Not the fastest paced, but kept my interest.

I've always been an Asimov fan, so I'm reading this series for the first time, in the order the author intended. ( )

Rereading one of the most influential book series on young me after 20 years:

The book is a bit too long, a bit too dry, the romance is horrible and it's way too obsessed with grand reveals, especially for a prequel book, but there is something special about the grand scale of ideas and how it's presented here, because unlike other space operas which focus on a special hero, some backstabbing court intrigue or spaceships shooting each other it's all seen through the lens of science here. I'm not saying there's nothing like this out there, I'm sure there is, but this is what ultimately makes it work for me.

I originally read the series starting with this book and for me it added something to the original trilogy to see Seldon put things together before I read them. Later I read all the robot and empire stuff too and it made things feel even more epic that it was all connected, even if it's a bit sloppy, and I still feel that way too. In fact it might be better to read it in the in-universe chronological order, because reading it in the publication order might make it feel more like fanservice. Which it absolutely is. But what can I say, I am a fan, I've been for a long time now. ( )

The 9th in what can be seen as the "extended" 15 book Foundation Series. Also, the 1st of 2 prequels written after the success of the Foundation Trilogy. In this book we are introduced to the key character of Hair Seldon - the father of of Psychohistory. The strong Empire of the Galactic Empire trilogy has its decline exposed as part of the novel's narrative. ( )

Overall I felt this book dragged at some points and didn't need to be as long as it was. I found it harder to get fully into this than the Robot books. There were some pleasant surprises that came along, though, which made me enjoy the story more toward the end, and I'm compelled to continue the series.
I believe that I started this book with the hopes of getting through the series or at least well into it before the Foundation show came out, but I failed miserably at that and now regret skipping the Empire series by jumping to this one. So word of advice: Read Asimov's books in chronological order! ( )

I read the original 3 books in the Foundation series years ago. However, I never got around to reading the later prequels. So much time has past since then, and I found it is like starting from scratch. I had also forgotten how good Asimov is at world building.

Even though this book was originally published in 1989, the ideas regarding governments, social and economic problems are still relevant today. Maybe even more relevant today given the lines of division currently in our society. Add this to the great characters and I found the book entertaining and enjoyable. ( )

8497931270

The beginning of Science Fiction as we know it today. Asimov was a master world builder, nay, Galaxy builder. A far seer of historical and political shifts. Much has been written about these books, much better than I could. I will always remember my first love. ( )

4/6/22

Todo la saga de robots/imperio/fundacion se encuentran contenidas en este libro, los que les ponen pocas estrellas no logran comprender en su totalidad el valor en la linea de tiempo y a si mismo lo que nos quiere decir en general.
Esto es un analisis sociologico de Trantor cuya diversidad de formas toma partes de la historia humana de las sociedades reales y te hace pensar en ellas.
El libro va tirando pistas para un final magnifico, es genial leer los nombres de Aurora, de la Tierra y esa aproximacion de los nombres de los heroes de la mayoria de los libros de la serie de robots, si uno se pusiera a pensar tal vez podria darse cuenta de la sorpresa que encierra esta aventura pero es mejor no adivinar asi te golpea en la cara y lo sentis hermoso.
Creo que lo disfrute aun mas al haber leido antes la trilogia principal de fundacion ademas de todos los libros anteriores a este.
( )

This book was Asimov's retrospective account of the early years of Hari Seldon as he groped towards founding his science of psychohistory, with which he later guided the work of the Foundations that he caused to be set up in the original Foundation trilogy in order to bring order to the chaos of the declining and disintegrating Galactic Empire. This is a story of Seldon's flight through various sectors of the imperial capital planet Trantor from the mysterious hostile forces pursuing him to gain the secrets of psychohistory that they believe he holds. There are some great characters in here and a good narrative drive. This was Asimov at the height of his SF writing powers during their second wind in the 1980s. ( )

Whew, what to make of this? I'm beginning to think I prefer Asimov's non-fiction. His fiction was ever a bit (or more than a bit) clunky, talky and static ... to be honest, the exalted status of the Foundation Trilogy in sf-dom always puzzled me a little, since -- while I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong -- I far preferred other series, even as a youngun ... James Blish's Cities in Flight, for example.

While I was reading this novel, a poor pun kept occurring to me: that Asimov's writing here didn't so much engender a "sense of wonder" (itself a much-maligned term) as a "sense of blunder" -- a kind of "oh, god, Isaac ... *really*?" This echoed with particular volume during the Mycogenian sequence ... where Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili encounter a Trantorian subculture where -- da da DUMMM -- hair is considered obscene. Golly. The future isn't so much unimaginable as just plain stupid.

