After years of struggle, the Foundation lay in ruins -- destroyed by the mutant mind power of the Mule. But it was rumored that there was a Second Foundation hidden somewhere at the end of the Galaxy, established to preserve the knowledge of mankind through the long centuries of barbarism. The Mule had failed to find it the first time -- but now he was certain he knew where it lay.
The fate of the Foundation rests on young Arkady Darell, only fourteen years old and burdened with a terrible secret. As its scientists girded for a final showdown with the Mule, the survivors of the First Foundation began their desperate search. They too wanted the Second Foundation destroyed... before it destroyed them.
The thing I enjoy about these books is that the fate of the galaxy comes down to the actions of a few people with often little 'power'. Though this sometimes feels contradictory to the books premise that Phsycohistory can predict the future of vast populations but not individuals.
This is my favourite of the trilogy with plenty of intrigue surrounding the Seldon plan, who is guiding galactic events and will it succeed? The book definitely had me questioning at points whether the Seldon plan is actually a desirable outcome for the galaxy.
Overall, this was a fun book. I don't think it's as good as the first of the Foundation novels, but it still is pretty decent in continuing the story in that universe. It gives up some of the large time spans and grandiose scale to focus instead on a bit of a mystery which gives it a fresh take compared to the others. The Second Foundation itself is quite intriguing and makes you wonder how far along their plans will actually take them.
Overall, this was a fun book. I don't think it's as good as the first of the Foundation novels, but it still is pretty decent in continuing the story in that universe. It gives up some of the large time spans and grandiose scale to focus instead on a bit of a mystery which gives it a fresh take compared to the others. The Second Foundation itself is quite intriguing and makes you wonder how far along their plans will actually take them.
Review of 'Second Foundation (The Isaac Asimov Collection)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This is the third of Asimov's Foundation novels, and the last of the original Trilogy. After this he left the Foundation alone for many years. This volume picks up where the previous one left off. The Mule was thwarted when Bayta Darell killed Ebling Mis, thus preventing The Mule from learning the location of the Second Foundation. But The Mule could not be secure if the Second Foundation was out there, so he mounts a search, using whatever clues he can find. One of those clues was Star's End, and that leads him to a star system called Tazenda, which might be a corruption of Star's End. It looks deceptively rural and unassuming, but if a group is hiding itself it might do just that. The Mule goes there, but is met by someone from the Second Foundation, and it turns out this person also has unusual mental powers, strong …
This is the third of Asimov's Foundation novels, and the last of the original Trilogy. After this he left the Foundation alone for many years. This volume picks up where the previous one left off. The Mule was thwarted when Bayta Darell killed Ebling Mis, thus preventing The Mule from learning the location of the Second Foundation. But The Mule could not be secure if the Second Foundation was out there, so he mounts a search, using whatever clues he can find. One of those clues was Star's End, and that leads him to a star system called Tazenda, which might be a corruption of Star's End. It looks deceptively rural and unassuming, but if a group is hiding itself it might do just that. The Mule goes there, but is met by someone from the Second Foundation, and it turns out this person also has unusual mental powers, strong enough to overcome The Mule. A little psychic surgery and the galaxy is safe.
But now the Foundation is aware of the Second Foundation, and that is causing problems. This knowledge is making them act in the wrong ways. Instead of relying on themselves, which Seldon's plan requires, they are now expecting the magical Second Foundation to bail them out of any problem. A group of Foundationers want to find and eliminate the Second Foundation, and they mount a search themselves. The grand-daughter of Bayta Darrell, Arkady Darrell, gets involved in things, and flees to Trantor in the company of a nice trader. In the end, the Foundationers are successfully convinced that they have found and eliminated the Second Foundation, but they haven't. Because it is not where they think it is. So Seldon's plan is safe - for now.
I now have this as part of a 7-book set of all of Asimov's Foundation novels in e-book form.
If you take the Foundation trilogy on its own, this is probably the best book. It really rounds off the series quite well in that sense - makes the other two fit a little better than they otherwise would have.
Perhaps not as dramatic as the second one - there's no massive defeat lurking or anything. Mostly it follows the same trend as the previous book, but now it's not the Mule hunting the second foundation, it's the first foundation. Perhaps my only gripe with this one is whilst we ultimately find out where the second foundation is, there are two places revealed as suspects at the climax, and whilst the characters may have been fooled - it was quite obvious that neither place could possibly be the true location.
All in all, a great end to the original trilogy. It will be exciting to see how the galaxy fairs …
If you take the Foundation trilogy on its own, this is probably the best book. It really rounds off the series quite well in that sense - makes the other two fit a little better than they otherwise would have.
Perhaps not as dramatic as the second one - there's no massive defeat lurking or anything. Mostly it follows the same trend as the previous book, but now it's not the Mule hunting the second foundation, it's the first foundation. Perhaps my only gripe with this one is whilst we ultimately find out where the second foundation is, there are two places revealed as suspects at the climax, and whilst the characters may have been fooled - it was quite obvious that neither place could possibly be the true location.
All in all, a great end to the original trilogy. It will be exciting to see how the galaxy fairs in the final two books of the entire series.
Review of 'Second Foundation (The Isaac Asimov Collection)' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Where history concerns mainly personalities, the drawings become either black or white according to the interests of the writer.
Like many of the Sci-fi Godfathers, Asimov writes grand, breathtaking stories with delightful simplicity. For the whole trilogy, I’d give it 4 stars. The part that confuses me though, is for the second time in the trilogy, I can’t give this individual book more than 3.There are considerable spans of times between the books. This leaves the only consistent character to be the myth, Hari Seldon, whom you’ve never met. The characters we do meet and know, though enjoyable, are not very relatable or complex. They’re all small parts in the grand picture that Asimov is building. That picture that hooked me.There are two fundamental parts to his exploration. The first is the power of the will and the purpose of human agency within the massive ebbs and flows of humanity. …
Where history concerns mainly personalities, the drawings become either black or white according to the interests of the writer.
Like many of the Sci-fi Godfathers, Asimov writes grand, breathtaking stories with delightful simplicity. For the whole trilogy, I’d give it 4 stars. The part that confuses me though, is for the second time in the trilogy, I can’t give this individual book more than 3.There are considerable spans of times between the books. This leaves the only consistent character to be the myth, Hari Seldon, whom you’ve never met. The characters we do meet and know, though enjoyable, are not very relatable or complex. They’re all small parts in the grand picture that Asimov is building. That picture that hooked me.There are two fundamental parts to his exploration. The first is the power of the will and the purpose of human agency within the massive ebbs and flows of humanity. The second is the exploration of the role and power of religion. When there is something that seems so big, so inescapable, what power do you have to escape it? To stop it? Is it the mere belief that you are on the side of some bigger truth that tips the balance from defeat to victory? Does that belief make it real?
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.
