Reviews

10/10.

A fantastic end to a fantastic series that serves not only as Foundation's beginning, but as Isaac Asimov's grand finale. This was his last book, finished shortly before his death in 1992. As it says on the back of the hardcover edition, over his 50+ years of writing, Asimov found that he had written the character of Hari Seldon as his alter-ego. The epilogue is a very poignant example of this. For fans of the original trilogy, the two prequel books serve as wonderful depictions of the life of Hari Seldon and explain how Psychohistory came to be in such an effective way that you'd never have expected the ideas for them came 40 years after the original stories were released.

The manner by which Asimov details the gradual fall of the Galactic Empire is gripping. Political mind-games, assassination of emperors, slow breakdowns of infrastructure, and the growing unrest and anger from society contrast perfectly against the noble dedication of Seldon with his small group of dedicated colleagues and family as they attempt to further the science of Psychohistory to prevent the worst possible outcome - 30,000 years of a new dark age. The fall of society and the state is already inevitable - they can only dedicate their entire lives to coming up with an intricate plan based upon the laws of science and mathematics to reduce that dark age to 1,000 years.

This has been the premise of the entire series, but it is more poignant than ever in Forward the Foundation. I regard Asimov's books so highly because of the ideas and scope that they contain, not so much because of their settings or characters. This book however, perhaps because it came at the end of Asimov's life, focuses more on meaningful human relationships than previous books. The triumphant tragedy of Hari Seldon over the course of the 50 years we see him in the series is executed profoundly well.

Prequels are difficult to do and often end up being poorly received when they come many years after the originals (i.e. Alien, Star Wars). This book was not perfect, but for me it was a perfect ending to what has become one of my favorite sci-fi series.

tim_sum's review against another edition

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4.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

zcahill's review against another edition

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5.0

A riveting “biography” of Hari Seldon that lays out the origins of the Foundation series in neat episodes, each set about ten years apart, with fast paced drama as a conspiracy is unwound, discoveries made, unexpected twists revealed or cany enemies outwitted.

Each episode of the book is built around a member of Hari Seldon’s family and their role in a pivotal time in Hari’s life. This is a refreshing deviation from the typical Asimov approach in other foundation books which are sprawling in scope and timeline and don’t dwell too much on individual characters. This book lends unique empathy, depth, and emotion to the larger story by exploring the inner life and motives of Hari Seldon’s adopted family.

It is a fun read, especially after the original trilogy, as the establishment of the second foundation is teased and explored, remarkably without revealing where “Stars End” actually is. If you don’t want to spoil how the second foundation works, read the original trilogy first.

For readers coming from HBO’s Foundation television adoption, this book offers a completely different origin story for Hari Seldon, the establishment of the foundation, Hari’s relationship with the Empire, his relationship with his family, and his death. Readers can decide for themselves the most compelling version.

diz_tn's review against another edition

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4.0

The book isn't bad. The narrator of the audiobook version though is awful. He sounded like a bad ai text - to - speech bot. Even during scenes when someone died it was like no emotion. Very hard to finish listening.

kostyalya's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

morticia_z's review against another edition

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2.0

Книгата е добра само като част от поредицата. Иначе идеи много, но изпълнението по мое мнение е доста слабо в тази част.

kirtreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This book took a little while to get going, but it has such a heart felt ending that you cannot be mad about it. I read in publication order so this was the last of the series for me, and wow. What an ending. I feel like I need to go back and read the whole thing over again.

It had all the classic issues that his novels do, some slow pacing, female characters are all not well written and stiff, but I think it’s worth it.

Really enjoyed the series and I look forward to reading his robot series!

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