician. Seldon can scientifically predict the future, and it doesn't look pretty: a new Dark Age is scheduled to send humanity into barbarism in 500 years. He concocts a scheme to save the knowledge of the race in an Encyclopedia Galactica. But this project will take generations to complete, and who will take up the torch after him?

I have to admit I would probably not have picked this book up if my friend Kris hadn’t challenged me to me read it. While I like science fiction films and TV Series, I never really get into sci-fi books much (Strange considering my astrophysics degree!). SO I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It’s basically a collection of short stories relating turning points of the Foundation, from initial set to various crisis at various points – all predicted in advanced by Hari Sheldon.

The concept of being able to predict the behaviour of large groups of humans over vast periods of time is quite creepy and believable. Individually we each have a variety of choices but collectively we’re predictable. This idea is key to story and one I wanted to explore more – the book stops just 200 years into Seldon’s 1000 year plan. The stories tended to focus on a handful of key individuals who put Seldon’s plans into action and re-enforced the predictability of the masses. This kind of paradox was very clever – there’s a reason why Isaac Asimov is consider a founder of modern science fiction. Despite being written over fifty years ago, the book didn’t feel dated at all – it doesn’t include much hard science despite the space and planetary setting. The story follows human behaviour and insight into us as a species.

I enjoyed this enormously but I don’t think it will be for everyone. There are no characters to develop or major set peices. The action is told through politics which I personally enjoy reading.

Recommended for fans of Stephen Baxter & Iain M Banks. 8 out of 10

Part of FTC's Speculative Fiction Challange Book 1/12

 Part of My Personal Classics Challenge Book 1