It's kind of a commonplace to say that Asimov's writing improved as he aged, but in a way I disagree. I came away from this feeling like the freshness and ... eagerness? ... of the early work has been lost, and what's left is just slightly embarrassing. I remember that many years ago TV legend Norman Lear attempted a comeback with a new series (I can't remember the name) and, while on the surface he was doing the very same things that made his earlier work groundbreaking, funny and trenchant, the formula just didn't work any more and it failed with a clunk. There's a similar feeling here, for me at least.

(And It's somewhat creepier to take note of Asimov's leer-y attitude toward the female body here, since his status as sf-dom's "Man with a Hundred Hands" reputation has become more widely known. That made me sad)

Still, I kept reading. Why? I'm not sure. Uncle Isaac is so genial. I had fun. And the ending was a neat surprise, I thought. ( )

I read it when I was a teenager but I re-read it when the new Foundation series came out on Apple TV+. It's quite suspenseful, and there were many laugh-out-loud moments. I'd forgotten how funny Asimov could be. There were surprises at the end, and I'd forgotten some of them, so it was fun to be surprised all over again. ( )

Well, wasn't this a dreadful little book?

It's been decades since I read any Asimov, but I remember him with fondness for the original Foundation trilogy I read in the late-70s, along with several of his other novels.

I do, however, have no recollection of his narrative style whatsoever. After finishing this travesty, that actually scares the shit out of me for considering the other nine books in this series.

Prelude to Foundation reads like it was written by a somewhat over-intelligent twelve-year-old who then handed it off to a university professor with absolutely no sense of humour to do final edits.

I've decided, at least for this book, that Asimov is the exact antithesis of both [a:Stephen R. Donaldson|12980|Stephen R. Donaldson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1425823085p2/12980.jpg] and [a:Elmore Leonard|12940|Elmore Leonard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1240015224p2/12940.jpg], for different things.

Where Donaldson loves to write pages and pages and pages of dialogue where characters are consistently frustrated because they need answers to questions--and Donaldson actually has them mull the precise questions over in their minds but never verbalize them--then become angry when they can't find the answers they seek, despite talking around the real question but somehow never getting to it. Asimov, on the other hand, just has the most bare bones, unnuanced conversations you'll ever read. There's no subtext, there's no ulterior motives, there's only straight, unvarnished, completely honest talk. If a character needs to ask something, he asks it, and the answer comes. If a character needs to argue, he busts out logic and the other side accepts that logical argument and moves on. It's awful.

Then there's Elmore Leonard, a man who built a career out of having characters speak and their speech sang with humanity. They sounded real, they sounded wonderful, they often spoke in circles, or buried their answers in sarcasm or venom. They rarely gave straight answers, always with some other angle they were playing, but by god, you could hear that talking in your head like the characters were in the room with you. Asimov, on the other hand, writes the driest, most uninspired, overly-logical, overly-factual dialogue you'll find this side of a first time author's unedited self-published book. It's awful.

There's no nuance. There's no blind alleys. There's no personality. There's no exploration of humanity or interpersonal relationships.

There's only facts. If Hari Seldon is in a bind and needs to find a way out of it, the very next person he'll meet is the precise one he needs to meet at that time.

Then there's the stunning differences in the various areas of the planet he explores. "We think hair is disgusting!" or "If I shave my mustache, I am eliminating my manhood!" Yes, they may have some parallels in the real world, but when speculating on humankind 20,000 years in the future, this is the best you could do?

And then, there's the theoretical point of the novel, where Hari Seldon gains the breakthrough that allows him to turn his theoretical psycho-historical projections into a practical application. It happens off-stage and is delivered in the most uninspiring, anti-climactic scene I may have ever read.

Look, Asimov was a brilliant man. But, for a guy with over 500 books under his belt, I expected a hell of a lot more talent with basic characters and dialogue here. This was absolutely, without a doubt, terrible, and it's this type of book that's held up as an example of why non-SF readers don't read the genre.

There's nothing to be found here. Move on. ( )

Liked the implications of artificial beings, overpopulation, predictions.
Most of the story could happen on earth though. Very 20th century preoccupations. ( )

An adventure novel desguised as Science Fiction and a fun one at that. Hari Seldon delivers a paper at a math conference on the central planet of Trandor and finds that some very powerful players want his therotical ideas to be made possible so that it can help them politically. The rest of the book has him avoiding the Imperial government while trying to figure out if it he could take a theory and make it inot a useful reality. ( )

Frankly, I would have been happier if he'd just ended the series after Foundation and Earth. ( )

Vaguely interesting if you remember, as I do, the original Foundation series of my youth. But too much of the plot now reads like what a person of the 1960s thinks is "modern", like the concern over women's equality, or what a science-minded person of that era would think is futuristic, like the computers or transportation options. Not recommended unless you're a real Asimov fan. ( )

Written in 1988, the book clearly outlines ebooks and the effects of global warming. Asimov finally has a strong female character. ( )

I cannot believe I never read this, yet evidently I, at least, never finished it. It ties more firmly the robot series to the Foundation, but it was not Asimov at his best. My guess is that I got bored at an early point and set it aside.

