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. ( )