Book Review: Foundation
Coming home to one of my favorite
series.
Isaac Asimov was utterly brilliant in his concept
of future history. Like Heinlein, he could look into the far future and see
where we might actually wind up, and know, it seems instinctively, how we got
there, for, once he envisioned it, it was past-tense for him- he knew
everything.
Foundation tells the story of the first century of the collapse of the galactic Empire. At the heart of the stories is are the holographic appearances of Hari Seldon, mathematician and founder of the future-predicting branch of mathematics called psychohistory. Because of his predictions, or prophesies of doom, Seldon and his co-workers are sent to a small planet at the edge of the galaxy to continue their work, trying to prevent the 30,000 years of anarchy after the fall, reducing it to a single millennium of chaos. His hologram appears during predicted "Seldon Crises" that threaten the livelihood of his Foundation. The stories are those of the Foundation leaders as they meet these crises, overcome them, and, indeed, return peace to the galaxy one step at a time.
Asimov weaves action and political intrigue equally well, and is brilliant with both. The Foundation is intentionally hopelessly defenseless, while the surrounding systems are terrifyingly militaristic in these decades during and after the fall. The Foundation has to maintain a delicate balance, and Asimov sees it, saw it, wrote it, and makes all the descriptions accessible to those of us who do not live in the age of Trantor.
The bottom line... I give this first book, Foundation, five Seldon Crises out of five! A perfect score! And always worth reading!
Foundation tells the story of the first century of the collapse of the galactic Empire. At the heart of the stories is are the holographic appearances of Hari Seldon, mathematician and founder of the future-predicting branch of mathematics called psychohistory. Because of his predictions, or prophesies of doom, Seldon and his co-workers are sent to a small planet at the edge of the galaxy to continue their work, trying to prevent the 30,000 years of anarchy after the fall, reducing it to a single millennium of chaos. His hologram appears during predicted "Seldon Crises" that threaten the livelihood of his Foundation. The stories are those of the Foundation leaders as they meet these crises, overcome them, and, indeed, return peace to the galaxy one step at a time.
Asimov weaves action and political intrigue equally well, and is brilliant with both. The Foundation is intentionally hopelessly defenseless, while the surrounding systems are terrifyingly militaristic in these decades during and after the fall. The Foundation has to maintain a delicate balance, and Asimov sees it, saw it, wrote it, and makes all the descriptions accessible to those of us who do not live in the age of Trantor.
The bottom line... I give this first book, Foundation, five Seldon Crises out of five! A perfect score! And always worth reading!
Posted: Thu - October 25, 2007 at 10:00 PM
Quick Links
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Oct 25, 2007 10:00 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Oct 25, 2007 10:00 PM