There are many "spoiler" events I could mention, but won't. However I will say there is a new character--Raytch--who I fell in love with! This is to say it has some redeeming qualities! ( )

Hari Seldon has discovered psychohistory; a way to predict the future by looking into the past. It is revolutionary, except Seldon himself deems it impractical and impossible. If only people could accept the truth about it. After a rather anxious meeting with the Emperor of the Galaxy, he finds his life in danger. But after meeting a journalist called Hummin who helps him fight off a few boys; most likely sent by the Emperor's dog Demerzel to make sure nobody else gets their hands on Seldon's discovery – he finds himself on the run. But the more he is hunted, the more passionate Seldon becomes about psychohistory and finding the key to make it practical. Maybe, just maybe...

Isaac Asimov is one of the first names you'll hear when you are getting into the sci-fi genre – and there will be pages about how Asimov is one of those who have shaped the sci-fi genre the most with his robots. If anyone deserves to be coined one of the most important science fiction authors of all time; Asimov is definitely on the short list.

Despite my passion for science fiction, I'm not that into science itself. But reading Asimov's novel, that didn't matter at all. The science is advanced but there's no bureaucratic language which is one of the best combinations possible. Scientific textbooks aren't really my thing.

The story itself was interesting and exciting and I had a hard time not reading it. There were a lot of unexpected twists and turns... which all seemed quite logical once they were revealed. I groaned loudly at least once.

But the best thing? Just like in 80's sci-fi films, the fashion in the book is some odd upgrade of the 80's fashion... even despite the fact that Earth's existence is very much doubted. Amazing. ( )

Provides a great 'foundation' for the series. Probable not the first one to read. Has interesting perspective on the Laws of Robotics. ( )

elude to Foundation begins the entire Foundation series chronologically. On the planet Tranton Hari Seldon is alive and well. He has just given a speech on mathematical formulas that could potentially predict the future of mankind. That's when the trouble starts. The last galactic emperor has gotten wind of this phenomenon and he wants in. Seldon's advance predictions could potential stabilize his dynasty. Seldon needs to go into exile in order to escape Emperor Cleon's clutches. As Seldon puts it, "if a psychohistorical analysis is made and the results are then given to the public, the various emotions and reactions of humanity would at once be distorted" (p 17). He needs time to develop his notions further and perfect his psychohistorical technique so that it becomes mathematically valid predictions. With the help of mysterious Mr. Hummin Hari is spirited far away with Historian Professor Dors Venabili. Together they travel to different lands of intolerance like Mycogen where they discover a society that despises hair on adults. Another carries a severe prejudice against women which is ironic since Dors has the responsibility of protecting Seldon. ( )

I've completely surrendered myself to this series. It's absolutely perfect for me, and I'm so happy to have read it a little bit later in life. As I get older, I start to think of future generations, humanity in general and, hopefully, try be a little less selfish.

As far as sci-fi adventuring goes, this is top notch. Asimov's writing got better as he got older, and even though there's little to no action, Hari Seldon and Dors visiting the various regions of Trantor and experiencing new cultures and dangers was fascinating. I can't believe the series is nearly over (I'm undecided if I will read the non-Asimov Foundation books), it will easily be right up there with my favorites when I'm done. Incredible callbacks to previous (future) books, the focus on a small cast, but a large scope feel just added another layer of enjoyment.

Hell, I love how the characters THINK. All the time. And they express their thoughts, often, and will discuss and debate with each other. Sometimes they'll change their minds when presented with a logical conclusion, other times they'll remain steadfast. It's that unpredictability, combined with a rational perspective, which endeared me to savor every page.

I may have a new favorite author. I'm not saying this book, or the Robots/Empire/Foundation series, is for everybody; it's got quite a few flaws, and I'm sure somebody will be happy to explain why it's not "good literature", but I couldn't care less. Love this series, loved this book. ( )

Although this book was written later, chronologically it is the first book in the Foundation series. It Introduces Hari Seldon and the concept of psychohistory. There are many dangerous episodes as Hari moves from sector to sector. But, more than anything, the book is an introduction to the rest of the series.
I had trouble wading through some parts of the book, but it was necessary to be prepared for coming books. I did not find the ending the surprise I think it was supposed to be.
I'm glad I read it, but I'm hoping the next book picks up the pace. ( )

A good read, but frustrating in the inconsistencies between this post-series prequel and the rest of the series. The two biggest things that bothered me was the description of Trantor as well as Seldon's entire history. His work here is presented entirely different than in the main series. Again, a fun read, but doesn't flow too well into Foundation. ( )