Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy

[Dream]

I've heard how the Foundation Trilogy is the greatest Sci Fi saga ever. Saw the trilogy recently at a book store. Wondering what people here thought of it.

I'm a fan of stuff like Star Wars and Star Trek. I like my stories with plenty of action/adventure and well developed characters.

 

[Christopher]

I'm a fan of stuff like Star Wars and Star Trek. I like my stories with plenty of action/adventure and well developed characters.

Ooh, those aren't exactly things Asimov is well-known for. His fiction tends to be driven more by lengthy conversations about interesting ideas and challenging mysteries and dilemmas. The Foundation series is more about political intrigue and the changing shape of galactic history than it is about action.

Still, it's one of those works that are pretty much an essential part of science-fiction literacy, and it has a lot going for it on its own terms.

 

[Admiral2]

I'm a fan of stuff like Star Wars and Star Trek. I like my stories with plenty of action/adventure and well developed characters.

Ooh, those aren't exactly things Asimov is well-known for. His fiction tends to be driven more by lengthy conversations about interesting ideas and challenging mysteries and dilemmas. The Foundation series is more about political intrigue and the changing shape of galactic history than it is about action.

Still, it's one of those works that are pretty much an essential part of science-fiction literacy, and it has a lot going for it on its own terms.

What he said.

If you got them and sat down and got comfortable while reading them, the books will be well worth the purchase price.

 

[Dream]

Foundation is very plot driven isn't it? I haven't really read any Hard Sci Fi novels before.

I heard some people mention that the Hyperion Cantos series is pretty good too.

 

[Admiral2]

Foundation is very plot driven isn't it? I haven't really read any Hard Sci Fi novels before.

Plot and idea driven. It's about Human society in the galactic age, its downfall and re-emergence. It's a fascinating read, but definitely not an action story or character story, like Christopher said.

I heard some people mention that the Hyperion Cantos series is pretty good too.

I've never read it, so I couldn't say one way or the other.

 

[Reverend]

If you've never read "hard" sci-fi before then Asimov's Foundation would be jumping in at the deep end. The likes of Dune and Lensman are also probably a no-go, at least to begin with.

Perhaps start with Ender's Game? Or maybe some of Heinlein's earlier works?

 

[Gov Kodos]

There are a lot of fun works being republished by NESFA Press. They reprint a lot of fun early science fiction authors. I really enjoyed the collections of Robert Shekley's, and Murry Leinster's work. Fantastic short stories with action and fun twists.

 

[Dream]

If you've never read "hard" sci-fi before then Asimov's Foundation would be jumping in at the deep end. The likes of Dune and Lensman are also probably a no-go, at least to begin with.

Perhaps start with Ender's Game? Or maybe some of Heinlein's earlier works?

Thanks for the suggestion! Yeah, I probably shouldn't start off with something so complex.

I just checked out what Ender's Game is about. Looks interesting...

 

[FordSVT]

If you read Ender's game, be warned that the two sequels are nothing like it. I enjoyed them, but not for the same reasons.

Three of the later books run parallel to or follow immediately after Ender's Game. Ender's Shadow is the best of them, IMO.

Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow are going to be the basis of the Ender movie coming out next year. I'd put money on it being told from Bean's point of view.

 

[coolghoul]

I'm a fan of stuff like Star Wars and Star Trek. I like my stories with plenty of action/adventure and well developed characters.

Ooh, those aren't exactly things Asimov is well-known for. His fiction tends to be driven more by lengthy conversations about interesting ideas and challenging mysteries and dilemmas. The Foundation series is more about political intrigue and the changing shape of galactic history than it is about action.

Still, it's one of those works that are pretty much an essential part of science-fiction literacy, and it has a lot going for it on its own terms.

I too agree with what Christopher said.

However, if you want to get into the sci-fi genre, you will have to read this at some point for sure. Asimov is one of the most famous sci-fi authors for sure.

Also - while originally envisioned as a trilogy, there were a few more books in the same universe done (some of it even tying into the Robots series/universe that Asimov did).

