Paperback, 304 pages
Published Oct. 29, 2017 by İthaki Yayınları.
One of the great masterworks of science fiction, the Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building.
The story of our future begins with the history of Foundation and its greatest psychohistorian: Hari Seldon. 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 …
One of the great masterworks of science fiction, the Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building.
The story of our future begins with the history of Foundation and its greatest psychohistorian: Hari Seldon. 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.
I could not stop reading it. Despite a lack of 'action' it was gripping and entertaining.
Il faudra un jour que je relise et que j'écrive une critique plus complète de ce grand classique de la science-fiction, un roman et une saga que j'avais lu avec énormément de plaisir quand j'étais plus jeune.
Awful treatment of female character. But fascinating to see the roots of modern sci fi.
This holds up a lot better than I remembered. There are some definite artifacts of the Golden Age (every character is a dude who smokes, and the dialogue can be... clunky) but it moves along much better than you'd expect for a novel literally about ideas.
Asimov is great at pulling you in with ideas. His prose is great and his plots combine action and idea to great effect.
Foundation is a great book set over something like two centuries covering the descent into chaos of a great Empire and the work of scholars to try and preserve what they can of civilization. The book is organized into vignettes of the various crises that befall the Foundation, and how the people work past them. Highly recommended.
A book I'd heard about many time but never made the time to read. Foundation is rightly a classic of Sci-Fi, although perhaps slightly dated by todays standards. The big ideas are certainly here - psychohistory, fall and decline of empire and a new hope for the future, religion as a tool of power, economics as a tool of power etc. Its a fun read - essentially 5 novellas linked together in a single iver arching narrative.
My only reservations are that it is a book of its time - the technology forseen is firmly routed in the 1950s world as is the narrative and characters similarly shaped by the period (for example there is only a single female character and she is merely a template of a harridan wife, everyone smokes cigars, everything is nuclear etc). This is understandable and the scope of ideas and central plot are not …
A book I'd heard about many time but never made the time to read. Foundation is rightly a classic of Sci-Fi, although perhaps slightly dated by todays standards. The big ideas are certainly here - psychohistory, fall and decline of empire and a new hope for the future, religion as a tool of power, economics as a tool of power etc. Its a fun read - essentially 5 novellas linked together in a single iver arching narrative.
My only reservations are that it is a book of its time - the technology forseen is firmly routed in the 1950s world as is the narrative and characters similarly shaped by the period (for example there is only a single female character and she is merely a template of a harridan wife, everyone smokes cigars, everything is nuclear etc). This is understandable and the scope of ideas and central plot are not affected by this but it is perhaps jarring to a modern reader.
Nonetheless this is a great book - big on ideas more than action but ideas that are engrossing and interesting, and I throughly recommned it.
A chilling vision of the future in which humans are made of plywood. The effort to achieve gender parity in STEM education will be remembered as a failure; there will be only two career paths open to women: to be a sort of walking Christmas tree bearing nuclear-powered baubles, or an emasculating Xanthippe to a tinhorn dictator.
Meh. This book seems to not have aged well, if it ever did. There are a couple of interesting ideas, like the trick of hiding science in religion to have it survive the fall of the Empire. But with this book I have the same problem as with Ringworld: It's this gigantic world of possibilities, but all the stories are rather unconnected and play on a tiny scale. All of the four stories basically play out the same way: Bullish smart man tricks out some king by having science and technology. Apparently, in the far future, there's still kings and there's also no women. Maybe the rest of the books are better, but I won't find out. This one certainly doesn't deserve to be called a classic.
Asimov provides an epic struggle for the survival of humanity after the fall of the Empire. Extremely difficult to put down. The Foundation "Trilogy" later expanded to encompass seven novels directly and also tied in many of Asimov's Robot stories and novels.
Leí la fundación de Asimov cuando era bastante joven en los libros en papel que andan por casa de mis padres y ahora me ha dado por volver a releerla (ya que la tengo en digital).
Mi idea es leer la saga completa entre libro y libro de los que no he leído nunca.
Este primer libro tal, y como ocurrió la primera vez que me enfrenté con él, me ha encantado y lo he leído en menos de 1 semana (lo cual es todo un record dado mi escaso tiempo de leer últimamente).
Isaac Asimov is often cited among the most prestigious canon of science fiction authors. After reading Foundation, I can see why. As an early review — itself quoted in Asimov's introduction — notes more eloquently, the appeal of Foundation lies not in its action, which is nigh absent, but in the careful introduction of seemingly insignificant details, demonstrating Asimov's mastery of Chekhov's gun. It is the astute observation and manipulation of these details, in the enduring spirit of Seldon's psychohistory, that enable the protagonists to calmly safeguard the interests of the titular Foundation in the face of seemingly overwhelming obstacles. And this complex and subtle battle provides much of the grand appeal of the story.
Excellent.
Creaky, tedious, obvious. "Space only knows" why so many people love this book.
I read this a long long time ago, gave it 4 stars and can't remember a thing about it. time for a re-read methinks.
It is quite obvious from the beginning that Foundation was conceived as several short stories and later turned into a book. However there is a common theme in all of those stories: Averting impeding catastrophe for a newly formed colony of Galactic Empire - Foundation. A colony whose creator, Hari Seldon is a psychohistorian - a statistician that can predict changes in societies of large scale. Hari created Foundation to carry the torch of civilization through destruction of Empire itself. Can they keep the knowledge and peace at the same time?
Five parts of Foundation deal with approximately first 150 years of Foundation history. Each part separated by "Seldon Crisis" and each building on resolution of the previous one. All of this gives the Foundation appeal, because there are multiple plots to enjoy, while not being confusing and yet...connected in a way.
All in all a very enjoyable read with …
It is quite obvious from the beginning that Foundation was conceived as several short stories and later turned into a book. However there is a common theme in all of those stories: Averting impeding catastrophe for a newly formed colony of Galactic Empire - Foundation. A colony whose creator, Hari Seldon is a psychohistorian - a statistician that can predict changes in societies of large scale. Hari created Foundation to carry the torch of civilization through destruction of Empire itself. Can they keep the knowledge and peace at the same time?
Five parts of Foundation deal with approximately first 150 years of Foundation history. Each part separated by "Seldon Crisis" and each building on resolution of the previous one. All of this gives the Foundation appeal, because there are multiple plots to enjoy, while not being confusing and yet...connected in a way.
All in all a very enjoyable read with no hard surprises but a lot of small memorable moments and quotes. I particularly enjoyed all the political twists and various machinations