I remember reading some of Asimov's non-fiction (basically science books) too and I remember his explanation which goes from escape velocity, Chandrasekhar's limit and finally black holes as the way I came to understand Black holes. Also, funnily enough, I truly understood the significance of the periodic table too only from reading Asimov. Somehow the standard textbook approach never really made the point clear *to me* as Asimov's approach did.

 

[Mooch]

I've heard how the Foundation Trilogy is the greatest Sci Fi saga ever. Saw the trilogy recently at a book store. Wondering what people here thought of it.

I'm a fan of stuff like Star Wars and Star Trek. I like my stories with plenty of action/adventure and well developed characters.

Not part of the "trilogy", but I think Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation (the prequels) might be more to your liking. I seem to recall that they had more action and better charicterization than the trilogy, which I found rather abstract. If you like them you can always read the others after.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelude_to_Foundation"][/URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_the_Foundation[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_the_Foundation"][/URL]

 

[Anji]

Expand your horizons! Read the Foundation Series, it's wonderful. Go the library and take out the first book to see if you like it. If you do, then buy the others.

I love Dr. A.

 

[Christopher]

Also - while originally envisioned as a trilogy, there were a few more books in the same universe done (some of it even tying into the Robots series/universe that Asimov did).

Actually it was originally a series of eight separate stories published in 11 installments in Astounding Science Fiction magazine. Doubleday Books later collected those eight stories in three novel-length volumes and the Foundation "Trilogy" was born. Three decades later, he returned to the Foundation setting and over the next decade wrote two sequels and two prequels to the trilogy. Around the same time, he also did two sequels to his Lije Bailey/R. Daneel Olivaw robot novels, and he used the two sets of sequels to tie his formerly separate Robot, Foundation, and Galactic Empire series into a single overarching universe.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

Delightful series -- a definite 'must read', imo.

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, they're great stories, but don't go in expecting action and adventure and Star Wars style whizz-bang. They're mostly about political intrigue and philosophy. That's why people feel a movie would be hard to make as there isn't much action to show for it, nor much travelling, but lots and lots of talking. There isn't even much travelling until the later books when travel becomes a focal point in one of the stories.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Foundation would work better as TV series. The West Wing...IN SPACE!!!!!

 

[JiNX-01]

I've heard how the Foundation Trilogy is the greatest Sci Fi saga ever. Saw the trilogy recently at a book store. Wondering what people here thought of it.

I'm a fan of stuff like Star Wars and Star Trek. I like my stories with plenty of action/adventure and well developed characters.

I love the Foundation series. In fact it's not just a trilogy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series

 

[Darth_Daver]

Asimov's universe is a must read, with the Foundation Trilogy (and Foundation's Edge & Earth) at its core.

That said, Ender's Game (and Ender's Shadow) and the Hyperion Cantos (especially the first two books) are also in the "perfect" category.

Right now I'm reading Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, so fortunately I can tell you, you won't run out of good books for a while

 

[The Lensman]

Echoing what others have said, there's a lot of conversations in the books about Galactic society and, as the books progress, it's immediate history. And yet it's still freaking interesting to read, you just get drawn in somehow.

One thing the books did do, that got emulated a lot in those days, was to create the image of "the fallen Empire". Visiting worlds where the remnants of Empire lay crumbling and glory was a thing of the past.

In addition, as far as I know, it was the first series to describe dirty ramshackle spaceships flown by adventuring traders. It also featured a planet wide city that was the capital of the Galactic Empire. These concepts were all prominent in the Star Wars movies...in fact it was in Foundation that the term "Galactic Empire" was created.

As for the books, when I originally read them, there was just the trilogy. Then he wrote more books, and I read them too. After a couple of read throughs, I realized I preferred the style and tone of the originals. (Trantor retconned to be covered by domes instead of a planet wide city? Booooo!!) So these days I pretty much ignore anything written after Second Foundation.


Your mileage may vary of course.

 

[RJDiogenes]

The Foundation Series is one of the all-time classics of SF (the original trilogy was once voted superior to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy). It's definitely not a popcorn movie on paper. It's all talking heads and is more like Masterpiece Theater than Star Wars or nuTrek-- any action takes place off-screen. It's all about the Big Ideas. It's absolutely fantastic.